“Leiden Principles”
The role of research-intensive universities as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic

A decade ago, a group of associations of research-intensive universities from all over the worldcommitted to a set of key values-based characteristics that distinguish research-intensive universities
and establish them as essential anchor institutions in their respective local, national and globalcommunities.
The goal was to promote a strong policy environment which protects, nurtures and cultivates thevalues, standards and behaviours which underlie these characteristics and support their furtherdevelopment.
Today, these characteristics, which focus on educational and research excellence, integrity and theadvancement of individuals and knowledge (see Annex A), are equally, if not more vital to the healthand prosperity of nations, and we reaffirm them with this new statement.
We are now looking ahead to identify and deliver solutions to the local, national and global challenges
confronting society as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing contributions
our research-intensive universities make.
We have identified five critical principles to underpin our success and, in turn, ensure the continued
and valued contribution of research-intensive universities:•TRUST – to deliver solutions in the face of major challenges•DIVERSITY – to engage and draw on all available talents from all backgrounds•

OPENNESS – to ensure knowledge can flow globally without unnecessary barriers•

STEWARDSHIP – to ensure that research is conducted responsibly, with integrity, andemploying appropriate safety and security practices, and1

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FREEDOM – to research, teach, inquire and operate with appropriate institutionalautonomy.

This commitment, combined with the support of our governments, research and innovation partners,
staff and students, will further enable research-intensive universities to play a significant role in theeconomic, social and cultural pandemic recovery.
Our researchers and partners will continue to develop new treatments and interventions to help
defeat COVID-19, cancer and other diseases around the world. We will continue to educate and train
the next generation of visionary leaders and innovators to meet the real-world demands of a 21stcentury global economy. We will create jobs and growth in new industries that will lead to a moresustainable and safer future, tackling climate change and other global challenges as they arise.
We will provide independent, rigorous and evidence-based advice to policy and decision makers. Ourcommunities will be enriched with new knowledge and insights essential to our sense of culture,humanity and well-being.
We will collaborate to ensure the best ideas from around the world can be used to create opportunityand solve local, national and global challenges as they arise. And, most importantly, we will prime thenext generation with the research skills, knowledge, experience and opportunity to deliver the best
possible future for them and for the world’s population.
TRUST
Research-intensive universities have demonstrated their service and value in generating thefundamental knowledge required to advance critical medical and other scientific and technologicaladvances throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They are hopeful and confident that governments, theprivate and the public sectors, as well as citizens, will continue to put their trust in research-intensive
universities to support and undertake research and educational programs to inform and address
future societal challenges and crises, and to do what is required to support them in such endeavours.
Continued support of basic research is society’s best bet to be prepared for future crises.
DIVERSITY
Research-intensive universities invest in a positive academic culture that stimulates a diversity of
talented people and which recognises a diversity of contributions, with strategic and practicalattention paid to issues of equality, diversity and inclusion. This requires addressing inclusionof all underrepresented groups and aiming for the entire academic community of staff andstudents together, to make the content of both the research and the research-led educational
curriculum more inclusive.
OPENNESS
Research-intensive universities are at the forefront of negotiating and assuring the open andtransparent flow of the knowledge that is created within their walls and how that knowledge is used
via education, research or commercialization. They must continue to support and advance publicaccess to research results, the widespread dissemination of scientific knowledge, and international
scientific collaborations vital to ensure maximum public benefit from research and the ongoing global
advancement of knowledge. At the same time, it is critical that appropriate safeguards and controls
be put in place to protect against the inappropriate transfer or use of such knowledge.
STEWARDSHIP
It is in the interest of universities, governments, private companies and all actors in the researchecosystem to serve as good stewards of publicly funded research efforts. This requires thedevelopment of clear institutional frameworks, government policies, and effective practices appropriate to each national jurisdiction – to ensure that researchers conduct their research in a safeand secure manner, without compromising academic integrity and freedom, and protecting thesovereignty and security of their national communities. This must also be done with due regard for2

