Overview
The LBG Ethics & Diversity Hub is an interdisciplinary platform bringing together expertise on Research Ethics and Integrity, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from across the organization.
LBG Research Ethics Committee
The LBG Research Ethics committee (REC) provides formal ethical review for all non-biomedical research with human participants. With core expertise in social science and applied ethics, it draws on a network of internal and external subject experts to cover a wide range of topics in conventional and participatory research. The committee has existed for two years and was opened to external applicants in 2024.
The LBG REC is committed to international research ethics standards including but not limited to
- The Nuremberg Code
- The European Commission Code of Ethics for Social Science and Humanities
- Guidance by the Committee on Publication Ethics
The REC is open to
LBG researchers whose research is NOT required by Austrian law to be assessed by a REC for clinical/biomedical research and who wish to submit their project for review on a voluntary basis.
Find out if your project is legally required to be assessed by a biomedical REC.
Why should I get ethics review if not required by law?
Researchers from other institutions from within and outside Austria who
- do not have access to a REC at their home institution or whose REC has declared the research outside its remit, and
- are not required by the law of their home country to apply to a national REC.
For both groups, before making an application, we kindly ask that you confirm with your home institution that it cannot/will not review your project and wherever possible, submit written evidence of this with your application.
How to apply
Please download the application form here. Once you have completed all relevant sections, please submit the form alongside all relevant documentation (consent forms, participant information, study protocol, questionnaire…) to erp@yot.np.ng
How does the review process work?
If you require support in completing the form please contact us at the above email address.
Consultation and Support
The Hub provides advice and support in the following areas:
Research Ethics: we can help plan and implement all ethical aspects of your research, at all stages of the project lifecycle: research design, methodology, REC review, data collection and analysis, and dissemination. Whether you are planning to submit to a funding call or just want to make sure that your project is up to the highest ethical standards, we are happy to answer all your questions big or small. You can also download templates for Informed Consent and other ethics documentation here.
Research Ethics for participatory research: In collaboration with experts from the LBG OIS Center, we can provide specific advice on ethical aspects of participatory research, Citizen Science and PPIE.
Research Integrity: good scientific practice also involves questions of integrity, such as conflict of interest, publication ethics or foreign interference. Our expertise is informed by the standards of the Committee for Publication Ethics (COPE) and Hub members are actively involved in current policy debates on handling retractions, AI use in scientific research and publishing, and good conduct within the scientific community.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: we can advise on developing and implementing Diversity initiatives both within research institutions and teams, and within specific research projects. Next to gender equity, our team have expertise in conventional and participatory research with vulnerable groups, accessibility, culturally sensitive research, and neurodiversity.
Simply email your query to rguvpfuho@yot.np.ng or arrange for an online consultation with one of our experts.
Events
Upcoming Webinars
x
Research Ethics Fundamentals: Beyond Compliance
Sept 11th 13:00-14:00
Presenter: Steph Grohmann
Language: English
Research ethics isn’t just about following rules – it’s about designing research that genuinely serves participants and advances knowledge. We’ll explore how ethical thinking strengthens research quality and impact, and examine Austria’s unique position to lead ethical innovation in European research.
Registration link: tbc
x
Research Integrity in Practice: Real Cases, Real Solutions
Oct 09th 13:00-14:00
Presenter: Steph Grohmann
Language: English
Learning from research integrity challenges can help to build stronger practices. We’ll analyze significant cases of research misconduct and transform these lessons into practical tools for safeguarding your research. Interactive format with real-world applications.
Registration link: tbc
x
AI as Research Partner: Ethical Opportunities Beyond the Uncertainty
Nov 13th 13:00-14:00
Presenter: Steph Grohmann
Language: English
AI is creating considerable uncertainty in research – but also unprecedented opportunities. Discover how AI can enhance ethical research practices, from improving consent processes to detecting hidden biases. Moving beyond fear toward informed innovation.
Registration link: tbc
x
The Future of Peer Review: How AI Can Strengthen Academic Integrity
Dec 11th 13:00-14:00
Presenter: Steph Grohmann
Language: English
Peer review faces mounting challenges in the digital age. Explore emerging approaches that make review more effective, equitable, and efficient – with AI as a tool for strengthening rather than replacing human judgment. Workshop format with practical examples.
