Institutionalizing European Research Area Principles in Georgian Universities through Research Ethics Governance

Abstract

Introduction: Research ethics is an important component of responsible research governance within the European Research Area (ERA). This study examines how, and to what extent, ERA-related expectations concerning ethical research are formally translated into research ethics governance in Georgian universities. Methodology: The study uses comparative qualitative document analysis of seven institutional instruments that regulate research ethics, including research ethics council or committee regulations, biomedical ethics regulations, research ethics standards, and related institutional ethics provisions. A Research Ethics Governance Assessment Framework is applied across five dimensions: normative ethical alignment; institutional responsibility and authority; governance positioning and independence; ethical review and procedural capacity; and accountability, transparency, and oversight. Results: The documents show broad convergence around participant dignity and autonomy, informed consent, confidentiality, risk assessment, researcher responsibility, impartial review, and protection of vulnerable participants. Greater variation concerns the organizational authority and independence of ethics bodies, continuing review and monitoring, committee training, quality assurance, reporting, and appeals. Conclusions: The selected Georgian universities demonstrate substantive but uneven institutionalization of research ethics governance. The findings concern only the research ethics arrangements evidenced in the analyzed documents and do not assess each university’s wider research-integrity system, which may be governed through separate instruments.