climate and other sustainable development impacts. Research-intensive universities are committed
to working in collaboration with governments and other stakeholders to achieve these essential aims.
FREEDOM
Research-intensive universities regard academic freedom and institutional autonomy as essential intheir mission to serve and advance society. They consider that academic freedom consists of threemain dimensions, which mutually reinforce one another and should be taken into account in case ofconflict:•Far-reaching individual rights to expressive freedoms for members of the academic
community mainly as free enquirers and a responsibility to ‘disagree well’ and constructivelywith others;•Collective or institutional autonomy for the academy in general and/or subsections thereof;•An obligation for research-intensive universities and public authorities to respect and protect
academic freedom.

Leiden, May 2022

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Annex A – The ten key characteristics of a research-intensive university1
1. The pursuit of excellence across all its operations, calibrated though informed, independent,
non-conflicted assessments from peer organizations and individuals from outside theuniversity; and a commitment to the use of transparent, meritocratic systems to select faculty,staff and students, creating an internal environment that nurtures learning, creativity anddiscovery, and which will unleash and develop the potential of its staff and students, bothundergraduate and (post)graduate.
2. A major research effort which has both depth and breadth, producing internationallyrecognized research results which are broadly disseminated through publication, teaching andcommunity engagement.
3. A commitment to research training, especially through PhD programs, which provides acontinuing flow of highly competent and respected graduates (as assessed by researchers ofinternational standing) who are able to advance the frontiers of knowledge and understanding
and to contribute to national and international innovation and development across all sectors.
4. A commitment to teaching at both the undergraduate and (post)graduate levels, toconsistently produce broadly educated, high quality graduates who are able to contribute to
the national economic and societal welfare across a wide range of activities, having benefitedfrom early and active immersion in research-rich educational settings and unique
opportunities to engage with cutting-edge research within and across disciplines.
5. A dedication to the highest standards of research integrity and its associated ethicalobligations, which ensures the probity of data collection, assessment and analysis
independent of any considerations of funding sources or of personal or institutional benefit,
and which is supported by explicit and effective processes to investigate and respond to any
allegations or perceptions of unethical research or behaviour.
6. The responsible exercise of academic freedom by faculty, to produce and disseminate
knowledge through research, teaching and service within a research culture based on open
inquiry and the continued testing of current knowledge, and which extends beyond thevocational or instrumental, and looks beyond immediate needs to develop the understanding,skills and expertise necessary to shape the future and interpret our changing world.
7. A tolerance, recognition and welcoming of competing views, perspectives, frameworks andpositions necessary to support progress, along with a commitment to civil debate anddiscussion to advance understanding and produce new knowledge and technologies.
8. The right to set its own priorities, on academic grounds, for what and how it will teach andresearch based on its mission, its strategic development plans, and its assessment of society’s
current and future needs; and the right (within a culture of diversity) to determine who it willhire and admit, including an ability to recruit internationally to attract the best people toachieve these priorities.
9. A commitment to support its local and national communities and contribute to international
well-being by taking actions and developing a culture which maximizes the short- and longterm benefits of the research and education undertaken.
10. An open and transparent set of governance arrangements which protect and support acontinuing commitment to the characteristics that define and sustain world-class research
universities, while ensuring the institution meets its public responsibilities.

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A few phrases have been changed in the text below versus the 2013 statement. Without changing theintrinsic meaning of the ten characteristics, these amendments reflect the current context.

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Dated on May 20th, 2022

Association of American Universities
President Barbara R. Snyder

Group of Eight Australia
Chief Executive Vicki Thomson

U15-Group of Canadian Research Universities
Chief Executive Officer Chad Gaffield

German U15
Secretary-General Jan Wöpking

RU11 Japan
Representative Kohei Itoh

Russell Group
Chief Executive Tim Bradshaw

LERU
Chair Karen Maex

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