Registration link: tbc
x
Knowledge Valorisation between Innovation and Conflicts of Interest
Jan 15th 13:00-14:00
Presenter: Steph Grohmann
Language: English
Researchers are encouraged to collaborate with industry to ensure impact and applicability. Studies show, however, that industry participation can bias research results. We discuss how to ethically navigate an increasingly industry-driven funding landscape.
Registration link: tbc
x
Ethics in the Digital Age: Data, Privacy, and Human Dignity
Feb 12th 13:00-14:00
Presenter: Steph Grohmann
Language: English
Digital research presents complex ethical challenges requiring new frameworks and solutions. Navigate data protection, online consent, and digital rights with practical tools designed for contemporary research environments.
Registration link: tbc
x
x
Research
Inclusion Health
Project Lead: Steph Grohmann; Project staff: Adis Šerifović, (past) Caroline Hammoutene, Laura Soyer
Inclusion Health is an ongoing program focused on developing knowledge and methods for participatory health research with vulnerable and marginalized populations. Vulnerable groups such as people experiencing homelessness, refugees and asylum seekers, individuals with harmful substance use, or those leaving care facilities, prisons, or psychiatric institutions, experience significantly worse health outcomes than the average person and have complex health needs.
At the same time, these groups are often described as “hard to reach” in health research because conventional recruitment and participation methods fail to address their specific needs. The Inclusion Health team is therefore developing outreach-based participation and engagement methods to combat health inequalities and make participatory health research accessible to all members of society.
Project Milestones:
2022: Inclusion Health takes off
The Inclusion Health (IH) program is established by members of the LBG Open Innovation in Science Center. In its first year, the team conducts a stakeholder consultation involving individuals with lived experience of social exclusion, experts from the health and social care sectors, and researchers from various disciplines, in order to define research priorities and identify areas for development. The Inclusion Health team becomes a member of ProEthics.
2023: Inclusion Health goes on tour
The results of our stakeholder consultation are shared at various international conferences and workshops. The Inclusion Health team establishes a collaboration with the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Homelessness and Inclusion Health. Team members participate in professional training in Edinburgh and travel to Scotland in September 2023 to connect with and learn from experts in Inclusion Health across various health and social care fields.
2024:#uplift: Inclusion Health goes Fashion Week: The team struck up a collaboration with ThinkKallerful, Caritas and Vienna Fashion Week to raise awareness of health inequities the unconventional way – via fashion!
People donating clothing to charity often believe that it will be directly passed on to vulnerable recipients. However, often the clothes do not meet the target group’s needs. We therefore tasked 13 local designers with transforming donations to the Carla Läden into new fashion creations and showed them on the runway at Vienna Fashion Week! All proceeds went to Caritas Gruft.
Press coverage: Der Standard, ORF Wien Heute, Wiener Online
Video of the show: YouTube
x
ProEthics
Project Lead: Steph Grohmann; Project staff: Adis Šerifović, Caroline Hammoutene
As part of our Inclusion Health program, we were part of the Horizin 2020 funded ProEthics-consortium, which developed a research ethics framework for funders who evaluate participatory research. Our experts contributed knowledge on participatory research with vulnerable and marginalised groups and participated in a variety of international knowledge exchange activities such as the Connect-Collaborate-Create International Conference in Paris 2023.
PRO-Ethics: Ethics Framework and Guidlines
Wiarda, M., Giannelos, K., Schuerz, S., Reber, B., Doorn, N. DOI-Link
The ProEthics Inclusion Health Pilot:
ProEthics-OIS-Center_PPT_crossover-event_sg
x
Health Literacy: Empowerment through Participation
Project Lead: Adis Šerifović
Adis’ doctoral research at Vienna Medical University , supervised by Ap. Prof. Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Dr. scient. med. Igor Grabovac, The Community Health Lab (Grabovac Group), investigates the intersections of discrimination, empowerment, and participation within the health sciences, with particular attention to the effects of discrimination on health literacy among members of the Muslim community in Austria. The study examines how experiences of discrimination may impede access to health information and constrain individuals’ involvement in health-related decision-making processes. It underscores the pivotal role of active participation in fostering inclusion within health policy frameworks. Findings and insights generated through this research are being disseminated on a continuous basis.
