Here you will find information on other national advisory boards on research ethics in Finland and a list of international actors and guidelines in the field of research ethics and research integrity.

The Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK launched the research integrity adviser system in 2017. Research integrity advisers provide personal and confidential advice on research integrity to members of their organisation, and there are currently more than 150 advisers in more than 70 research organisations. The purpose of this system is to strengthen knowledge of research integrity and good research practices in the research community in Finland.

Alleged violations of research integrity are always investigated in the organisation where the suspected violation occurred or where the suspected researcher acted when it occurred. After the suspicion has first been addressed in the organisation's process of handling alleged violations of research integrity, i.e. the RI process, the parties may request a statement on the matter from the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK.

Ethical review in Finland depends on whether the research is medical or in the scope of human sciences.

Medical research

The Medical Research Act and Decree (488/1999) regulate medical research involving human beings.

The roots of the State Award for Public Information stretch back to 1865, when the Senate decided to grant Finland’s first state awards. At the initiative of Senator J. V. Snellman, the decision was taken to grant three literary awards: non-fiction, fiction and popular publications.

Following heated literary debate, the award for fiction was granted to Aleksis Kivi’s Heath Cobblers (Nummisuutarit), and the non-fiction award was granted to Hans Wilhelm Rothsten’s Latin–Finnish Dictionary.

Alleged violations of research integrity (so-called RI violations) are investigated in the research organisation where the alleged violation has taken place. The process of handling alleged violations of research integrity, or the RI process, must be followed in all organisations committed to the RI Guidelines (PDF).

Awards are granted for major information publication work in the field of scientific, artistic and technological information dissemination that has increased citizens’ knowledge and stimulated societal debate. The award is granted for currently relevant information publication work, which may include high-level non-fiction works or other information products. The award can also be granted for exemplary, long-term, multifaceted public information work.

Guidelines for the responsible conduct of research and for handling allegations of misconduct (the RCR guidelines) have been published by the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK, which is appointed by the Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland. The RCR guidelines have been drafted in co-operation with the Finnish research community. (In the 2023 guideline, the term responsible conduct of research (RCR) has been changed into research integrity (RI).)

Chair

Chancellor
Kaarle Hämeri
University of Helsinki

Secretary General

Sanna-Kaisa Spoof

Tel. +358 50 594 1909
Email: sanna-kaisa.spoof(at)tenk.fi