concordat on openness on animal research concordat on openness on animal research the concordat on openness on animal research is a uk initiative of scientific organizations, funders and providers who directly carry out, or whose members or beneficiaries carry out animal research. it is a pledge by signatory organizations to offer the public greater information about research that involves animals. the concordat on openness on animal research in the uk was established in 2014 to provide "measurable steps" for researchers that use animals in the uk, to talk openly about their work. it is part of the uk biomedical community's "openness agenda", which encourages researchers and technical staff who work in animal testing or research to talk openly about why their work is important to them. at its launch, the concordat on openness' authors said that signatory organizations should "provide accurate descriptions of the benefits, harms and limitations of research, be realistic about the potential outputs of such research and be open about its impact on animal welfare and the ethical considerations involved". signatories are strongly encouraged to offer access to their animal research facilities to journalists, mps, and local school, patient and community groups and are required to have public-facing webpages that describe their relationship to the use of animals in scientific research, and state why they feel their practices are justified. ideally, if they use animals in research within their own organization the webpages will state how many they use in a year and how they ensure that their animals are well-cared for. many also explain uk regulations and practices that govern how animals in science are protected as well as highlighting their own areas of research. background in 2012 a uk opinion poll showed that two thirds of people did not trust the regulations that protected the animals used in science, and half did not feel sufficiently informed on the subject. a concerned group of uk research organizations including universities, medical research charities and government research institutes that use animals in scientific research they would address the lack of public communication about the use of animals in bio-medical research. the group developed a "concordat" to outline measurable steps that organizations could take to be more open with the public about how and why animals are used in scientific research. it is one of several uk higher education research related concordats, supported by uk research and innovation (ukri), alongside the concordat for career development of researchers, the concordat to support research integrity, the concordat on open research data and the concordat on engaging the public with research. the wording of the concordat on openness and accompanying guidance was developed by governance groups chaired by geoff watts and wendy jarrett. in drafting the concordat these groups looked to the public, the scientific community and journalists to find out what steps needed to be taken an what openness meant to them. the concordat on openness on animal research in the uk was signed by 72 signatory organizations when it launched in 2014, and contains four commitments: we will be clear about when, how and why we use animals in research we will enhance our communications with the media and the public about our research using animals we will be proactive in providing opportunities for the public to find out about research using animals we will report on progress annually and share our experiences adherence to the four commitments is voluntary and self-reported by signatories annually. the information they provide is compiled into annual reports. since 2016 it has been mandatory for all signatories are required to have publicly accessible information about how, when and why they use animals in research on their websites. the uk's change in approach to communicating about animals in research, and the information available to the public about how animals are used in research has been noted around the world, with calls to develop similar initiatives in the usa and in australia and new zealand. critics say that the "openness" championed by the concordat on openness is too selective to make a real difference, champions the status quo, and does not do enough to challenge the practices of organizations that use animals in research or hold them to account. signatories universities organisation link to 'concordat' policy on animals in research aberystwyth university https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/media/departmental/rbi/staff-students/ethics/experimental-work-involving-animals-at-aberystwyth-university-en-v-2.pdfkwork aston university https://www2.aston.ac.uk/research/research-strategy-and-policy/arrive-guidelines-for-use-of-animals-in-medical-research brunel university https://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/administration/governance-and-university-committees/animal-research-at-brunel cardiff university http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/our-research-environment/integrity-and-ethics/animal-research durham university https://www.dur.ac.uk/research.office/research.governance/research.ethics/involving.animals/statement/ imperial college london http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-integrity/animal-research/ king's college london https://www.kcl.ac.uk/innovation/research/corefacilities/bsu/index.aspx london school of hygiene and tropical medicine http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/animalresearch/ newcastle university https://www.ncl.ac.uk/research/researchgovernance/animal/ open university http://www.open.ac.uk/research/ethics/animal-research plymouth university https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/animals queen mary university of london http://www.qmul.ac.uk/research/statements/# queens university belfast http://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/animalresearch/ robert gordon university https://www.rgu.ac.uk/research/university-research-policies/research-involving-animals