Materials
Materials and Resources (Open Access)
Introduction to Research Ethics Webinar (English)
Introduction to research ethics_webinar 250924 (ppt); Introduction to research ethics_webinar 250924 (PDF)
Publication Ethics Webinar (English)
Publication Ethics webinar_270624 (ppt); Publication Ethics_webinar 270624 (PDF)
Introduction to Research Integrity Webinar (English)
Introduction to research integrity webinar_180624 (ppt); Introduction to research integrity webinar_180624 (PDF)
Ethik in der nicht-klinischen Gesundheitsforschung Webinar (German)
Ethik in der nicht-klinischen Gesundheitsforschung (ppt); Ethik in der nicht-klinischen Gesundheitsforschung (PDF)
Was ist Forschungsethik? Eine kurze Geschichte der Ethik (verstöße) in der Forschung (German)
Was ist Forschungsethik- eine kurze Geschichte der Ethik(verstöße) in der Forschung (ppt);Was ist Forschungsethik- eine kurze Geschichte der Ethik(verstöße) in der Forschung (PDF)
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in der Gesundheitsforschung Webinar (German)
DEI_Serifovic_Webinar (ppt);DEI_Serifovic_Webinar (PDF)
Principles for Equitable Participatory Research (English)
Principles for equitable participatory research (ppt); Principles for equitable participatory research (PDF)
Barriers to participation in Mental Health Research (English): A short introduction to barriers to participation in research for marginalized groups, especially in the mental health field
Barriers to participation in mental health research (ppt);Barriers to participation in mental health research (PDF)
Mini Ethics Checklist for PPIE and participatory research (English): A very quick guide to ethical considerations when planning participatory research
Mini ethics checklist for PPIE and participatory research (ppt);Mini ethics checklist for PPIE and participatory research (PDF)
Ethics in PPIE and participatory research (English): An introduction to research ethics in PPIE (patient and public involvement and engagement) and participatory research
Ethics in PPIE and participatory research(ppt); Ethics in PPIE and participatory research(PDF)
Ethics in Research: Principles (English, with audio): A full lecture introducing the basic principles of research ethics, with audio (click the speaker icon)
Ethics in Research_Principles(ppt) 2.pptx;Ethics in Research_Principles(PDF)
Introduction to Homeless and Inclusion Health (English): An introduction to Inclusion Health, multiple and complex health care needs, and the role of housing injustice for health inequities
Homeless and Inclusion Health Intro I (ppt);Homeless and Inclusion Health Intro I (PDF)
Homelessness and Mental Health (English): A lecture on mental health issues affecting people experiencing homelessness
Homelessness and mental health (ppt); Homelessness and mental health (PDF)
Inclusion Health: Gesundheit für extrem marginalisierte Personengruppen (German): An introduction to extreme health inequities and Inclusion Health, in German
Inclusion Health_Gesundheit für extrem marginalisierte Personengruppen(ppt);Inclusion Health_Gesundheit für extrem marginalisierte Personengruppen(PDF)
Contact
Interested in learning more or getting involved? Get in touch: rguvpfuho@yot.np.ng
Team:
Mag. Steph Grohmann MSc PhD
Head of Ethics & Diversity Hub, Senior Program Manager Ethics & Integrity, Head of LBG Ethics Committee
Steph Grohmann is a medical anthropologist with a background in social care who obtained her doctorate at Goldsmiths, University of London. She has over a decade experience in research on health inequities, the anthropology of ethics, and applied ethics in health- and social care, and has taught a wide range of postgraduate courses in qualitative methods and research ethics for a range of health-related fields. Before joining LBG, Steph has worked at the universities of London, Oxford and Edinburgh.
Adis Šerifović BA MA
Project Manager Inclusion, Open Innovation in Science Center, PhD student, Vienna Medical University
Adis Šerifović works as a Project Manager for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the LBG OIS Center and is also a PhD student in Applied Medical Sciences at the Medical University of Vienna. After studying Social Work, he gained extensive experience in participatory research with a special focus on engaging vulnerable and marginalized groups. His doctoral research concerns the conceptualization of health literacy and its interpretation in underserved populations.
b. Adis Šerifović works as a Project Manager for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the LBG OIS Center and is also a PhD student in Applied Medical Sciences at the Medical University of Vienna.
