Any individual or organisation may submit an allegation of research misconduct to the research institution where the research in question has been carried out. The institution will then review the case to see if it concerns research misconduct or questionable research practice as defined in the law. If it is a case of research misconduct and the following conditions are met, the institution must forward the case to the DBRM with a report on the facts of the case:

1. The allegation must relate to a scientific product, for example a scientific paper, a Ph.D. thesis or similar.
2. The allegation must relate to a researcher having contributed to the scientific product in question.
3. The allegations put forward must concern research misconduct. Questions about scientific disagreements, the quality of research and questionable research practice is outside the mandate of the DBRM.
4. The allegations put forward are reasoned by the complainant.

Workflow:

When a case is forwarded to the DBRM and falls within the Board’s mandate an investigation is initiated based on the report of the research institution.

The person alleged to have committed research misconduct will always be given the chance to comment on the material in the case before a decision is made by the Board.

The DBRM may during the investigation request further information from the persons and institutions involved and others and the DBRM may ask external experts for specific advice.

DBRM’s decisions are sent directly to the person alleged to have committed research misconduct and to the institution involved in the case. Decisions are also made available in anonymous form on a web page. Decisions by the DBRM cannot be appealed to any other administrative body

Neither the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science nor the DBRM undertake training, however the Agency facilitates an exchange of experience between the various research institutions as part of the Agency’s promotion of research integrity

The promotion of research integrity at the national level in Denmark is handled by the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science under the Ministry of Higher Education and Science. The Ministry aims at maintaining the high quality of Danish research by focusing on strengthening and further developing the credibility and integrity of the research carried out in Denmark. This is primarily done through policymaking – e.g. the Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity – and facilitating network meetings with the key stakeholders in Danish research.

The Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity provides the research community with a framework to promote commonly agreed principles and
standards. The Code of Conduct aims to support a common understanding and common culture of research integrity in Denmark.

The DBRM is not tasked with the direct promotion of research integrity in Denmark. The DBRM contribute to strengthen the credibility of Danish research and to prevent research misconduct through the investigation of allegations concerning research misconduct.