Prevention over cure: the administrative rationale for education in the responsible conduct of research.

The value of responsible conduct of research (RCR) education from an administrative perspective can be summed up in the oft-used adage, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The National Academy of Sciences has underscored the importance of RCR education in three major reports relating public trust in research to the perception and reality of integrity within the field. Compliance and integrity cannot simply be hoped for. Rising numbers of reported cases of research misconduct support this view. This scenario calls for institutions to provide an environment where research integrity is a fundamental prerequisite. Supporting this notion is the adoption by federal oversight agencies of the compliance elements delineated in the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations as a guide for determining whether an institution promotes a culture of integrity. RCR education is most valuable to the administrator in raising the awareness of researchers regarding compliance and integrity issues and thereby reducing the risk of infraction. In turn, the overall level of confidence among users and supporters may be improved also. Therefore, RCR education has become a primary operational arm of administration in the quest for institutional stability.