Compliance
"Our Guiding Principles are the compass for our research and actions."
Compliance at the FZI stands for adherence to laws, guidelines, and self-imposed regulations. Our internal compliance guidelines and measures set binding standards for our employees to support lawful behavior, raise awareness of what is right, and prevent situations that could jeopardize our reputation.
Our Compliance Management System is based on the ISO 37301 standard.
Lawful and value-oriented actions create the basis of trust for our collaboration, both internally at the FZI and with our partners in businesses and public institutions. Our Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct form the cornerstones of our guiding principles. They are supplemented by our Leadership Principles, which are based on the same principles and underline the special importance of managers as role models in these issues as well.
These three guiding principles define our self-image, characterize our corporate culture, and set the legal boundaries for our actions. At the same time, they protect against risks and thus safeguard the further development and future of the FZI.
Our Code of Conduct
Compliance refers to adherence to laws, guidelines, and standards that apply to the FZI. It encompasses measures such as voluntary internal regulations and processes binding for all FZI employees, regardless of position or role. This promotes lawful conduct, reinforces awareness of what is right, and prevents situations that could call the institution’s reputation into question and lead to negative consequences.
One of our compliance measures is this Code of Conduct, which serves as the foundation for lawful conduct at the FZI and in our dealings with partners. It is intended to help employees, managers, Scientific Directors, and Executive Directors alike adhere to our principles in their day-to-day work.
In addition, other, more specific guidelines, such as the Data Protection Policy, complement the topics already addressed in this Code of Conduct.
The FZI is a knowledge transfer organization and thus serves as a link between industry, public institutions, universities, and other research institutions. As a non-profit foundation under civil law, we are committed to the public good and our independence.
To preserve this independence, we generally do not enter into partnerships that account for more than one-eighth of our total annual budget, or that could entail a similar risk of economic dependence.
For over 40 years, the FZI has been conducting research in the field of computer science and its application fields. In addition to transferring research findings to industry, government, and society, the FZI’s core mission is to educate and train future specialists and leaders for the digital transformation through cutting-edge applied research.
To ensure the high standard of research in the long term and to transform and publish practical solutions, we strictly adhere to the Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice of the German Research Foundation (DFG). In this way, we safeguard our scientific integrity and fulfill our responsibilities in research.
Our scientific ombudspersons base their actions in research on the principles of the DFG Code and are available as contact persons for internal and external inquiries regarding research and science at the FZI; they respond consistently and appropriately to cases of scientific misconduct. In doing so, they also ensure good scientific practice.
With this Code of Conduct, we express a high compliance standard for ourselves. We insist on the same basic attitude from our partners regarding the provisions set out in this policy. We encourage our partners to take these into account in their own corporate policies.
The following principles apply as minimum standards to protect the integrity of the FZI, our partners, and all employees. You find more in-depth content on this in our Guiding Principles brochure.
- Respect human rights
- Cultivate diversity and variety
- Make factual decisions without bias
- Prevent corruption and money laundering
- Advocate fair competition
- Ensure careful handling of third-party funds
- Guarantee safety
- Conserve resources
- Protect personal data
- Maintain confidentiality and protect intellectual property
- Using AI systems safely
Even minor violations of internal policies or statutory and legal provisions can have serious consequences. Potential consequences include damage to the reputation and liability risks for the FZI, the Executive Director, and employees. Violations will therefore be consistently investigated and appropriately sanctioned.
Depending on the severity of the violation, disciplinary measures may be taken, up to and including termination of employment, as well as liability for damages and even criminal consequences.
All employees represent the FZI through their behavior and actions. Even when acting with due care, we may encounter situations in our daily work where it is not possible to make an absolute decision. Through our whistleblower procedure, we aim to foster and ensure open communication regarding compliance issues as well. The first points of contact here are not only our managers but also the members of the Compliance Team, including the Compliance Officers.
In addition, we offer both internal and external parties the opportunity to report potential violations, even anonymously, through a secure and confidential channel. An experienced external ombudsperson is available for this purpose.
Contact information for the compliance officers and other points of contact can be found on our internal FZI portal or on our website.
Our compliance organization
Compliance is the responsibility of all FZI colleagues, including executives and board members. Notwithstanding this joint compliance responsibility, specific roles are particularly entrusted with identifying compliance risks and the accountability for appropriate standards of conduct and processes, as well as corresponding control and audit measures. These include primarily the Compliance Officer, whom the Compliance Team assists. In addition, there are the specialized functions, particularly those responsible for occupational health and safety, data protection, information security, quality management, and the Head of Research Administration (RAD). A Compliance Board has been set up to coordinate the functions entrusted with compliance tasks and cooperation with the divisions. To ensure that our employees receive training on compliance issues, e-learning courses (basic module for all employees, advanced module for managers) are held at regular intervals and include questions to check learning progress.
Our whistleblower system
Have you noticed any non-compliant conduct by one of our employees and would like to report it? Do you have questions about our Compliance Management System? Then please contact our Compliance Officer directly:
Contact
Sabine Schneider-Faber
Qualified lawyer
and Compliance Officer (certified)
- +49 721 9654-990
- compliance@fzi.de
- Headquarters Karlsruhe
Please note
We will treat your information confidentially, provided that you request this and we are permitted to do so by law.
We conscientiously examine all information and consistently punish actual violations to the appropriate extent. Reports can therefore result in investigations that may have a negative impact on employees as well as on the FZI as such. Therefore, before submitting a whistleblowing report, please carefully check the accuracy of the facts known to you.
Our employees have various internal communication channels at their disposal through which compliance reports can be made and information provided. In addition, it is also possible to contact our external ombudsperson anonymously by telephone.