royal veterinary college http://www.rvc.ac.uk/research/about/animals-in-research st georges university of london http://www.sgul.ac.uk/research/openness-in%20animal-research/1638-openness-in-animal-research#how-many-animals-do-you-use swansea university https://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/research-integrity-ethics-governance/research-ethics/ ulster university http://biomed.science.ulster.ac.uk/research-institute/animals-in-research/university-principles/ university college london http://www.ucl.ac.uk/animal-research university of central lancashire https://www.uclan.ac.uk/research/environment/integrity.php university of aberdeen https://www.abdn.ac.uk/staffnet/documents/policy-zone-research-and-knowledge-exchange/university_of_aberdeen_-_statement_on_use_of_animals_in_research.pdf university of bath http://www.bath.ac.uk/research/pdf/ethics/animalresearchwebamendedmay07.pdf university of birmingham http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/bmsu/index.aspx university of bradford https://www.bradford.ac.uk/governance/policies-and-statements/ university of brighton https://www.brighton.ac.uk/foi/publication-scheme/university-information/index.aspx university of bristol http://www.bristol.ac.uk/animal-research/ university of cambridge https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/research-at-cambridge/animal-research university of dundee https://www.dundee.ac.uk/governance/policies/ university of east anglia https://www.uea.ac.uk/research/about-uea-research/our-research-integrity/concordat/ university of edinburgh https://www.ed.ac.uk/research/animal-research?mc_cid=e95c650b6b&mc_eid=342c43481d university of exeter http://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/inspiring/strategy/animals/ university of glasgow https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/strategy/ourpolicies/opennessinanimalresearch/ university of hertfordshire https://www.herts.ac.uk/research/research-management/governance/animal-research-at-the-university-of-hertfordshire/policy-statement-on-research-involving-the-use-of-animals university of leeds http://www.leeds.ac.uk/info/5000/about/520/animal_research university of leicester https://www2.le.ac.uk/institution/dbs university of liverpool https://www.liv.ac.uk/research-integrity/biomedical-research/ university of manchester https://www.manchester.ac.uk/research/environment/governance/ethics/animals/ university of nottingham http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/animalresearch/index.aspx university of oxford http://www.ox.ac.uk/news-and-events/animal-research/ university of portsmouth http://www.port.ac.uk/research/using-animals-in-research/ university of reading http://www.reading.ac.uk/research/animal-research university of sheffield https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ris/ethicsandintegrity/animal-research university of southampton https://www.southampton.ac.uk/awerb/index.page university of st andrews https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/research/integrity-ethics/animals/ university of stirling https://www.stir.ac.uk/research/research-ethics-and-integrity/animal-research-at-the-university-of-stirling/ university of strathclyde https://www.strath.ac.uk/science/biomedicalresearchatstrathclyde/ university of surrey https://www.surrey.ac.uk/school-biosciences-medicine/biomedical-research-facility/animals university of sussex https://www.sussex.ac.uk/research/about/standards/research-procedures-involving-animals university of york https://www.york.ac.uk/research/animal-research/ learned societies organization link to 'concordat' policy on animals in research academy of medical sciences https://acmedsci.ac.uk/policy/uk-policy/animals-in-research anatomical society https://www.anatsoc.org.uk/research/animals-in-research-policy-statement biochemical society https://www.biochemistry.org/science-policy/policy-position-statements/ british association of psychopharmacology https://www.bap.org.uk/position_statement.php british neuroscience association https://www.bna.org.uk/about/policies/#animal-research-policy british pharmacological society https://www.bps.ac.uk/education-engagement/research-animals british society for immunology https://www.immunology.org/sites/default/files/the-use-of-animals-in-immunological-research-positiion-statement.pdf british toxicological society https://www.thebts.org/news/animal-research-the-british-toxicology-societys-position/ microbiology society https://microbiologysociety.org/publication/position-statement/2015-use-of-animals-in-research.html the physiological society https://www.physoc.org/policy/animal-research/ royal society of biology https://www.rsb.org.uk/policy/policy-issues/biomedical-sciences/animal-research the royal society https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/ethics-conduct/animal-testing/ society of endocrinology society for experimental biology http://www.sebiology.org/animal-biology/animal-welfare-code commercial organizations organization link to 'concordat' policy on animals in research agenda life sciences https://www.agendalifesciences.com/animal-research-position/ astrazeneca https://www.astrazeneca.com/sustainability/ethics-and-transparency/animals-in-research.html charles river https://www.criver.com/about-us/about-us-overview/animals-research?region=3696 covance https://www.covance.com/commitment/animal-welfare/our-commitment.html envigo https://www.envigo.com/about-envigo/our-work-with-animals/ eurogentec https://secure.eurogentec.com/animal-facilities.html glaxosmithkline https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/research-and-development/our-use-of-animals/frequently-asked-questions/ lilly https://www.lilly.co.uk/en/responsibility/transparency/animals-in-research.aspx pfizer https://www.pfizer.co.uk/animal-welfare porton biopharma https://www.portonbiopharma.com/concordat-on-openness-on-animal-research/ s3 https://s3science.com/about/animal-research-why/ sequani https://www.sequani.com/detail.aspx?page=animal-welfare ucb https://www.ucb.com/our-company/animal-welfare trade associations and advocacy groups organization link to 'concordat' policy on animals in research association of medical research charities (amrc) https://www.amrc.org.uk/use-of-animals-in-research association of british pharmaceutical industry (abpi) https://www.abpi.org.uk/medicine-discovery/new-medicines-data/research-using-animals/ british horseracing authority https://www.britishhorseracing.com/regulation/veterinary-welfare/veterinary-info/ institute of animal technology (iat) https://www.iat.org.uk/#!animaltechnology/cob6 laboratory animal breeders association (laba) http://laba-uk.com/site/?page_id=95 laboratory animal science association (lasa) https://www.lasa.co.uk/pdf/concordat_on_openness.pdf laboratory animals veterinary association (lava) http://www.lava.uk.