Session Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: Policy drafting, group review, compliance checklist development
To ensure that ethics and integrity are upheld consistently, institutions must embed ethical governance into their structures, policies, and day-to-day operations. This unit explores how councils and research bodies can establish and strengthen oversight mechanisms.
a. Establishing and Supporting Research Ethics Committees (RECs): RECs are central to ethical oversight. They review protocols, assess risks, and protect participants’ rights. An effective REC must be independent, multi-disciplinary, and free from conflicts of interest. It should include researchers, ethicists, community representatives, and legal advisors. Councils must provide RECs with adequate funding, administrative support, and continuous training. REC processes must also be transparent, standardized, and inclusive, ensuring that all proposals, whether from established institutions or early-career researchers, receive fair evaluation.
b. Monitoring Compliance and Reviewing Amendments: Oversight does not end with initial approval. RECs and councils must monitor how approved research is actually conducted. This includes reviewing progress reports, conducting site visits, and responding to complaints or unexpected events. If researchers wish to modify their protocol (e.g., add new participants, change methodology), they must apply for approval of an ethical amendment. This ensures that any changes do not introduce new risks or ethical concerns.
c. Building Ethics Policies and Institutional Culture: Institutionalizing ethics also requires written policies on issues like informed consent, data protection, authorship, and international collaboration. These policies must align with national and international standards, be easily accessible, and regularly updated. More importantly, ethical values must become part of institutional culture. This can be achieved through leadership commitment, ethical training programs, mentorship, and creating an environment where ethical concerns can be raised without fear of retaliation.
d. Capacity Building and Training: Councils should mandate and fund annual training for researchers, REC members, and administrative staff. Ethics and integrity should also be part of undergraduate and postgraduate curricula. Training should cover emerging issues such as artificial intelligence in research, big data ethics, cross-border research, and indigenous knowledge systems. Building ethical capacity today is essential for sustaining trust in science tomorrow.
Case Studies for Discussion
a) Nigeria: The University of Ibadan Ethics Committee developed Africa’s first electronic ethics review platform, improving transparency and reducing approval times for funded projects.
b) Burkina Faso: The National Research Ethics Committee mandated community consultations in all health trials after controversies over vaccine research, highlighting ethical responsibility and inclusivity.
Facilitator Notes
a) Facilitate group work on designing oversight mechanisms.
b) Stress embedding ethics in council governance.
c) Link to global best practices and local adaptation.
Suggestions for Further Reading
a) UNESCO (2021). Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.
b) OECD (2019). Best Practices for Research Integrity.