What is Research Security?

Balancing Openness and Security:  Open collaboration in research is essential to pushing the boundaries of innovation and addressing complex societal challenges. As a driver of greater innovation and inclusion, open science—the practice of making scientific inputs, outputs, and processes available to all with minimal restrictions—should not be a secondary consideration, and governments must commit to making research accessible when there is no justification for keeping it closed. While increased openness and access carry associated risks related to privacy, ideas, research outcomes and intellectual property, national security, and the public interest, this openness should be maintained to the fullest extent possible, while recognizing the need for safeguards for research that may have adverse ethical or national security implications. 

Shared responsibility and accountability. Accountability and responsibility are essential to ensuring that individuals and organizations take responsibility for the consequences of their actions, especially when these deviate from accepted standards. This includes the management and organization of research, due diligence among collaborators, training, supervision and mentoring, as well as consideration of the broader impacts of the work undertaken. This responsibility is shared: no single organization can address research safety risks alone. Governments, in particular, must lead and facilitate these discussions with their respective scientific communities. 

Transparency and fostering public trust. The transparent and reciprocal exchange of methods, data, and results of unclassified research—while maintaining confidentiality where appropriate—is crucial for collaboration, integrity, and the free flow of ideas and information. Transparency in disclosing researchers' affiliations, competing or conflicting interests, and funding sources is also important to ensure research integrity. Likewise, all entities involved in scientific and research activities, or in funding them, should strive to demonstrate their ability to meet expectations of trust when accessing sensitive data or research. Maintaining this public trust requires proper management at all levels.  

Recognizing the dynamic nature of research security as determined by new knowledge, evolving risks, and the geopolitical context, necessitates a learning approach with regular reviews and updates to ensure that research security policies and related capacity-building measures remain effective, proportionate, up-to-date, and consistent with the aforementioned principles.  

Ensure that every effort is made to prevent all forms of discrimination and stigmatization , both direct and indirect, of groups or individuals that may occur as an unintended consequence of safeguard measures and guarantee full respect for the fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter.  

While applying a risk-based approach, adopting country-neutral policies , detecting and addressing research security risks regardless of their origin, and that this is the best guarantee of maintaining a balanced approach to opportunities and risks in research and innovation cooperation and of not overlooking the evolving threat landscape, including the emergence of new risk agents.  

Promote self-governance in the research and innovation sector, within the applicable regulatory framework, empowering its agents to make informed decisions, highlighting the social responsibilities of organizations that carry out research activities, bearing in mind that "academic freedom entails academic responsibility".  

To guide research security measures to safeguard economic security, as well as national and Union security, and to defend and promote the Union's fundamental values ​​and rights, academic freedom and integrity in research , while avoiding protectionism and the political instrumentalization of research and innovation. 

Continue to promote and defend academic freedom and institutional autonomy , bearing in mind that organizations that carry out research activities are primarily responsible for international cooperation.

Continue to promote and foster international cooperation in research and innovation that is open and secure, in accordance with the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”, ensuring that research results are “traceable, accessible, interoperable and reusable” ( FAIR ) and duly taking into account applicable restrictions, including security issues. t eu hendrerit purus, ut imperdiet dui.

Ensure proportionality of measures: When safeguards are introduced, they should not go beyond what is necessary to mitigate the risks involved and avoid any administrative burden. The aim is to manage risk, rather than avoid it.