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11 medical schools council https://www.medschools.ac.uk/our-work/research bioindustry association (bia) https://www.bioindustry.org/policy/pre-clinical-and-clinical-research/animal-research.html understanding animal research https://www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk/about-us/uar-position-on-the-use-of-animals-in-research/ universities uk https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/research-policy/pages/research-policy.aspx veterinary schools council https://www.vetschoolscouncil.ac.uk/news/position-statement-on-animal-research/ charities organization link to 'concordat' policy on animals in research alzheimer's research uk https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/about-us/our-influence/policy-work/position-statements/animal-research/ animal health trust https://www.aht.org.uk/research/animal-research asthma uk https://www.asthma.org.uk/research/funding/research-ethics/ bloodcancer uk https://bloodcancer.org.uk/research/animals/ british heart foundation https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/our-policies/animals-in-research cancer research uk https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/we-develop-policy/our-policy-on-supporting-science/the-use-of-animals-in-cancer-research cystic fibrosis trust https://www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk/the-work-we-do/research/animal-testing humanimal trust https://www.humanimaltrust.org.uk/what-we-do/research/our-stance-animal-testing leukaemia uk https://www.leukaemiauk.org.uk/pages/category/research-strategy motor neurone disease association https://www.mndassociation.org/get-involved/volunteering/volunteer-zone/volunteer-resources/information-for-you/research-involving-animals/ ms society https://www.mssociety.org.uk/research/latest-research/animal-research ovarian cancer action https://ovarian.org.uk/our-research/animals-research/ parkinson's uk https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/about-us/animal-research-and-parkinsons pten research https://www.ptenresearch.org/our-research/use-of-animals-in-research/ versus arthritis https://www.versusarthritis.org/research/research-funding-and-policy/our-research-policies/ wellcome https://wellcome.ac.uk/what-we-do/our-work/our-policy-work-animal-research research institutes organization link to 'concordat' policy on animals in research babraham institute https://www.babraham.ac.uk/our-research/animal-research francis crick institute https://www.crick.ac.uk/research/platforms-and-facilities/biological-research-facility/animal-research institute of cancer research https://www.icr.ac.uk/our-research/about-our-research/animal-research/animal-research-at-the-icr moredun research institute https://www.moredun.org.uk/research/about-moredun-research-institute pirbright institute https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/animals-in-research rothamsted research https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/sustainable-agriculture-sciences wellcome trust sanger institute https://www.sanger.ac.uk/about/who-we-are/research-policies/animals-research government departments and agencies organizations link to 'concordat' policy on animals in research animal plant and health agency (apha) https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/animal-and-plant-health-agency/about/research bbsrc https://bbsrc.ukri.org/research/briefings/animals-in-bioscience-research/ cefas https://www.cefas.co.uk/about-us/policies-and-plans/ engineering and physical sciences research council (epsrc) https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/about/standards/animalresearchpolicy/ food and environment research agency (fera science) https://www.fera.co.uk/about-us/standards-and-accreditation medical research council (mrc) https://mrc.ukri.org/research/research-involving-animals/ medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency (mhra) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-use-in-medicines-and-medical-devices-regulation/animal-use-in-medicines-and-medical-devices-regulation national centre for the replacement, refinement and reduction of animals in research (nc3rs) https://www.nc3rs.org.uk/news/importance-transparency-research-using-animals natural environment research council (nerc) https://nerc.ukri.org/about/policy/animals-in-research/?changesetid=ea34e605-95b3-4aca-84f0a2ecaea25f00 public health england (phe) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-england-phe-research-involving-animals/public-health-england-research-involving-animals administration and activities the concordat on openness on animal research in the uk is run and administered by understanding animal research. awards to celebrate innovation and best practices around openness are held annually in december, coinciding with release of the annual report. in 2018 signatories of the concordat on openness on animal research publicly announced the top ten uk universities for animal research, stating that these universities, all of which appear in the qs 2018 world university ranking top 200, carried out over a third of all animal research conducted in the uk in 2017.