New review framework for third-party collaborations UvA coming up
The updated, comprehensive assessment framework with which the UvA will assess its external collaborations is just about ready. Before the Christmas break, it will be submitted to the participation council for advice. Guest lectureships, internships or joint papers will not be considered institutional collaborations.
Among other things, the new review framework should prevent education and research from contributing to human rights violations, the misuse of knowledge for unwanted military purposes or serious damage to the environment. Until now, the review framework only covered cooperation with fossil industry and knowledge security.
The new review framework contains a comprehensive questionnaire, taking into account the subject of the research or teaching, the application, the partner and the geopolitical situation.
Collaborations reviewed as potentially controversial based on this questionnaire must be submitted to the External Party Collaboration Advisory Committee. At present, no new research and education collaborations will be initiated with countries in war situations and where human rights violations may take place, until the review framework has been established and can be applied.
The intention is that from January 2025 all new collaborations can then be reviewed against the new framework. Existing collaborations that may be controversial will also be reviewed.
Exceptions
The Advisory Committee focuses on institutional collaborations: research within consortia (such as Horizon 2020), student exchanges and collaborations with companies. A joint paper, a presentation at a conference, a guest lecturer or internship do not count as institutional collaborations. The review framework is also the yardstick against which three current issues are assessed: the student exchange with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the cooperation with the Chinese Scholarship Council and student exchanges with universities in Hungary. The opinion on these three collaborations will be finalised shortly.
