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Transparency

GRPC - General Rules for Preventing Corruption

i3S, IBMC and IPATIMUP
 

Last update: 14/11/2023

In June 2022 the institute set up a new mechanism for reporting various forms of corruption, harassment and scientific misconduct. Among other documents and actions to prevent corruption and promote ethical behaviour at work, a Report Channel and a Whistleblowing Policy were put in place.

The Report Channel includes different categories of reports, including various forms of corruption as laid down by law, as well as moral and sexual harassment and research misconduct/scientific fraud. The internal report channel is managed by an external Software Company that provides full guarantee of confidentiality of the whole process and protection of the Whistleblower's identity. The Coordinator of the Responsible Conduct for Research Unit is the only person in charge of receiving and forwarding internal reports. This will ensure independence, impartiality and autonomy in the follow-up. According to the category of the report, it will be forwarded by the Coordinator of the Responsible Conduct for Research Unit to the legal department (corruption reports), to the Head of the Human Resources Unit (moral and sexual harassment reports) and to the Unit for Responsible Conduct (Research Integrity & Ethics issues reports). i3S ensures that, in the case of reports of sexual and moral harassment and research misconduct and unacceptable practices (not covered by the General Scheme for the Prevention of Corruption (GSPC) and the Protection of Whistleblowers - Law no. 93/2021 of 20 December), whistleblowers benefit from the protection that may be granted through the adoption of internal regulatory mechanisms. 

The GSPC aims to strengthen institutional practices of integrity and transparency, to build a stronger ethics culture, as well as to prevent and detect the risks of corruption in the use of public and private funds. 

To achieve this goal, the i3S GSPC has several instruments and mechanisms, namely:

1. Code of Conduct for the Prevention of Corruption:
Defines the principles and values by which all i3S employees (latu sensu) should guide their work performance. It is revised every 3 years, or whenever there is a substantial change in the organisation that justifies it.

2. RPP (Risk Prevention Plan):
Identifies the major areas of risk of corruption in the institution by ranking them and clearly defines the specific preventive and corrective measures to be taken in order to reduce the probability of occurrence. It also defines the impact of the risks previously identified. The RPP is reviewed every 3 years, or whenever there is a substantial change in the organisation that justifies it. The Compliance Officer is also the person in charge for the execution, supervision and audit of the RPP according to the law.

3. Report channel:
The internal report channel is managed by an external Software Company that provides full guarantee of confidentiality of the whole process and protection of the Whistleblower identity. It ensures the Data Protection Policy in place, as well as the best IT security practices, namely restricting access to unauthorised persons. 
Only the person in charge (or whoever replaces him/her) of managing the reports has full access to the information. The internal IT technician in charge does not have access to the content of the reports. 
The report channel accepts reports from employees and any persons or entities linked to i3S in their work-related activity.

4. Whistleblowing Policy:
The Whistleblowing Policy sets out the principles by which reports and Whistleblower protection are defined in accordance with Law No. 93/2021 of 20 December, the Whistleblowing Law.

5. Compliance Officer and other actors:
In addition to implementing the GSPC and its supporting documents, the Compliance Officer is also in charge of receiving and forwarding internal reports, including moral and sexual harassment and ethics & integrity issues related with scientific misconduct and/or fraud. In case of constraints, and only in this case, a substitute receives and follows up the reports. The person in charge for receiving the reports ensures independence, impartiality and autonomy in the follow-up. The wholeness and integrity of the report, the confidentiality or anonymity of the Whistleblower and third parties mentioned are also guaranteed.

5.1 Monitoring Committee:
The Monitoring Committee has 3 members and is responsible for the internal control and evaluation system. For these duties, it may choose to consult external legal or audit services. 
In addition to the control and evaluation tasks, the Monitoringn Committee will also receive a report on the type of breaches that have been reported, the penalties applied, as well as the measures adopted or to be adopted.

6. Dissemination, training and awareness-raising actions:
All documents and updates of the GRPC are disseminated by the i3S community and published on the website. Training will be provided to all employees and specific training will be provided to those who work in the high-risk areas identified at the RPP.

For further information on this matter, please see: