The Research Ethics Committee

The Research Ethics Committee meets on a monthly basis according to the calendar published on this website. Requests for ethical opinions must be submitted by the scientific coordinators of the research, individual researchers, students, or external organizations exclusively via email to the Research Funding Office (using the address: [email protected]) by completing the dedicated request form, available in both Italian and English. As a general rule, all requests received at least 15 days prior to the scheduled meeting will be considered and included in the meeting agenda. The opinion issued by the Research Ethics Committee will be communicated to the applicant by the Committee’s Technical Secretariat within 15 days from the date of the resolution.

• Download the Committee regulation
• Download the Opinion Request Form (italian, english)

Below are some non-exhaustive examples intended to clarify when it may be appropriate to request an opinion from the Research Ethics Committee:

1) A survey that directly involves individual respondents (natural persons, not legal entities) and requests sensitive personal data (such as sexual orientation, gender, age, address or email address, etc.).

2) A data extraction process that requires the processing of sensitive data (such as place of residence) or data that could allow the identification of the respondent.

3) A research objective or question related to a relevant ethical issue.

4) Upon request by institutional bodies.

The Non-Disclosure Agreement format developed by LIUC (hereinafter referred to as the NDA) may be used at the discretion of the LIUC researcher who is acquiring potentially sensitive or confidential data for a project that must not be disclosed externally. This NDA does not necessarily have to be signed by LIUC’s legal representative; it may also be completed and signed by the project manager who has access to and reviews the sensitive data being shared between parties.

• The LIUC NDA can be used for any study, even in the initial project phase;
• If an external entity requires the use of its own NDA, the project manager or legal representative may use the external entity’s NDA instead of the LIUC template;
• At the sole discretion of the LIUC project manager, legal representative, or another senior figure of the University, when the protection of the University’s intellectual property is deemed necessary, a dual NDA may be used—both LIUC’s internal NDA and the NDA requested by the counterpart.

NDA for legal entities or individuals

The Informed Consent Form must be used whenever it is possible to trace back to the interviewee’s full name or other personal data, especially when such data is used for processing and presenting research results.

Data Processing Information Notice

The Interview Participation Form for Anonymous Data can be used for structured questionnaires administered via interview, or for interviews in which the identity of the participant must remain anonymous.

Interview Form for anonymized data collection

In the case of structured questionnaires to be completed online and processed in fully anonymous form, these must explicitly reference privacy regulations and include a declaration of research participation and consent to data processing.

Proposed First Page of the Questionnaire

Confidential Data

These are data made available only to authorized individuals, either because they have signed an NDA or because the data stem from research activities that are not yet publicly disclosed. Unauthorized access, destruction, or alteration of the information in these documents may cause harm. Therefore, presentations and documentation produced by LIUC containing such data must explicitly include the label: “Confidential Data – Not to Be Reproduced”.

Internal Use Only Data

These are data restricted to individuals directly collaborating in research activities with the University. Unauthorized access, distribution, or alteration of such information could compromise the publication or scientific dissemination of the research results. These documents must include the label: “Confidential Data – For Internal Use Only”.

This classification is provided to standardize the behavior of all LIUC researchers and research staff.

All research documentation must be saved and stored for ten years if the research protocol has received Ethics Committee approval. This timeframe may be shorter for research projects not reviewed by the Committee.

The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for collecting and storing all project documentation, including the research protocol, interview formats, questionnaires or data collection forms (both blank and completed), and any privacy documentation according to the relevant cases described above.

All documentation must be preserved in electronic format only.

The storage process follows specific procedures established by Università Carlo Cattaneo – LIUC, summarized as follows. The data protection system is structured over three backup levels, each designed to ensure security, redundancy, and long-term preservation:

• First level: data are saved directly to the SharePoint cloud platform, which serves as the primary source. The versioning functionality is enabled, allowing up to 500 previous versions of each file to be stored—offering a first level of resilience against accidental edits or deletions.
• Second level: data are then replicated to an internal repository within the University’s infrastructure. This diversifies the storage medium, enhances overall security, and ensures data retention for ten years.
• Third level: an additional backup is made to a separate cloud platform, specially configured to ensure data immutability. This level offers advanced protection against tampering, guaranteeing the integrity and permanence of archived information.