FAQ: Statement by the Ethics Committee
1. When do I need an ethics committee statement when submitting a proposal to the DFG?
The DFG’s Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice refer to the responsibility that researchers bear as a result of the freedom of research (Guideline 10): “Researchers (...) comply with rights and obligations, particularly those arising from legal requirements and contracts with third parties, and where necessary seek approvals and ethics statements and present these when required. With regard to research projects, the potential consequences of the research should be evaluated in detail and the ethical aspects should be assessed.”
Based on subject-specific ethical guidelines, criteria have become established in the scientific disciplines and subject areas for determining which projects require consultation with an ethics committee. The following information, broken down by scientific disciplines and subject areas, indicates which projects require a statement by an ethics committee when submitting a proposal to the DFG.
As a general rule, this information applies to proposals under all DFG funding programmes in which funding is sought for a specific research project (e.g. Research Grants Programme, the Emmy Noether Programme, projects in Priority Programmes, Research Units, Collaborative Research Centres, etc.). An ethics committee statement is generally not required for proposals that do not relate to a specific research project of this kind (e.g. the Heisenberg Programme without a research grant, Scientific Networks, Research Training Groups and Research Impulses).
If you are unsure whether your project requires a statement by an ethics committee or not, please contact the relevant programme division.
a) Information on proposals in the life sciences
For research projects in the life sciences, a statement by an ethics committee must always be obtained if the proposed research involves human participants, human biological material or identifiable personal data.
b) Information on proposals in psychology
The following information applies to psychological studies and, by extension, to comparable studies in related subject areas such as research on teaching and learning or psycholinguistics.
In general, the aim of obtaining a statement by an ethics committee is to review the basic precautions taken to minimise any risk to subjects and assess the balance between the benefits and risks involved in the study.
A statement by an ethics committee must be obtained for psychological research projects:
- if the subjects are expected to take risks, if the study involves a high level of (physical or emotional) stress and/or if the subjects are not to be fully informed as to the aims and procedures of the study;
- in the case of studies involving patients;
- if (f)MRI and electrical or magnetic stimulation (e.g. TMS) are to be used;
- in the case of psychopharmacological studies. If substances within the meaning of the German Medicinal Products Act (AMG) are to be used in the planned project, the applicants are additionally obliged to familiarise themselves with the statutory provisions.
c) Information on proposals in the social sciences, humanities and engineering sciences
In these subject areas and scientific disciplines, a statement by an ethics committee must generally be submitted if patients are involved in the study or if material taken from humans is used.
In the following cases, it may be necessary to obtain an ethics committee statement in addition to providing information in the proposal:
- The study involves individuals who are considered to have particular protection needs (“vulnerable groups”), such as people with limited capacity to consent.
- The study and the material used are liable to trigger strong emotions, severe psychological stress or traumatic experiences going beyond everyday experience among participants (interviewees, informants, project staff, researchers and research subjects).
- The study entails physical risks for participants or causes physical pain.
- Potential participants are not to be informed about the study.
- Potential participants are not to be informed about the possible risks of participation and measures to prevent harm.
- Participation in the study involves deception (e.g. in laboratory experiments).
- The study exposes participants (interviewees, informants, project staff, researchers and research subjects) to particular risks (such as social risks, risks of criminal or civil liability, financial loss, professional disadvantage or reputational damage; or risks due to a difficult security situation in the area where the study is conducted).
2. What information about ethics committee statements and the ethical aspects of my research project do I need to provide when submitting a proposal?
When submitting a proposal to the DFG, you undertake (in Section A of the proposal under Proposal Data and Obligations) to comply with the relevant subject-specific research ethics guidelines in your project and to have checked whether these guidelines require you to obtain a statement by an ethics committee.
In the Proposal Preparation Instructions ((interner Link)), Section 4.1.1 General ethical aspects, you then state the outcome of this assessment, i.e. whether or not your research project requires a statement by an ethics committee. You are also asked to explain whether any risks or burdens for individuals involved in the research process are to be expected in carrying out your planned research project and how you intend to address these in the project.
In individual cases, the DFG Head Office may arrive at a different assessment from you on the question of whether or not an ethics committee statement is required. If so, we will inform you and ask you to obtain an ethics committee statement.
If a statement is required, you undertake to obtain it in good time before a funding decision is made on the proposal and to inform the relevant contact person at the DFG Head Office without delay if the ethics committee raises substantive concerns or does not approve the project on ethical grounds.
3. Do I need to submit the ethics committee statement with my proposal?
As a general rule, ethics committee statements do not have to be submitted to the DFG. The DFG trusts that, if an ethics committee statement is required for your project, you will fulfil your obligation (see question 2) and apply for one at an early stage.
Please note that you must inform the relevant contact person at the DFG Head Office without delay if the ethics committee raises substantive concerns or does not approve the project on ethical grounds.
In individual cases, after submitting your proposal you may be asked to provide the DFG with the ethics committee statement obtained for your project.
4. What do I need to bear in mind regarding ethics committee statements in connection with projects conducted abroad and collaborative projects involving international partners?
For proposals involving projects that are to be carried out wholly or partly abroad (including collaborative projects under the WEAVE Lead Agency Procedure, for example), you must check whether the subject-specific research ethics guidelines require a statement by the competent ethics committee in Germany and whether an ethics committee in the relevant partner country also needs to be involved. The DFG can only fund projects that comply with the applicable research ethics standards in Germany. For this reason, a statement issued by an ethics committee in the partner country cannot replace a statement covering the entire project issued by the competent ethics committee in Germany.
Here again, the statement by the German ethics committee does not generally have to be submitted to the DFG.
5. Where can I apply for an ethics committee statement?
Your institution’s ethics committee should always be your first point of contact.
The German Data Forum (RatSWD) provides an (externer Link).
The German Psychological Society (DGPs) provides an (externer Link).
If there is no locally available ethics committee responsible for the relevant discipline, applicants may alternatively be able to request a statement to be issued by the ethics committee established by the relevant scholarly society or by an umbrella organisation of ethics committees.
Psychologists may be able to contact the (externer Link), for example, while linguists may be able to contact the (externer Link).
Applicants in the engineering sciences may find it helpful to consult the list of committees for ethics in security-relevant research provided by the Joint Committee on the Handling of Security-Relevant Research: (externer Link).
6. What formal requirements must an ethics committee statement meet?
- The statement must be unequivocally positive, i.e. it must not impose any substantive conditions. Please inform the relevant contact person at the DFG Head Office without delay if the ethics committee raises substantive concerns about your project or does not approve the project on ethical grounds.
- The statement must clearly relate to the project proposal submitted.
- The statement should be up to date, i.e. as a rule no more than two years old.
7. Can I apply to the DFG for funding to cover the cost of having an ethics committee statement issued?
No. As a general rule, funding to cover costs incurred in obtaining an ethics committee statement cannot be applied for or funded by the DFG.