FNR communication regarding allegations of research misconduct related to the project Po17/11757260 « LALA – Lauter lëschteg Lauter », that was funded within the FNR Proof-of-Concept (PoC) programme and related projects.
The National Commission for Research Integrity (CRI) of the Luxembourg Agency for Research Integrity (LARI) has conducted a confidential investigation into anonymous allegation of research misconduct in connection with this project and related projects.
The CRI concluded that no evidence of scientific misconduct in the form of data fabrication, falsification or plagiarism was found. Thus, any raised doubts regarding the truthfulness, integrity, and reliability of data and results generated from these projects have been lifted. The CRI also reported on questionable practices in the communication of results to a non-scientific audience, the management of conflicts of interest and the possible violation of confidentiality during the investigation. In this respect, recommendations for remedy were addressed to the Host Institution, to the Principal Investigator, and to the FNR.
The specific recommendation that was addressed to the FNR has been implemented: FNR is now requesting a formal declaration of competing interests from all applicants in its PoC programme. The Host institution currently finalizes a new policy on conflicts of interest.
The specific recommendation that was addressed to the Principal Investigator have already been implemented. Representatives of the Ministry of Education are in the possession of documents containing an extensive description of the study and its quantitative results.