The responsible conduct of research at UCT is supported through university-wide and faculty-specific policies, senate-level committees, and faculty-level research ethics committees (RECs):
The RECs take responsibility for the review and oversight of research projects that engage with research participants through interactions and/or interventions, and/or use individually identifiable data about living individuals.
Their work is shaped by core principles of justice, beneficence, and respect for people.
RECs typically require detailed protocol information relating to:
the reasonableness and minimisation of risks
the balancing of risks and benefits associated with participation
assurance as to the equitable representation of persons, and
support for the voluntarism associated with ethics research.
RECs also undertake special scrutiny of research that engages with vulnerable populations including, among others:
children
pregnant women and foetuses
prisoners
migrants, and
people who are cognitively impaired.
Faculty-level animal ethics committees provide similar oversight for animal welfare and well-being in research projects ranging from laboratory research to wildlife-field studies.