Agency for Scientific Integrity

The Agency for Scientific Integrity was set up as an association in accordance with the Austrian Associations Act. It was founded by 12 Austrian universities, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF), IST Austria and the Austrian Science Fund FWF.

The agency's responsibility will be to investigate alleged cases of scientific misconduct in Austria in a professional manner, to evaluate the severity of the offense and to make recommendations on subsequent actions. The task of investigation and evaluation will be assigned to an independent body, called Commission for Scientific Integrity, consisting of distinguished scholars from outside Austria.

The Agency for Scientific Integrity is neither a decision-making body nor an organizational unit with adjudicative powers. It will offer a neutral and factual platform for investigating (alleged) cases of scientific misconduct thoroughly and objectively. Its commission can be approached by any individual or institution within Austria, and it the commission is free to decide whether an allegation should be pursued or ignored. The normative power of the commission's work will be a result of its unprejudiced, objective review of cases, which will hopefully make the commission an important benchmark for scientific integrity in Austria. In addition, the agency will issue recommendations as to what should be regarded as scientific misconduct, how to identify and how to avoid it.