• The Board of an affiliated institution first decides if a complaint regarding a possible violation of the principles of research integrity is justified.
• If an interested party disagrees with the Board’s (provisional) decision, they can submit a petition regarding that decision to the Official Secretary of the LOWI. A petition must be submitted to the LOWI within six weeks of the date of the Board’s (provisional) decision; in default of which the LOWI will not consider the petition. The LOWI shall also decline to consider a petition if it relates to a civil and/or administrative and/or criminal law matter or proceedings. Other grounds not to consider a petition are if a reasonably amount of time (a period of ten years) has passed since the occurrence of the alleged violation of principles of research integrity, and when the LOWI already has issued an opinion on the petition.
• The LOWI then determines whether the petition is eligible for consideration by the LOWI. Only petitions regarding a Board’s (provisional) decision are considered. These also include a Board’s written refusal to take a decision on a complaint that has been submitted regarding an alleged violation of the principles of research integrity.
• If the complaint is eligible for consideration the LOWI shall proceed to perform a procedural and substantive review of the Board’s (provisional) decision. The Board’s (provisional) decision is reviewed to determine whether – depending on the complaint – was taken with due care, both procedurally and/or substantively. When the Board’s (provisional) decision consists of a refusal to hear a claim because of the limitation period has expired, the LOWI will determine if – based on the institutions complaints regulations – the refusal is well- founded.
• The LOWI then issues an opinion to the Board of an affiliated institution regarding possible violations of principles of research integrity, in which respect the LOWI’s advice may include a recommendation regarding the necessity of a particular sanction if the opinion confirms that the principles of research integrity have been violated.
• The complainant receives a copy of the opinion from the LOWI submitted to the Board, as will other interested parties.
• During the review procedure all parties involved are subject to a duty of confidentiality with regard to all information submitted by interested parties about the case.
• After the Board has issued its final decision the LOWI requests interested parties to exercise restraint as not to harm the scientific reputation of the defendant; particularly in case of an unfounded complaint.
• The opinions of the LOWI are published anonymously on the LOWI-website. Short summaries of the opinions are available in English, as is information regarding the regulations of the LOWI-procedure.

The Chair of the LOWI is frequently asked to organize workshops and presentations on research integrity for students and PhD students.

The Chair of the LOWI and some its members are involved in promoting research integrity by attending panels and participating in discussions at universities regarding this issue.

We offer workshops and lectures for research departments and conferences and are involved in a course on research integrity for PhD-students. We also organize activities on education on research integrity. In 2016 our first seminar on education addressed designing a reference curriculum, a template for casuistry, reaching all layers of academia with RI education, and sharing experiences with teaching an training. On our website we offer (links to) teaching materials. In 2016 a group of interns complied a collection of fragments of fiction movies to use in education.

NRIN aims to supply information on a broad variety of research integrity related topics on the NRIN website. Registered participants in NRIN receive occasional newsletters with recent developments, upcoming events and member reviews of a variety of materials.

NRIN enables sharing of experiences, exchange of knowledge and materials, mutual learning and intervision for several audiences. We do this in both open and closed meetings. Closed meetings are for example for confidential counsellors and ombudsmen, or for chairs of research integrity investigation committees. Open meetings include e.g. our research conference and education seminar.