Understanding the meaning of research

Understanding the themes, organization, regulations and stakes of public research and of research led in the Grenoble Institute of Neuroscience.

Public research in France

In France, public research activities take place in higher education institutions or in research organizations such as the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm). Inserm is the GIN sponsoring authority and is divided into numerous research units of different sizes, grouped by theme.

• What is a research center? How does it work?

A research center is composed of several research teams of variable sizes, each of which has its own study unit, but in a common field and with a common strategy.

• Professions in the GIN

The GIN gathers skills and resources from several institutions relating to public research. Thus, two scientific and technical public institutions (EPST) are represented in the GIN -- the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM). Some personnel from a State-funded Industrial and Commercial Establishment (EPIC) and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) also work in the GIN.

 

Research Teams

A research team is the result of the initiative of a researcher who wants to develop a scientific theme. This theme must be approved by a strategic research committee before it is implemented. This committee approves the funding of the research. After this approval, the researcher formulates a hypothesis and asks questions to provide a framework for their research. They then develop a set of experimental strategies to find an answer.

Depending on the requirements of their topic and on the means at their disposal, the researcher forms a team made up of other researchers, research engineers and technicians. Thanks to their specific training, these stakeholders are able to support the researchers in their research or even take responsibility for a specific point. Together they build up and implement experimental designs that will enable them to verify their hypotheses.

Inserm signed the National Charter for Research Integrity.