Equitable research is not rocket science
In this op-ed, Doris Schroeder argues that equitable research partnerships do not require ever more technical rules, but clear, accessible ethics grounded in fairness, respect, care and honesty. Drawing on the development of the TRUST Code, she…
Big science, fair access
From the first test antennas of Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR, add link) to the vast arrays of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA, add link), radio astronomy has become a story of mega infrastructures. They promise exquisite data on everything from the…
When equity becomes politically contested
Some projects confront questions of equity not because they cross borders, but because they cut straight through highly polarised debates. Sociologist Marta Bucholc examines how human rights are invoked and contested in Mozambique, Senegal, Poland,…
Who writes the rules of science?
Astronomers who gathered in Baltimore in 1992 thought they were drafting a charter that would change their field. Three decades later, one of its authors calls it ‘tame’. Joris Vandendriessche and Anna Cabanel use this and other moments – from…
Why values – not just rules – are needed to stop ethics dumping
In international research, formal ethical rules have proliferated, yet unethical practices continue to surface in new forms, especially in resource constrained settings. In this op-ed, Pamela Andanda argues that only a values-based approach can…
Excellence through equity
By Harriet Bulkeley and Liselotte HøjgaardThe complex and interconnected challenges facing our world make a compelling case for strong, equitable and long-term international research collaboration. Scientific questions do not stop at borders, and…
Beyond good intentions and checklists
Research partnerships across borders raise difficult questions: who decides what knowledge is produced, who owns it and who benefits from it? For ERC-funded teams working across different cultures, institutions and power imbalances, equity is not a…
Phosphorus, politics and water for a more resilient world
ERC frontier research at work in science diplomacy When scientists follow their curiosity, they rarely picture their work turning up in policy briefings or on negotiation tables. Yet ERC Synergy Grants projects, which bring together teams of…
Who controls the science of the high seas?
When diplomats finalised the UN’s landmark BBNJ treaty on high-sea biodiversity, it was widely hailed as a triumph for marine conservation. For Alice Vadrot, it also reveals how science and diplomacy have become inseparable and how knowledge itself…