What is Scientific Integrity?
Scientific integrity is the adherence to professional practices, ethical behavior, and the principles of honesty and objectivity when conducting, managing, using the results of, and communicating about science and scientific activities. Inclusivity, transparency, and protection from inappropriate influence are hallmarks of scientific integrity.
Why is Scientific Integrity Important?
Scientific integrity involves protecting science from interference and fostering the appropriate and transparent use of science in decision-making. It is essential to helping ensure informed decision-making, accountability, and trust in USAID. Breaches to the integrity of USAID’s science ultimately undermine informed decision-making, which impacts the Agency and the people it serves.
The table below presents types of scientific integrity violations that arise within the conduct, management, communication, and use of science. The last four, which can span all aspects of the scientific process from conduct to use, are most often due to political interference and other forms of inappropriate influence. They were also found by a White House task force on scientific integrity (the Scientific Integrity Fast-Track Action Committee) to have an outsized impact.
Content Source: Protecting the Integrity of Government Science, A Report by the Scientific Integrity Fast-Track Action Committee of the National Science and Technology Council, January 2022.
Additionally, scientific integrity policies and practices promote a variety of moral and social values important to USAID including truth, transparency, and anti-corruption; and they help ensure accountability.