Scientific integrity for a changing world

Robust scientific integrity policies play a critical role in strengthening public trust in government science. To support this objective, the Office of the Chief Science Advisor developed the Model Policy on Scientific Integrity in 2018. Versions of this policy have since been adopted by 25 federal departments and agencies. The model policy has recently been updated to address several emerging issues, including the appropriate use of artificial intelligence tools, the tension between open science and research security, and the collection, use, and protection of Indigenous science and knowledge. While these amendments improve the policy's fitness in a rapidly changing political, social and technological environment, we are not convinced that they are sufficient. We argue that a complementary global scientific integrity covenant is also needed. Such a covenant would allow those who design, conduct, manage, administer, communicate, review, or use scientific research to publicly commit to shared principles of scientific integrity that guide behaviour and would serve to counter challenges such as the politicization and ideological polarization of science, the erosion of factual discourse, economic inequality, and the spread of scientific misinformation and disinformation.