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The Professionalism and Integrity in Research Program: Description and Preliminary Outcomes

Lessons from researcher rehab

Staying in the Lines

The Professional Skills for Researchers Coaching Program was designed to provide professional development training to address root causes of

• Persistent noncompliance
• Serious noncompliance
• Research integrity violations that the institution does not view as cause for dismissal
• Leadership and oversight failures that contribute to the above problems

The program has been utilized in many cases when funding agencies (e.g., NIH or NSF) have issued findings of research misconduct or frozen funding for research programs, or when regulatory bodies such as the FDA have issued warning letters (e.g., FDA 483). It has also been utilized by institutions in a proactive manner when researchers demonstrate a concerning pattern of behavior that puts them and the institution at risk of disciplinary actions.

Addressing Root Causes

The Coaching Program addresses the root causes of these issues by fostering

• Good communication habits
• Evidence-based decision-making strategies
• Effective lab leadership and management practices
• Positive attitudes toward research compliance and integrity

The Program Process

The time commitment for clients is approximately 2 – 3 hours per week across an 8-week period. During this time, the client will:

• Complete all assigned activating tasks: in-depth enrollment interview, pre-assessments and a survey.
• Attend and actively participate in coaching calls (On average, there are six meetings that last one hour.)
• Complete weekly assignments and produce a professional development plan (PDP).
• Complete a post-assessment and a program evaluation.

Itemized Program Completion Reports are issued to clients and IOs stating whether they completed each of the program’s components satisfactorily or unsatisfactorily.

How Can Institutional Officials Provide Information About Clients?

A successful coaching relationship requires a clear understanding of goals. The Professional Skills for Researchers Coaching Program requires potential clients to provide us with the name and contact information of an institutional official with whom we may speak. We ask the IO to provide some background information and to identify goals for the coaching relationship. The IO does not need to state findings of guilt on any matter; we seek rather a statement of areas for improvement and to identify positive goals to achieve. While an IO may call to discuss a potential client without naming the client, simply to determine eligibility or fit with the program, to proceed with coaching we will request a formal enrollment interview and a statement of goals for the coaching relationship, and we will assume these goals have been shared with the potential client.

How Can Institutional Officials Receive Information About Clients?

Please see our policies on Confidentiality Agreement and Communication with Institutions. To summarize, when enrolling in the Professional Skills for Researchers Coaching Program, clients are required to identify an institutional official with whom we may speak. Additionally, we ask clients for permission to share the Professional Development Plan (PDP). We may not share this document without written permission. Therefore, if your institution would like to receive this, please instruct your client how to respond to the communications preferences survey.

Below is sample email text that institutional officials might use to communicate with their investigator about this matter.

Dear Dr. ___,

You have agreed to enroll in the Professional Skills for Researchers Coaching Program. A successful coaching relationship requires clarity about goals and objectives. The Coaching Program will conduct an interview with you to understand your perspective and coaching goals. The Coaching Program will also ask you to identify an institutional official with whom they may speak regarding goals for the coaching relationship.

At the conclusion of the program, you will have produced a Professional Development Plan (PDP). The Coaching Program is willing to share this document with our institution if you grant permission. We expect that you will grant permission so that we can see the professional goals that you have set for yourself and how you’re addressing the outlined institutional goals.

Please designate [name] as the institutional official who will conduct an enrollment interview and receive the PDP from the Program. Please provide their phone number [xxx-xxx-xxxx] and email address [email].

Thank you

Frequently Asked Questions

Our webpage provides general information on the Professional Skills for Researchers Coaching Program and addresses frequently asked questions. If you have further questions, please contact the Program Manager at integrity@wustl.edu.

Please Note: The Professional Skills for Researchers Coaching Program reserves the right to refuse service to a client or an institution if we believe it will not be possible to establish a productive, respectful, and safe coaching relationship.