The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) is one of the bodies concerned with research integrity in the United States. It was created when the Office of Scientific Integrity (OSI) in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Office of Scientific Integrity Review (OSIR) in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) merged in May 1992. The Office of Research Integrity oversees and directs Public Health Service (PHS) research integrity activities on behalf of the Secretary of Health and Human Services with the exception of the regulatory research integrity activities of the Food and Drug Administration.

Organization

Organizationally, ORI is located within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) within Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (OS) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The PHS is composed of the following offices and agencies:

• National Institutes of Health.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• The Food and Drug Administration
• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• The Health Resources and Services Administration
• The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
• The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
• The Indian Health Service

Activities

ORI carries out its responsibility by:

• Developing policies, procedures and regulations related to the detection, investigation, and prevention of research misconduct and the responsible conduct of research;
• Reviewing and monitoring research misconduct investigations conducted by applicant and awardee institutions, intramural research programs, and the Office of Inspector General in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS);
• Recommending research misconduct findings and administrative actions to the Assistant Secretary for Health for decision, subject to appeal;
• Assisting the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) to present cases before the HHS Departmental Appeals Board;
• Providing technical assistance to institutions that respond to allegations of research misconduct;
• Implementing activities and programs to teach the responsible conduct of research, promote research integrity, prevent research misconduct, and improve the handling of allegations of research misconduct;
• Conducting policy analyses, evaluations and research to build the knowledge base in research misconduct, research integrity, and prevention and to improve HHS research integrity policies and procedures;
• Administering programs for: maintaining institutional assurances, responding to allegations of retaliation against whistleblowers, approving intramural and extramural policies and procedures, and responding to Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act requests.

In FY 2004, the PHS provided at least $30 billion for health research and development, primarily in the biomedical and behavioral sciences through its extramural and intramural programs. (Extramural programs provide funding to research institutions that are not part of the Federal government - medical schools, universities, colleges, hospitals, research institutes. Intramural programs provide funding for research conducted within Federal government facilities.)