Until now research integrity has mainly focused on improving research as applied by universities and research centers, i.e., by publicly funded research performing organisations. While this is a good start, we should not forget that such organisations are located very upstream in the process of innovation and policymaking, the outputs of which directly affect societies. As a result, while the principles of research integrity have been captured in many ways and there seems to be a general agreement about them, it is not clear how their positive influence applies to the translation of research to innovation and policymaking. A previous study that focused on innovation, conducted in the context of the 6^th WCRI, revealed that a wider framework of principles may be needed, as well as that additional considerations warrant exploration. The 8^th WCRI in Athens has the ambition to continue this study and extend our knowledge of how research integrity can be applied to innovation and policymaking, including the perspectives and roles of industry and policymakers on trust in research and innovation processes. The time seems ripe to initiate a discussion between researchers from all academic disciplines, research integrity practitioners, decision-makers in SMEs and industry, and policymakers that will highlight research integrity as an enabler of trustworthy technology and social innovation. This discussion will take place during the two Focus Track sessions, the outputs of which will be used to enrich the draft “Athens Statement”, the final version of which aims to reflect the opinions and visions of the participants.

Note: The Focus Track activities are part of a larger study and co-creation exercise that was initiated at the end of 2023, the main phases of which are depicted in the diagram below and will culminate in the “Athens Statement”.

Core group:

• Panagiotis Kavouras, Senior Researcher, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece.
• Daniel Barr, Principal Research Integrity Advisor, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
• Eleni Spyrakou, Senior Researcher, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece.
• Maura Hiney, Adjunct Professor, UCD Institute for Discovery.