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School of Technology

 

The mission of the University of Cambridge is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence.

Multiple policies and guidelines are in place to support good research practices and a positive research culture, both key considerations during the development of research and funding applications.

Please find out more as to the UKRI's focus on ensuring a healthy research and innovation culture, promoting Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in research, and further information available on their Good Research Resources Hub.

The University's core values are freedom of thought and expression, and freedom from discrimination.

Please find out about the University's Change the Culture initiative to create and maintain a safe, welcoming, and inclusive community that nurtures a culture of mutual respect and courtesy, and access The University Guidelines on Good Research Practice and associated checklist of good conduct that all those engaged in research at the University are expected to follow.

Information to help communicate key information as to how the University, your Department and research team support a positive Research Culture, including EDI considerations, can be accessed on the Research Support Resources Site.

The University Research Information SharePoint provides key information as to managing research outputs and data to ensure that they are REF and Open Access compliant.

Supporting Good Research Practice Quicklinks

Research Integrity

The University of Cambridge is committed to achieving excellence in research and scholarship. The University’s Research Integrity pages provide guidance on University policies addressing issues of research integrity, research ethics and good research practice.

The pursuit of excellent research and the fulfilment of our responsibilities to participants in research, research users and the wider community require the maintenance of the highest standards of integrity and ethics. For further details please access the University’s Research Integrity Statement and UUK Research Integrity information and the concordat to support research integrity.

The School has provided guidance on Research Integrity within the University that can be accessed here.

Open Access

Open Access to research publications involves making them freely available online rather than charging readers to read and use them. Open Access to research data makes data more widely available for re-use by others to support research, innovation and wider public use.

Most major funders now have a mandate for outputs to be made open access; more information can be found in funders’ policies and the UKRI Concordat on Open Research.

The REF Open Access Policy requires certain outputs (journal articles and conference proceedings published with an ISSN) to be made open access, in order to be eligible for submission including REF2021 submissions.

University Open Access Publications Policy

The University is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), a set of recommendations that encourage universities, researchers and others to assess research on its own merits rather than on the basis of the journal in which the research was published and highlights the need to capitalise on the opportunities provided by online publication.

The University’s operates an Open Access advice site. If you upload your manuscript, you will be advised on your options.

The University has an institutional repository Apollo that acts as a primary focus of providing open access to the University’s Open Access publications.

Data Management

There is an increasing emphasis on managing and sharing data produced in research. Many of the research funders supporting work at the University of Cambridge require that research data are openly available with as few restrictions as possible. Open Access to research publications involves making them freely available online and Open Access to research data makes data more widely available for re-use by others to support research, innovation, and wider public use

The University Data Management website guides researchers through various aspects of research data planning and management and will provide assistance in meeting funders’ expectations.

Symplectic Elements is the University's research information system, used to collect information about the scholarly activities and outputs of Cambridge's authors, and make the data available for repurpose and reuse, for example, for depositing open access publications in Apollo, and managing the University's REF submission.

Responsible Research and Innovation

Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) considers scientific research and technological development processes that take into account the broader effects and potential impacts on the environment and society through proactive and preventative wider engagement at an early stage to foster inclusive and sustainable research.

RRI differs from ethical approval as ethics has more of a focus on the products of research, which can be ethically approved and supported by researchers and stakeholders, but may not gain wider public acceptance.

The School has developed some brief guidance on Responsible Research and Innovation that can be accessed here that can help with including RRI considerations when planning research.

The EPSRC offers guidance regarding Responsible Research and Innovation and its Framework for Responsible Innovation.

Details as to Responsible Research and Innovation training for the Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) can be accessed here

Please access the slides from the School of Technology Masterclass on RRI given by Dr Rhys Morgan

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

The University of Cambridge is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to a proactive and inclusive approach to equality, which supports and encourages all under-represented groups, promotes an inclusive culture, and values diversity.

Further information can be accessed on the University Equality & Diversity website. The Cambridge University Strategy Report for 2016-2021 covers the main objectives and action plan at the university level.

The University's Gender Equality Action Plan outlines the University's commitments in alignment with the Horizon Europe Gender Equality Plan (GEP) requirements.

Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI's) vision of enabling a diverse research community as a key part of supporting a healthy research and innovation culture.

The School has provided further information regarding how research funding applications may be expected to demonstrate consideration and support of greater Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

 

Export Control

Of particular importance to Technology Departments, is UK Export Control Law , under which individual academics are responsible for ensuring their research is compliant with, and all necessary licenses are obtained.

Please visit the School webpage or University webpage for further information as to whether your research may be subject to this, and how to ensure it is compliant.