Form 6a: Code of Conduct and Declaration
If you require further help or guidance after reading this document, please contact the EMRP-MSU helpline:Email us or phone us +44 20 8943 6666
1. Scope
This Code Of Conduct applies to all Referees, and all Evaluators of JRP proposal(s) and/ or EMRP Researcher Grant application(s) submitted to the EMRP Calls. Evaluators include independent Referees, and may additionally include members of the JRP-Consortium and/ or REG Home Organisation.
2. When to Sign the Declaration
The Declaration of Confidentiality and Any Conflict of Interest must be printed, signed and returned by email (scanned) to prior beginning the evaluation. You must not open emails containing proposals / applications until the signed declaration has been sent.
3. Description of Tasks
You are participating in the confidential, fair and equitable evaluation of each application, to the best of your abilities, professional skills, knowledge and ethics.
Evaluations shall be undertaken in accordance with ‘Guide 6 Evaluating Joint Research Projects and EMRP Researcher Grants’ and the time-scales given by EURAMET.
You are required to comment on proposals / applications and complete marking templates. In addition you may be asked to provide recommendations of the most suitable applications to be funded, or act as a rapporteur.
4. Inability to Perform Obligations and/or Termination
If for some reason you are unable to evaluate applications, inform EURAMET immediately. You may not delegate the evaluation to another person.
Failure to comply with this Code of Conduct may result in exclusion from the evaluation process, without prejudice to penalties that may derive from other applicable regulations.
5. Independence
You must act independently, and provide a personal view without influence from others (including your organisation and country); therefore you may not discuss any application with any person.
You may not contact third parties about proposals / applications without the prior written agreement of EURAMET.
You may seek further information (for example through the internet, specialised databases, etc.) to allow you to complete your examination of the proposals / applications, provided that the obtaining of such information respects the overall rules for confidentiality and impartiality.
At Stage 3 of a call representatives of the JRP-Consortium or Home Organisation may undertake evaluations in discussion with one another, providing all have signed the Declaration. During Stage 3 evaluations they must act in the best interests of all JRP-Consortium members, and independently of their organisation and country.
6. Conflict of Interest
Referees must be completely independent of applications.
Representatives of the JRP-Consortium / Home Organisation may have links to the applicants, but in all cases any conflicts of interest must be declared.
If you have a direct or indirect link with a proposal / application, or any other vested interest, are in some way connected to, or have any other allegiance which impairs or threatens to impair your impartiality, you must declare such facts to as soon as you become aware of this. Some examples of conflicts of interest are given in Table 1.
Depending on the circumstances you may be restricted from evaluating some/ all proposals / applications, or you may be able to continue without restriction, if the connection is sufficiently tenuous or out dated.
Independent Referee / Evaluator (JRP-Consortium / REG Home Org)Disqualifying conflict of interest / · Is the applicant
· Was involved in the preparation of the application
· Stands to benefit directly should the application be accepted
· Has a close family relationship with any person representing an applicant or organisation in the application
· Is a director, trustee or partner of an applicant organisation
· Is employed by one of the applicant organisations
· Is a member of one of the Technical Committees of EURAMET / · Is the applicant
· Has a close family relationship with any person representing an applicant or organisation in the application
Potential conflict of interest / · Was employed by one of the applicant organisations within the previous three years
· Is involved in a contract or research collaboration with an applicant organisation, or had been so in the previous three years
· Is in any other situation that could cast doubt on his or her ability to evaluate the application impartially, or that could reasonably appear to do so in the eyes of an external third party / · Was involved in the preparation of the application
· Is employed by one of the applicant organisations
· Was employed by one of the applicant organisations within the previous three years.
· Is involved in a contract or research collaboration with an applicant organisation, or had been so in the previous three years
· Is in any other situation that compromises his or her ability to evaluate the application impartially, or that could reasonably appear to do so in the eyes of an external third party
Table 1: Circumstances Causing Conflict of Interest
7. Confidentiality
You must treat all proposals / applications, results of the evaluation, and the identity of other Referees / Evaluators, in the strictest of confidence.
You are not allowed to disclose the names of other Referees / Evaluators. The European Commission may be informed of your name, and they may publish this list of names (as may EURAMET), however the proposals / applications that were assigned to each person will not be disclosed.
You are personally responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any documents, copies or notes, either on paper or in electronic form, relating to the evaluation. Your marks and comments are confidential, and should only be given to EURAMET. All documentation, marking and comments must be deleted or destroyed upon completing the evaluation.
At Stage 3 of a call representatives of JRP-Consortium / Home Organisation may discuss the application with other member(s) of the JRP-Consortium/ Home Organisation, provided that before the discussion, each person signs and sends to EURAMET the Declaration of Confidentiality and Any Conflict of Interest
8. Processing of Personal Data
All personal data processed shall be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council[*] on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. Such data shall be processed solely in connection with the implementation and follow-up of the evaluation process, without prejudice to a possible transmission to the bodies in charge of a monitoring or inspection task in accordance with European Union legislation and this Code of Conduct.
You may, on written request, gain access to your personal data and correct any information that is inaccurate or incomplete. You should address any questions regarding the processing of your personal data to EURAMET on or +44 20 8943 6666. You may lodge a complaint against the processing of your personal data with the European Data Protection Supervisor.
9. Other Conditions
All results of the evaluation and marking are the property of EURAMET, except where industrial or intellectual property rights already exist.
EURAMET shall not under any circumstances or for any reason whatsoever be liable for damage sustained by you during the performance of the evaluation.
The provisions of this Code of Conduct, including the Declaration of Confidentiality and Any Conflicts of Interest do not constitute an employment agreement and EURAMET is not liable to provide you with any compensation in the event of injury or illness.
EMRP Call ProcessForm 6a: Code of Conduct and Declaration / 3/4 / Document: P-CAL-FRM-001 / Version: 2.0
Approved: EMRP Programme Manager / 2011-06-17
I, the undersigned, confirm that I have read, understood and accepted the above Code of Conduct for Referees / Evaluators relating to the evaluation of JRP-proposals and EMRP Researcher Grant applications submitted in response to the following EMRP Call
EMRP Call Title: E.g. Call 2011 - Health, New Technologies, and SI Broader Scope
Check the box I declare that I am not (to my knowledge), directly or indirectly involved in JRP proposal(s) and/ or EMRP Researcher Grant application(s) submitted under this EMRP Call, other than those detailed below (complete as applicable):
Proposal / Application number / Reason(s) for conflict of interestIf I later discover any additional Conflicts of Interest with the JRP proposal(s) and/ or EMRP Researcher Grant application(s) I am evaluating or discussing I will update this Declaration immediately.
I will not reveal any detail of the JRP proposal(s) and/ or EMRP Researcher Grant application(s), the evaluation process and/or its outcomes, or the Referees and Evaluator’s identities without the express written approval of EURAMET.
I accept personal responsibility for maintaining the confidentiality of any documents or electronic files sent and for erasing or destroying all documents and files upon completing the evaluation.
I agree to the use of my personal data for the sole purpose of the evaluation process and according to the provisions set out in the Code of Conduct.
Signed:
Name:
Date: 16 November 2011
EMRP Call ProcessForm 6a: Code of Conduct and Declaration / 3/4 / Document: P-CAL-FRM-001 / Version: 2.0
Approved: EMRP Programme Manager / 2011-06-17
[*] OJ L8 of 12.01.2001, p1