IRAFPA - Institute of Research and Action on Fraud and Plagiarism in Academia

What IRAFPA - Institute of Research and Action on Fraud and Plagiarism in Academia does

IRAFPA (Institut International de Recherche et d'Action sur la Fraude et le Plagiat Académiques) is a Geneva-based non-profit association founded on June 18, 2016, dedicated to research, mediation, and action on academic fraud and plagiarism. The institute operates internationally with country correspondents across Europe, francophone Africa, and North America, and conducts its work in French, English, and Portuguese. Its portfolio centers on a proprietary 8-step mediation methodology applied to academic fraud and plagiarism cases, two branded institutional certifications ("Établissement Responsable" and "École Doctorale Responsable"), annual summer schools for integrity officers, biennial international colloquia hosted at the University of Coimbra, an editorial program of books and methodological journals (Les Cahiers de l'IRAFPA), a WebTV platform, and a newsletter distributed to over 18,000 subscribers.

The institute is run by a lean team of 7 employees and a board of senior academics chaired by Emeritus Professor Michelle Bergadaà (University of Geneva). Revenue is generated through tiered individual and institutional memberships (80–900 EUR per year), benefactor contributions (minimum 3,000 EUR/year), event and training registrations, certification fees, and book/publication sales. Distribution is direct via the IRAFPA website and through partnerships with academic publishers and convening institutions. The institute participates in policy platforms including the Council of Europe ETINED and has contributed to national integrity frameworks such as the Swiss Academies of Sciences Code of Scientific Integrity (2021).

Name

IRAFPA - Institute of Research and Action on Fraud and Plagiarism in Academia

Legal name

Institut International de Recherche et d'Action sur la Fraude et le Plagiat Académiques (IRAFPA)

Website

https://irafpa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IRAFPA is a Geneva-based non-profit founded in 2016 that researches and mediates academic fraud and plagiarism cases worldwide, offering institutional certifications, training, and publications to universities, integrity officers, and victims.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Integrity Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDABAJAK

Financial Crime & Fraud Prevention (Forensics, Investigations)

Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/Finance, Accounting & Risk Training

SECONDARYMPAJABAF

Assessment, Testing & Exam Prep Publishing

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Educational & Academic Publishing (Textbooks, Scholarly, STM)

Keywords

• Academic integrity services
• Plagiarism mediation
• Research integrity consulting
• Institutional certification programs
• Academic fraud investigation

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Membership Fees: Annual membership fees providing personalized advice on plagiarism or scientific fraud cases, one accompaniment per year for filing complaints, and access to IRAFPA events at member rates.
2. Institutional Membership Fees: Tiered membership for laboratories, departments, universities, academic associations, and publishers. Higher tiers include multiple individual memberships, integrity system setup assistance, free conferences, and certification discounts.
3. Benefactor/Sponsor Contributions: Minimum annual donation of 3,000 EUR (or 3,300 CHF) providing all membership benefits plus logo placement in the Benefactors section of the IRAFPA website.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

IRAFPA provides structured mediation services using a proprietary 8-step methodology to address academic fraud and plagiarism cases, alongside institutional certifications (Établissement Responsable and École Doctorale Responsable), intensive summer school training programs for integrity officers, biennial international research colloquia, and a multilingual publication portfolio (books, Cahiers méthodologiques, Dossiers) accessible to victims of plagiarism, universities, doctoral schools, publishers, and ethics referents worldwide.

Product overview

IRAFPA (Institut International de Recherche et d'Action sur la Fraude et le Plagiat Académiques) is a non-profit international research institute founded in Geneva in 2016, offering a portfolio of products and services centered on academic integrity. Its core offerings include structured mediation services using a proprietary 8-step methodology, institutional certifications ('Établissement Responsable' and 'École Doctorale Responsable'), and intensive summer school training programs. The institute also operates a WebTV platform, publishes academic books and methodological papers (Les Cahiers de l'IRAFPA), organizes biannual international colloquia, and maintains a newsletter distributed to over 17,000 subscribers. The product portfolio is unified by IRAFPA's 'recherche interactionniste' (interactionist research) methodology aimed at creating sustainable solutions to academic fraud and plagiarism.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IRAFPA Mediation Services A structured 8-step mediation methodology for handling academic fraud and plagiarism cases, involving collaborative case review between Scientific Council members, mission officers, and country advisors to find viable and durable solutions. Targeted at individual victims of plagiarism and at academic institutions seeking neutral external mediation.
• Certification « Établissement Responsable » Institutional certification awarded to academic establishments demonstrating commitment to academic integrity and responsibility, part of IRAFPA's broader integrity certification program for universities, faculties, and national foundations.
• Certification « École Doctorale Responsable » Certification for doctoral schools demonstrating integrity practices, providing institutional accreditation for responsible academic conduct, available to Institution Members with substantial certification discounts.
• IRAFPA Summer Schools Intensive annual training programs for academic integrity officers and ethics referents, offered in three formulas: Formula 1 'Conseiller en intégrité' (Integrity Advisor), Formula 2 'Implémenter une culture de l'intégrité académique' (Implementing Academic Integrity Culture), and Formula 3 'Formation Intra-établissement' (in-house institutional training).
• IRAFPA International Colloquia Biannual international research and action colloquia on academic integrity, featuring scientific committees and published proceedings, with editions in Coimbra (2020, 2022, 2024, 2026) and online (2025).
• Livres IRAFPA (Books) Collective and authored books published by IRAFPA in French and English on academic integrity, including 'Réinventer l'intégrité académique à l'ère de l'intelligence artificielle' (2025), 'Les nouvelles frontières de l'intégrité académique' (2023), 'L'urgence de l'intégrité académique' (2021), and English editions such as 'The New Boundaries of Academic Integrity' (2024) and 'Academic Plagiarism' (2021).

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 18,000 newsletter subscribers receiving regular updates on academic integrity topics
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Swiss Academies of SciencesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021IRAFPA co-founder Pierre Hoffmeyer co-authored the Swiss Academies of Sciences' Code of Scientific Integrity (2021), demonstrating collaboration on national integrity frameworks.
• EHESS (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2019IRAFPA participated in the General States of Publishing in Humanities and Social Sciences at EHESS in June 2019, conducting a workshop on publication ethics including integrity, deontology, and plagiarism topics.
• AgroParisTechminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 May 2019IRAFPA President Michelle Bergadaà delivered a webinar on academic plagiarism and fraud for AgroParisTech research community, addressing the institution's multisite structure and busy schedules through remote presentation.
• ADESAQ (Association of Deans of Higher Education in Quebec)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 May 2019IRAFPA presented its organizational structure, epistemological foundations, specific concepts and methods, and the "Responsible Establishment" certification at ADESAQ's conference in Sherbrooke, Canada in May 2019.
• University of MontenegrocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 May 2019IRAFPA conducted the certification of the University of Montenegro as a "Responsible Institution" in May 2019 during the final conference of the EU/CoE Horizontal Facility project "Strengthen Integrity and Combat Corruption in Higher Education."
• Institut Mines Télécom AtlantiqueminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 February 2019IRAFPA President Michelle Bergadaà delivered a conference on scientific ethics, fraud, and plagiarism for doctoral students and teacher-researchers at IMT Atlantique via video conference across three campuses (Brest, Nantes, Rennes).
• Council of EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 November 2018IRAFPA President Michelle Bergadaà presented at the Council of Europe Symposium on Ethics, Transparency and Integrity in Education (ETINED) in Strasbourg in November 2018. The institute participates in the platform alongside specialists from 50 States Parties to the European Cultural Convention.
• University of PristinaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 October 2018IRAFPA organized a seminar on academic fraud and plagiarism with the University of Pristina in October 2018, attended by over 40 academic staff, senior university managers, and students. The seminar was held within the framework of the EU/CoE Action "Strengthen Integrity and Combat Corruption in Higher Education."
• CNECSDTI (Romanian National Ethics Council)minorOthersIRAFPA documents and analyzes Romania's national ethics structures including CNECSDTI, which monitors compliance with research legislation and handles plagiarism cases through its 19-member committee.
• LARI (Luxembourg Agency for Research Integrity)minorOthersIRAFPA monitors and documents Luxembourg's research integrity framework, including the Luxembourg Agency for Research Integrity which promotes good scientific practices and handles research misconduct cases nationally.
• FRQ (Fonds de Recherche du Quebec)minorOthersIRAFPA documents Quebec's responsible conduct of research policy developed by the Fonds de Recherche du Quebec, which establishes clear expectations for responsible research conduct as a condition for obtaining FRQ funding.
• OFIS (Office Français de l'Intégrité Scientifique)minorOthersIRAFPA documents and collaborates with France's Office for Scientific Integrity, which coordinates reflection on framework development, supports higher education institutions, and coordinates the network of scientific integrity referents.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO): UK-based independent advisory body providing guidance, training, and case review on research integrity. Mirrors IRAFPA's role as a non-governmental referral point for plagiarism and misconduct cases.
• Luxembourg Agency for Research Integrity (LARI): National agency promoting good scientific practices and handling research misconduct cases in Luxembourg. Directly comparable as a national-scale integrity body with mediation and policy functions.
• Office Français de l'Intégrité Scientifique (OFIS): France's national office coordinating higher education integrity efforts and the integrity referents network. Directly comparable to IRAFPA as both operate at the intersection of academic integrity policy, mediation, and institutional support.
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): International body providing guidance on publication ethics, peer review, and misconduct for editors and publishers. Comparable as a membership-based integrity organization serving the academic publishing ecosystem.
• European Network of Research Integrity Offices (ENRIO): Pan-European network of national research integrity offices. Operates in the same integrity-promotion space as IRAFPA and represents the supranational coordination layer IRAFPA aspires to engage with via ETINED.

Regional players

• Swiss Academies of Sciences: Swiss national academy that authored the Code of Scientific Integrity (2021) with IRAFPA co-founder Pierre Hoffmeyer. Comparable as the national-level integrity standards body for Switzerland, where IRAFPA is headquartered.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI): US federal body overseeing research integrity and investigating misconduct allegations in federally-funded research. A larger, government-mandated equivalent working in the same fraud-investigation and integrity-policy space as IRAFPA.

Emerging players

• Turnitin: Commercial plagiarism detection and academic integrity platform widely used by universities. Adjacent rather than directly competitive, but increasingly provides AI-integrity tooling that overlaps with IRAFPA's integrity-monitoring space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/irafpa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about IRAFPA - Institute of Research and Action on Fraud and Plagiarism in Academia