Criticism of the report on the climate impact of beef and veal published by the DCA (Danish Centre for Food and Agriculture) has strengthened the focus on the university’s procedures for ensuring integrity in research and good research communication when AU researchers collaborate with external stakeholders.

The university as well as the faculty have constant focus on this area. Dean Lars Henrik Andersen emphasises this point: ”We’re taking the beef case very seriously, and we’ve implemented additional measures to make sure we get to the bottom of this.”

The following specific initiatives have been taken:

• The report has been recalled, and the DKK 215,000 received by the university from Kvægafgiftsfonden have been returned.
• The DCA management must ensure quality assurance of all future reports published under the DCA.
• All DCA reports that have been published within the last five years and are based on collaboration with private companies and interest groups will be reviewed to clarify any problematic aspects. This work is in progress.

We will continue our collaborations

The beef case has spotlighted the university's collaboration with the business community.

“It's essential to stress that the case will not keep us from collaborating with the business community and other stakeholders. It’s an important task for us, and we have an obligation to make sure our research-based knowledge helps to develop society. However, we must ensure that individual researchers uphold research integrity and keep an arm's length in external collaboration, and that they’re aware of their responsibility. The individual researcher, the research director and the head of department have a shared responsibility to make sure that researchers are familiar and comply with AU’s rules and guidelines in this area,” says Dean Lars Henrik Andersen.

“At AU and at ST, several initiatives have been launched to support work on ensuring good collaboration that upholds research integrity. There should be no doubt that research integrity is a very important issue at ST. We spend lots of resources to make our guidelines visible and understandable, and I expect all employees to work constructively and responsibly with this task,” says Dean Lars Henrik Andersen.

Guidelines for all universities

• In 2014, along with the other Danish universities, AU acceded to the ”Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity”.
• Based on the Danish code, Universities Denmark’s principles of good research communication have been formulated.

Initiatives at AU

AU has decided to expand the principles that apply to all universities:

• As a follow-up on the research freedom survey from 2018, since the New Year, the university has been working on new initiatives that will make advice and guidance on research freedom more widely and easily available to researchers.  These initiatives are currently being implemented. Read the article: Aarhus University expands existing guidelines for freedom of research
• See also the AU website on responsible conduct of research. Here, you will find all the rules and guidelines in the area.
• In this context, on 6 September, the rector clarified in writing to the deans and department heads that all employees must be aware of the existing basic guidelines for integrity in research and good research communication.
• A mandatory course programme will be developed for all researchers at AU, focusing on freedom of research and research integrity.

Special initiatives at ST

• Over the past years, ST has developed a quality management system for research-based public sector consultancy, including consultancy services offered to parties other than public authorities. The implementation of this system has been launched.
• A set of practical guidelines concerning external collaboration is being prepared.
• The faculty already offers a course on research-based public sector consultancy. As part of this course, participants review the ST quality management system and legal aspects, including interaction with the Danish Public Administration Act, the Danish Access to Public Administration Files Act, the Danish Environmental Information Act and the Danish Data Protection Act. The course also addresses aspects such as stakeholder involvement and stakeholder communication, and will include talks by the faculty's own employees as well as central players from national authorities and industries.
• At ST, all members of academic staff at the individual departments will soon be invited to information meetings about the follow-up on the research freedom survey and the requirement that all staff must comply with the research integrity principles. Furthermore, the rector has encouraged all staff to make use of local advisers or to take the matter up with the management if they have knowledge of circumstances that are not in line with the guidelines.

Find a list of ST advisers on the responsible conduct of research and freedom of research

Read ST’s statements about the beef report:

• Follow-up on criticism of report on the climate impact of beef and veal (03.09.2019)
• Danish Centre for Food and Agriculture recalls report on beef (02.09.2019)
• We must clarify our guidelines (30.08.2019)

Read AU’s report on the beef case to Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen, Minister for Higher Education and Science (in Danish only).