FAQ
-
Is my project legally required to be assessed by a clinical REC?
The Austrian Ministry of Science informs that “research concerning the clinical evaluation of medications and medical products, the application of novel medical methods and applied medical research on human participants” is legally required to be reviewed by a biomedical REC as specified in § 8c Kranken- und Kuranstaltengesetz des Bundes (KAKuG) and § 30 Universitätsgesetz 2002 (UG). This kind of REC is usually found at medical universities and research hospitals, in some cases there is also a regional REC (Landesethikkommission).
This means that if your project involves biomedical research (such as a clinical trial or any kind of medical intervention including the evaluation of medications, medical devices or medical techniques), you are required by law to seek approval from a REC. If you are in doubt which REC is responsible for your project, we may be able to help you find out.
If your project is in the medical/health field but does not involve biomedical/clinical research (such as a patient survey or interview study, observations on health- and social care contexts, or qualitative sub-elements of a clinical trial), you will not normally be legally required to have it reviewed. The same applies if your research is outside the biomedical field, e.g. social scientific or empirical humanities research.
However, since research involving human participants (especially vulnerable populations) is never entirely free of ethical risks, the Ministry of Science and we recommend you consider applying for voluntary ethical review.
-
Why should I get ethics review if not required by law?
The legal requirement to have biomedical research with human participants reviewed by a REC is a minimum standard to ensure that the health, safety and dignity of research participants is not compromised, and that mandatory international standards of ethical research practice such as Informed Consent and Respect for Persons are adhered to. These standards have been formulated in response to historical human rights violations especially in (but not limited to) medical research, and are codified in a range of documents such as:
Non-biomedical research is often seen to carry a lower risk for human participants. In Austria, ethical review in social science, law and the humanities is therefore voluntary. However, this does not mean that non-biomedical research is entirely risk-free.
Especially research on sensitive topics such as mental and physical illness, political persecution or social deprivation can cause participants considerable distress, and in some cases, profound harm. This especially applies to vulnerable populations, such as minors, patients or incarcerated people.
However, researchers too carry risks in neglecting ethical aspects of research: for example, lack of informed consent documentation may prevent a study from obtaining funding or from being published in a leading international journal, and in some cases, may even lead to a study having to be retracted.
Moreover, good scientific practice also involves conscientiousness about power differentials in the research process, questions of confidentiality and/or attribution of research results, fair compensation, transparent complaints procedures, and many more.
Leading international research institutions therefore most often operate a compulsory internal REC review policy. While in Austria, this is not (yet) everywhere the case, there is a growing awareness that even if ethical oversight is voluntary, that does not mean it is optional.
-
How does the LBG ethics review process work?
In the first instant, we recommend that you contact us at rguvpfuho@yot.np.ng to discuss your project and any questions you may have on how to put together your application. If you are sure you have all necessary information, please download our application form.
Once you have completed all relevant sections, please submit the form alongside all relevant documentation (consent forms, participant information, study protocol, questionnaire…) to erp@yot.np.ng.
When your application reaches us, it will be reviewed by one or several members of the REC, depending on the nature and field of the research and the level of ethical risk involved (e.g. does the research involve minors or people unable to give consent, is there a high likelihood of the research causing distress., etc.). Where necessary, the REC may seek an opinion from a subject expert from within LBG to discuss specific aspects of the research.
We aim to process applications within two weeks. For more complex research design or where there is a requirement for substantial amendments, this period may be extended.
Once assessment is complete, there will be one of three outcomes:
- The REC can provide a positive opinion: the project has been found to be ethically sound.
- The REC requests amendments: the project has been found to be principle ethically sound but requires certain changes/additional documentation to receive a positive opinion. In this case, you will be able to supply an amended application as soon as you are able.
- The REC is unable to provide a positive opinion: the project has fundamental ethical flaws that cannot be amended though changes or additional documentation.
Once your project has received a positive opinion, you will be issued with a letter stating this which you may use as proof of review in funding applications or for publication purposes.
Please note that the REC only issues ethical opinions. They do not constitute legal or medical advice, and do not imply any kind of instruction, directive or order. LBG employees who receive an opinion from the REC are encouraged to discuss its implications with their line manager.