Ethics Committee

The Ethics Committee is a body of Ca' Foscari University with the following functions: 

• To advise, propose, research, investigate, promote and disseminate around matters concerning ethics

• To conduct inquiries and investigations as part of the procedure for determining possible breaches of the University's Code of Ethics and Conduct

• To evaluate (ex-ante) the ethical aspects of research projects and the Data Management Plan (DMP), with regard to the collection, production, dissemination and re-use of research data and the methodology with which they will be managed.

The latter function is performed by the Research Ethics SubCommittee (Sottocommissione Etica per la Ricerca, SER), a restricted group within the Ethics Committee whose members are: Agar Brugiavini, Stefano Calzavara, Claudia Irti, Lucetta Scaraffia, Barbara Da Roit, Chiara Da Villa, Silvia Zabeo.

Watch the video on the Code of Ethics and Conduct and the activities of the Ethics Committee.

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How to submit DMPs, ethic deliverables, requests and queries

What

The Ethics Committee evaluates:

• Data management plans (DMP)
• Ethics deliverables
• Requests and queries (relating to research activities in the context of university projects, dissertations or doctoral theses involving ethical issues).

Present in a clear and concise manner (abstract) the context of the research activity on which the Ethics Committee is required to express its opinion and approval, highlighting the research objectives and methodology, expected results and specific information on the project activities.

The Ethics Committee reserves the right to request additional documentation if this is deemed useful for a correct understanding of the research project.

Where

DMPs, Ethics Deliverables and Queries must be uploaded:

• In pdf format
• To the COMET moodle

When

• Documents must be uploaded to the moodle by the 20th day of the month preceding the Ethics Committee meeting.

The Ethics Committee meets once a month (except in August), generally in the first ten days of the month. 

Since the analysis and in-depth consideration of ethical, privacy and personal data issues contained in submitted research projects require in-depth analysis, it is recommended that submissions be made as early as possible.

In particular, it is recommended to submit ethics deliverables with a mandatory Committee opinion well in advance (2-3 months, even in a provisional version) of the deadline for uploading to the EU portal.
Submissions received after this deadline will be assessed at the next meeting.

No extensions or exceptions will be granted.

Data Management Plan

The DMP is a formal, structured document for planning the management of the entire data life cycle from the beginning of a research project. The DMP describes how data will be created, managed, shared, disseminated and stored, justifying any restrictions that need to be applied.
It should not be regarded as a bureaucratic burden, but as a necessary tool in planning and conducting a research project with the purposes to:

• ses out clear procedures
• avoid data loss
• demonstrate how certain data were used to obtain a specific result
• define which data can be reused for further research projects

Documentation

• Data Management Plan -  A practical guide: Documentation
• Horizon Europe Template:this is the most complete template suitable for all research projects
  Please note that filling in the DMP is mandatory in Horizon Europe projects.

Online tools that help fill out the DMP:

• DMPonline
• Data Stewardship Wizard: Create Project
• Argos

Glossario

Ethical Aspects

The ethical issues that might arise during a research project are manifold. Here are just a few examples of sensitive fields: 

• research with people
• collection and management of personal data
• research in non-EU countries
• development or use of AI systems, etc.

When a project is funded, the funding body provides the scientific managers with a specific document (e.g. for Horizon Europe, the Ethics Clearance) in which, after screening by experts, the main ethical issues to be addressed before or during the implementation of activities are highlighted and specific requirements are indicated.

To protect itself and its researchers, Ca' Foscari University has adopted a specific procedure to be followed before starting project activities: 

• carry out a self-assessment by filling out – for each aspect indicated – the Ca' Foscari University – Ethics Assessment Form
• upload it in pdf format to the Moodle platform
• obtain approval by the Ethics Committee

Documentation

EU Grants - How to complete your ethics self-assessment a guide that provides useful pointers that can be applied to all research projects and, for each thematic area, indicates reference background documents.

1.65 M

Templates

• Ethics Self-Assessment
  Ca' Foscari University -  Ethics Assessment Form [ENG]: a template for the ethics self-assessment to be submitted to the Ethics Committee through the Moodle platform for approval before the start of project activities
• Collection and management of personal data
  • Questionnaire/checklist on the processing of personal data in research activities: self-assessment questionnaire
  • University-approved informed consent templates (accessible upon authentication): informed consent templates to be prepared by entering information related to one's research.