Workshop "Practices of Care: A Path to Enable Integrity and Open Communication in Biomedical Research" in Split, Croatia

On 13 and 14 May 2026, the University of Split School of Medicine hosted the workshop “Practices of Care: A Path to Enable Integrity and Open Communication in Biomedical Research”. Participants explored how open communication, shared responsibility, and a genuine culture of care can strengthen research integrity and improve the quality of biomedical science. The workshop was organised within COST Action IMPROVE (CA21139 — 3Rs concepts to improve the quality of biomedical science).

Why this workshop?

Poor communication in animal research is not a minor inconvenience but a structural problem with real scientific and ethical consequences. When animal care staff, lab technicians and young researchers are excluded from research planning, protocols become suboptimal, opportunities to apply the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) are missed, and unnecessary burden is placed on both animals and staff.

For instance, animal caretakers are often the first to notice subtle behavioural or physiological changes in research animals (changes that may call for immediate refinement or clinical intervention). Yet their expertise is systematically undervalued in experimental planning. The same is true for lab technicians, facility managers, and veterinarians, whose practical knowledge rarely finds its way into the formal planning stages of a study.

The programme: Day 1 — Wednesday, 13 May

The workshop opened with a welcome from organizers Fernando Gonzalez Uarquin and Brígida Riso, setting the tone for two days of honest, cross-disciplinary dialogue.

The first keynote came from Marian Verhage (Manager of the Central Laboratory Animal Research Facility, Utrecht University), who spoke on "Communication between animal care staff and researchers: the role of the animal facility." Verhage drew on years of experience in facility management and national and international training networks to argue that the animal facility is the natural hub for trust-building between scientific and care staff.

The afternoon featured a talk by Sophie Schober (Karl Landsteiner University of Health Science, Krems; ISTA — Institute of Science and Technology Austria). Her talk, "Communicating research integrity in animal science — what is it and how to involve all stakeholders," examined how institutions can move beyond compliance to build genuine, distributed cultures of integrity.

Both talks were paired with structured hands-on sessions, where participants worked in groups to apply the concepts introduced, share their own institutional experiences, and begin developing practical frameworks they could take back to their home organisations.

The day concluded with a tour of the University of Split's animal facility, a recently completed breeding and experimentation unit, followed by an evening of networking and informal exchange.

Day 2 — Thursday, 14 May

The second day opened with the third keynote, delivered by Aoife Milford (Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel), who opened with her talk "Why communication matters in animal research: Challenges and opportunities for better science." Milford mapped the persistent communication gaps that compromise research quality and welfare outcomes, and presented concrete opportunities for change across the research pipeline

A third hands-on session followed, before the workshop closed with a group wrap-up, final reflections, and a group photo led by the organisers.

What participants took away

The highly interactive format was consistently highlighted as the workshop's defining strength. Rather than passive reception of information, attendees engaged in group work, case discussions, and experience-sharing that put communication tools immediately into practice. Conversations about communication between researchers, animal care staff, veterinarians, and facility managers surfaced as some of the most highlighted moments.

Participants left with:

• Practical communication frameworks for improving day-to-day interaction between researchers and animal care teams
• A shared vocabulary for discussing research integrity, the culture of care, and the 3Rs across professional roles
• Real-world case studies contributed by participants themselves, forming the seed of a repository for future training
• New professional relationships across institutions and countries, supporting the network-building aims of CA IMPROVE.

Looking ahead

The networks and conversations started in Split will continue, either through the CA IMPROVE network, through individual institutional initiatives, and through the daily practice of open communication that every participant committed to bringing back to their own research environments.

Together, we continue building a stronger culture of care, integrity, and cooperation in biomedical research.