UNIVIE, through ID Law, supports the promotion of citizen participation and ethical research in the European Cancer Mission with the PERIFORMANCE project

14.10.2025

ID Law announces its participation in PERIFORMANCE, a European project that seeks to transform the way society engages in cancer research. It is coordinated by the Biobanking and BioMolecular resources Research Infrastructure – European Research Infrastructure Consortium (BBMRI-ERIC) in partnership with 12 institutions from nine different countries.

Ethics from the start

PERIFORMANCE aims to ensure that cancer research and developments, in line with technological advances such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the European Health Data Space (EHDS), are applied in an ethical, equitable and transparent manner. Achieved through targeted stakeholder engagement, it will strengthen public trust and ensure fair changes, solutions and developments in the fight against cancer.

The EU Cancer Mission, together with the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, exist to improve the lives of millions of people through prevention, early diagnosis, new treatments and better quality of life. Success depends on real representation of different populations and incorporating the voices of patients, professionals and citizens in research.

PERIFORMANCE: An innovative project to overcome these challenges

PERIFORMANCE stands for Public Engagement in Research Infrastructures for Mission Cancer: managing complexity of emerging technologies. The project addresses the ethical, legal, and societal implications (ELSI) in biobanking and cancer research. The priorities are to:

  • Identify and disseminate good practices of participation, transparency and governance, with a leading role for biobanks as infrastructures connecting research and citizenship.
  • Analyse the impact of AI and EHDS on trust and social engagement in research.
  • Fund local participatory pilot projects through open calls for proposals.
  • Provide training and workshops to ensure inclusive, adapted and sustainable approaches.

The three-year project brings together universities, hospitals, biobanks, policy makers and patient associations, among others, to create a European reference framework to ensure inclusive, ethical and needs-based research that improves prevention, diagnosis, treatment and quality of life for people with cancer.

 

Disclosure: PERIFORMANCE is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.