Ethics Committee on Dual Use, Military use & Misuse of Research (EC DMM)

Information on Dual Use and Misuse of research

According to the EU Horizon 2020 website, "Dual use of Research" is defined as "Research that has the potential also for military applications" and "Misuse of Research" as "Research that has the potential for malevolent / criminal / terrorist abuse". In 2017, a brochure was developed with guidelines for dual use and misuse of research. This was done by the five Flemish universities, the research institutes IMEC and VIB, and the Flemish Interuniversity Council. The brochure can be found via the following link: VLIR.

Information human rights

The EC DMM is also responsible for the evaluation of research that is potentially problematic in terms of human rights. Requests are submitted to the EC DMM through the The Human Rights Contact Point (HRCP) and are evaluated during the regular meetings of the EC DMM. More information on human rights can be found here. 

Request for advice

Researchers can consult the EC DMM for a formal (binding) ethical evaluation, as illustrated in the flow chart below. The committee uses a multi-factorial approach weighing the following aspects: research topic, funding body, consortium partner(s) and end use(r). Complementary to this evaluating task, the EC DMM also has an advisory function; researchers can consult the EC DMM through the helpdesk for questions without having to submit an official application. A question could be whether it might be problematic to collaborate with a particular partner, funding body or end user.

The flow chart above has been designed to guide both researchers and supporting services (DOC, LRD) in assessing whether a project should be submitted to the EC DMM for evaluation. The flow chart applies to all types of research and forms of collaboration (research supported by public funding, contract research funded by companies, collaborations between academic institutions, ...). In this assessment, it is essential to answer the following three questions:

1. Does the research have a military finality?
This concerns any research with a military purpose, even if the military aspect is only part of a broader research project, and includes dual use research with partial civil and military finalities. Funding by a military government does not automatically mean that the research has a military finality (e.g. research to treat burn injuries commissioned by the Belgian army). It is strongly recommended to contact the helpdesk before submitting the research proposal. The research project must be submitted to the EC DMM shortly after submission.

2. Is the research part of a sensitive call?
For certain research funds, the EC DMM periodically evaluates, based on the information in the project call, if there is a considerable risk towards misuse (eg. cyber surveillance and profiling techniques to combat terrorism). For these sensitive project calls (risk calls) ethical advice will always be needed. The list can be consulted here. As this list will of course change over time, it is recommended to consult it when planning to submit a research project proposal. It is also strongly recommended to contact the helpdesk before submitting the research proposal. The research project must be submitted to the EC DMM shortly after submission. 

3. Is there a sensitive funding body / consortium partner / end user with a significant risk for misuse of results?
Not only research with military purposes raises ethical concerns. This is also possible for research with a civil purpose, because of the funding body, project partners or end use(rs). It this case it is recommended to contact the helpdesk before submitting the research proposal. The research project must be submitted to the EC DMM at the latest upon approval. Possible questions are:
 

• Is the research funded by a (public or private) funding body which, in combination with the research topic, can lead to potential misuse of the results? For example, when research with a civil purpose is funded by a military government or by a company with mainly military activities, this can (in combination with the research topic) warrant an ethical evaluation by the EC DMM. An important factor in assessing whether an investigation should be submitted to the EC DMM is whether there are potentially considerable security-relevant risks for human dignity, human life, health, freedom, property, the environment and peaceful coexistence (definition adopted from the progress report from the German Research Foundation and Leopoldina (German National Academy of Sciences)). This is not the case, for example, when the Belgian army finances research to make its buildings more energy efficient. Also non-military funding bodies may be considered as being sensitive, for example certain state actors, such as police and security services that have committed serious human rights violations in the past.
• Is there a partner involved in the research who, in combination with the research topic, imposes a risk for potential misuse of the results? Military governments or companies can, for example, also be partner in research with civil purposes funded by H2020. When collaborating with these organizations, it should be assessed whether there is potential risk for substantial negative impact on human beings or society. Also for collaborations with civil authorities (eg police, law enforcement) or companies it must be investigated to what extent cooperation can give rise to potential misuse.
• Is there an end user involved who, in combination with the research topic, can give rise to misuse of the results? Here one should not only consider the direct target group of end users (and who may or may not already be part of the project as partner or user group, etc.), but also unforeseen and undesirable malicious end users with considerable safety risks for human dignity, human life, health, freedom, property, the environment and peaceful coexistence.

