Scientific Integrity Policies: Additional Actions Could Strengthen Integrity of Federal Research
Fast Facts
How do federal agencies protect the integrity of scientific research?
There is federal guidance on scientific integrity that includes principles that:
Ensure the open exchange of information
Prevent the distortion of research findings for political or other reasons
The 9 agencies we reviewed have policies based on those principles. Most of them have taken some action in terms of educating staff, providing oversight, and monitoring and evaluating policy-related activities. Some have taken little or no action on some principles.
We made 10 recommendations to 6 agencies to help them ensure that their policies are protecting scientific integrity.
Scientist using a microscope.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The nine selected agencies GAO reviewed have taken various actions to help achieve the objectives of their scientific integrity policies in three areas:
- Educating staff. Seven of the nine agencies have taken some actions to educate and communicate to staff about their policies, consistent with the 2007 America COMPETES Act. However, the Office of Fossil Energy (FE), which follows the Department of Energy's (DOE) policy, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have not taken action.
- Providing oversight. Eight of the nine agencies have a designated official, or the equivalent, to oversee implementation of their scientific integrity policies. However, FE does not have such an official because DOE has not appointed one and currently has no plans or timeframe to do so, although DOE policy states that DOE will appoint an official for oversight.
- Monitoring and evaluating implementation. Four of the nine agencies have monitored and evaluated implementation of their scientific integrity policies, consistent with federal standards that call for such control activities. However, FE, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), NIST, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have not undertaken such activities.
Seven of the nine agencies have specific, documented procedures for identifying and addressing alleged violations of their scientific integrity policies. Although the details of agencies' procedures vary, they generally include the steps shown below. However, two agencies—FE, following DOE's policy, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)—do not have documented procedures for identifying and addressing alleged violations. A 2009 presidential memo on scientific integrity states that agencies should have procedures to identify and address instances in which the scientific process or the integrity of scientific and technological information may be compromised. Without procedures, FE and NASA do not have assurance that their staff understand how to report allegations and that investigations are conducted consistently.
General Procedure for Identifying and Addressing Alleged Violations of Agencies' Scientific Integrity Policies
Note: The seven agencies that have procedures similar to this figure are the Agricultural Research Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Geological Survey.
Why GAO Did This Study
In 2007, the America COMPETES Act required the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to take actions to enhance the integrity of federal scientific research. In 2010, OSTP provided guidance to federal agencies on developing scientific integrity policies. The guidance states that, among other things, agencies are to ensure that political appointees should not suppress or alter scientific findings.
GAO was asked to review agencies' scientific integrity policies and actions taken to implement them. This report examines, among other things, the extent to which selected agencies (1) have taken actions to achieve the objectives of their scientific integrity policies and (2) have procedures for identifying and addressing alleged violations of their scientific integrity policies. GAO selected the following nine agencies for review: Agricultural Research Service, Environmental Protection Agency, FAA, FE, National Institutes of Health, NASA, NIST, NOAA, and USGS. GAO analyzed the selected agencies' scientific integrity policies and interviewed agency officials, among other things.
Recommendations
GAO is making 10 recommendations to six agencies to address specific issues related to educating staff, providing oversight, monitoring and evaluating policy implementation, and developing procedures to identify and address policy violations. The six agencies agreed with GAO's recommendations and identified actions they plan to take to address them.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Energy | The Secretary of Energy should take action to educate and communicate the agency's scientific integrity polices to staff through, for example, regular training. (Recommendation 1) |
In January 2024, DOE issued a revised scientific integrity policy. The policy states that DOE will educate all covered personnel on their rights and responsibilities related to scientific integrity. Specifically, DOE will provide covered personnel with scientific integrity information or mandatory training. The policy also states that DOE will also determine the content and timing of follow-on scientific integrity training, which will be ongoing and occur with regularity. We will continue to monitor and update status of this recommendation.
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| National Institute of Standards and Technology | The Director of NIST should take action to educate and communicate the agency's scientific integrity polices to staff through, for example, regular training. (Recommendation 2) |
According to Commerce in a September 2020 update, NIST is leveraging NOAA's training module, which includes scientific integrity issues and was made available as of January 2020 on the Commerce Learning Center (CLC) for all NIST employees to access.
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| Department of Energy | The Secretary of Energy should establish steps and a time frame for designating a scientific integrity official to oversee the department's scientific integrity activities. (Recommendation 3) |
In January 2024, DOE issued a revised scientific integrity policy. The policy states that the Secretary of Energy will designate one or more senior career employees as the agency's Scientific Integrity Official(s) for matters related to scientific integrity and to oversee implementation and iterative improvement of scientific integrity policies and processes across DOE. The Secretary of Energy will also designate a Chief Science Officer for DOE. The Scientific Integrity Official(s) will report to the Chief Science Officer , who will serve as principal advisor to the Secretary of Energy on scientific issues. We will continue to monitor and update status of this recommendation.
