About the commission
The commission shall be a national resource for institutions, companies or others commissioning research to deal with cases of research misconduct, and a supplement to local treatment apparatus.
According to the research ethics act (Lov om organisering av forskningsetisk arbeid) the research institutions have the main responsibility for research integrity. The institutions shall promote good and ethically responsible science, and treat cases concerning possible misconduct.
The National commission for the investigation of research misconduct (Granskingsutvalget) was initially established in accordance with the first Norwegian research ethics act (2006) and started its work in 2007. According to the resent research ethics act (2017), the commission shall guide the research institutions on how to handle cases on research misconduct. The research institutions shall also report to the commission on the handling of all misconduct cases.
Appeals body
The commission acts as the appeals body in cases where the institutions conclude with scientific misconduct. It can also initiate investigations on its own initiative. Statements from Granskingsutvalget are final and cannot be appealed.
Statements
The Commission gives public statements in misconduct cases that are made available through our webpage (Norwegian only).
Cooperation
The commission cooperates closely with the national research ethics committees NEM, NENT and NESH, both to prevent and inform about scientific misconduct.
The Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees are offering a number of resources available to the research institutions and researchers.
Granskingsutvalget also cooperates with other national and international partners.
Annual reports
Up to 2014 and as of 2018, the Commission has published separate annual reports. From 2015 to 2017 the Commission’s reporting was included in the joint annual reports from The Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees.
All the annual reports are available online (Norwegian only).
Members 2022-2025
Irene Vanja Dahl (Chair), professor at the Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea, UiT The Arctic University of Norway (UiT)
Jan Gunnar Bjålie (Deputy Chair), professor at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo (UiO)
Nina Johannesen, associate professor at the Faculty of Education, Østfold University College (HIOF)
Jette Kofoed, associate professor at the Danish School of Education, Aarhus University
Anne Ingeborg Myhr (2022-2023), director at GenØk – Centre for Biosafety
Ida Skaar, senior researcher at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute
John-Arne Skolbekken, professor at the Department of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Markus Hoel Lie, professor at the Faculty of Law, UiT The Arctic University of Norway (UiT)
Biplab Kumar Datta (Lay member), Director of Innovation, NILU – Norwegian Institute for Air Research
May-Brith Ohman Nielsen (Deputy member), professor of history, The University of Agder (UiA)
Geir Sverre Braut (Deputy member), community medicine specialist, Senior Adviser at Stavanger University Hospital, Professor II at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL)