Active costructions are used more often in English than passive constructions. Generally, you need the passive voice in the following case: When it is not known or not necessary to mention who performs the action. Cotton is grown in Egypt. His book hasn't been published yet. His house was built a year ago. The film will be released in a month. Compare: 1) They gave him a valuable prize - it is necessary to draw more attention to the receiver of the action. 2) He was given a valuable prize - it is not known or not necessary to mention who performs the action. Note: Do not use passive constructions unnecessarily. In many cases it is better to use active constructions if you know who performs the action. Normal: I've already bought a new computer. Strange: A new computer has been bought by me already.

"I think in this phrase 'it hopes' means 'it is hoped' and so 'it considers' means 'it is considered', is it right?" No. Absolutely no. If you read the previous paragraphs, you'll realise "it" refers to the research team. This is an active sentence.