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| Department of Energy | The Secretary of Energy should develop mechanisms to regularly monitor and evaluate implementation of the department's scientific integrity policy, including mechanisms to remediate identified deficiencies and make improvements where necessary. (Recommendation 4) |
In January 2024, DOE issued a revised scientific integrity policy. The policy states that the scientific integrity officer(s), once appointed, will coordinate the development and dissemination, consistent with any requirements related to national security and privacy, as well as any other applicable law, of an annual report to DOE leadership on the status of scientific integrity within DOE. The report will include the numbers of investigations and appeals involving alleged deviations from the scientific integrity policy.
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| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should develop mechanisms to regularly monitor and evaluate implementation of the department's scientific integrity policy, including mechanisms to remediate identified deficiencies and make improvements where necessary. (Recommendation 5) |
In February 2024, DOT issued its revised scientific integrity policy. It states that DOT's scientific integrity officer, with input from the Scientific Integrity Committee, will be responsible for developing and disseminating an annual report on the status of scientific integrity within DOT. The report shall highlight scientific integrity successes and accomplishments across DOT, identify areas for improvement, and develop a plan for addressing critical weaknesses, if any. It will also include the number of formal administrative investigations, inquiries and appeals involving alleged or actual deviations from the scientific integrity policy, and the number of investigations and pending appeals.
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| National Institute of Standards and Technology | The Director of NIST should develop mechanisms to regularly monitor and evaluate implementation of the agency's scientific integrity policy, including mechanisms to remediate identified deficiencies and make improvements where necessary. (Recommendation 6) |
In its response to our report, Commerce stated that the NIST Director, beginning with FY2019, directed that NIST's Scientific Integrity Officer and Office of the Chief Counsel meet at least annually to review implementation of the NIST Scientific Integrity Policy and Order, and to evaluate and make recommendations for any improvements. This annual examination was affirmed in an October 2019 memo issued by NIST's Scientific Integrity Officer and Chief Counsel. Further, in May 2022, NIST conducted a series of interviews with key leaders across NIST and a survey of NIST staff to gauge awareness of scientific integrity policies and to identify areas for improvement. In September 2022, NIST issued a baseline scientific integrity report summarizing the findings from the interviews and survey. Among other things, NIST found that while staff believe scientific integrity is important at NIST, they are not familiar with the scientific integrity program. As a result, the report stated that NIST will conduct an awareness campaign and develop an updated training program for new and current staff. The report also stated that NIST intends to develop an evaluation plan to ensure future assessment of the scientific integrity program by the end of 2022 and that allegations of scientific integrity concerns will be included in future annual reports.
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| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | The NOAA Administrator should develop mechanisms to regularly monitor and evaluate implementation of the agency's scientific integrity policy, including mechanisms to remediate identified deficiencies and make improvements where necessary. (Recommendation 7) |
In January 2021, NOAA revised its scientific integrity policy. Among other things, the revised policy requires that the NOAA Science Council will review the policy at least every two years to ensure that it is current and effective in relation to its purpose. In September 2020, prior to the revised policy being finalized, NOAA issued a report covering the disposition of allegations of scientific integrity violations from fiscal year 2019.
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| U.S. Geological Survey | The Director of USGS should develop mechanisms to regularly monitor and evaluate implementation of the agency's scientific integrity policy, including mechanisms to remediate identified deficiencies and make improvements where necessary. (Recommendation 8) |
From September to November 2020, USGS conducted a survey of all USGS employees. This survey was intended to gauge scientific integrity policy awareness and effectiveness at the USGS, as well as to give the respondents the opportunity to provide information about key scientific integrity issues at USGS. In March 2021, USGS issued a report assessing the results of this survey. The report identified areas for improvement, such as procedures to handle allegations of breaches of scientific integrity involving high-level political officials. Both the survey and the report will continue to be issued on a biennial basis.
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| Department of Energy | The Secretary of Energy should develop documented procedures for identifying and addressing alleged violations of its scientific integrity policy. (Recommendation 9) |
In January 2024, DOE issued a revised scientific integrity policy. The policy states that the scientific integrity official(s), once appointed, will develop procedures for the reporting, evaluation, and resolution of allegations of compromised scientific integrity. These procedures will provide clear guidance on how covered personnel can report concerns and allegations of scientific integrity policy violations. We will continue to monitor and update status of this recommendation.
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| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | The Administrator of NASA should develop documented procedures for identifying and addressing alleged violations of its scientific integrity policy. (Recommendation 10) |
In May 2024, NASA's revised scientific integrity policy went into effect. The policy establishes the expectations and procedures required to maintain scientific integrity at NASA. It includes a clear set of procedures for employees to report potential scientific integrity violations and for the agency to evaluate their merit. Employees are to report any knowledge of potential violations and can do so to a range of agency officials, such as a supervisor or Scientific Integrity Officer. The Scientific Integrity Officer reviews each case and determines next steps. These could include additional fact finding, referring the case to the Office of Inspector General, or dismissing the case. The Scientific Integrity Officer, and other relevant NASA offices as needed, can take immediate action to address serious or egregious allegations. Upon conclusion of any further investigation, the Scientific Integrity Officer produces a summary report, which includes a decision on whether a violation was committed. If a violation was found, the Scientific Integrity Officer, in coordination with relevant managers, determines any needed remedies. The Scientific Integrity Officer may also lead additional agency review of these decisions in certain circumstances, such as when an appeal has been filed or when the allegation involves a high-ranking agency official such as a political appointee.
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