After evaluation, the EC DMM will give one of three binding advices:

• Positive advice without further requirements;
• Positive advice with conditions; depending on the evaluation, the adjustments may or may not be required to be resubmitted to the EC DMM;
• Negative advice with detailed motivation for the advice.

In case of a negative advice, the researcher can start an appeal procedure at the Gebu.
 

• Submission files 

Questions, files and additional documents are submitted electronically. To this end, the applicant submits a project description and a completed application form  through the online tool (https://www.kuleuven.be/ecdmm), at least 7 working days prior to a meeting from the Commission (see meeting dates).

Maximum 1 month after submission of the application, the EC DMM provides advice. In case of negative advice, the applicant can ask to be heard by the committee. If the negative advice is confirmed, the applicant can request to submit the file to the Gebu. You can find more information about the working of the committee in the EC DMM's internal regulations (PDF) (in Dutch).

Meeting dates

TThe Ethics Committee on "Dual Use, Military use & Misuse of Research"  strives to meet monthly. Files for discussion must be delivered to the secretariat at least 7 working days before the meeting. Moreover, in order to guarantee a fast procedure in case of an urgent evaluation, an electronic emergency procedure is possible.
The meetings in 2024 will take place on:

• Tuesday 9th of January
• Monday 12th of February
• Tuesday 12th of March
• Tuesday 9th of April
• Tuesday 14th of May
• Tuesday 11th of June

Composition and members

The EC DMM has a multidisciplinary composition and consists of members from the three science groups, ethicists and two observing members from DOC and LRD, respectively. The members are appointed for a period of four years, one time immediately renewable.

Chairman 

• Ludo Froyen  (Faculty of Engineering Science, Department of Materials Engineering)

Secretary 

• Sarah Matthys (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Biosystems (BIOSYST) and part of Ethics@Arenberg)

Members

• Vincent Rijmen (Faculty of Engineering Science, Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT, COSIC, Computer Security and Industrial Cryptography)

• Joris De Schutter (Faculty of Engineering Science, Department of Materials Engineering) 

• Annemie Geeraerd (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Biosystems (BIOSYST) and part of Ethics@Arenberg)

• Kris Dierick, (Interfaculty Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law, Department of Public Health and Primary Care) 
• Mathieu Bollen (Faculty of Medicine, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine)
• Katrien Lagrou (Faculty of Medicine, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation)
• Leo Sleuwaegen (Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB))
• Koen Eneman (Faculty of Engineering Technology, Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data Analytics (STADIUS))
• Anton Vedder (Faculty of Law and Criminology, Research Unit KU Leuven Centre for IT & IP Law (CiTiP))
• Raf Geenens (Institute of Philosophy, Centre for Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy)

• Joost Vennekens (Faculty of Engineering Technology, Department of Computer Science)

• Stephan Parmentier (Faculty of Law and Criminology, Research Unit Criminal Law and Criminology) 

Observing members

• Inge Lerouge (DOC - Research Coordination Office, Research Integrity and Ethics) 
• Katleen Janssen (Legal Department LRD)
• Nynke Salverda (International office)  

Contact

The secretariat and coordination of the EC DMM is done by Ethics@Arenberg. Jan D’hooge, vice rector of Research Policy, and Peter Lievens, vice rector of International Policy and Interculturality, act as the spokesmen for the outside world. For questions or for submitting files / additional documents, please contact us by email.