The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) at UCT is responsible for overseeing ethical research conduct, ensuring compliance with biosafety standards, and promoting research integrity throughout the university. This page outlines the key components of ethics, biosafety, and research integrity supported at UCT.

Ethics and Biosafety

Research conducted at UCT must adhere to the UCT Policy for Responsible Conduct of Research. Oversight is provided by ethics, animal ethics, and biosafety committees operating at both the Senate and faculty levels. These committees develop and implement ethical policies, ensuring compliance in research involving human participants, animals, and potentially hazardous biological agents.

Use this guide as a quick reference to understand the research ethics landscape at UCT:

Process guide: UCT Ethics and Biosafety Committees

All projects involving human participants, biological materials, animals, or potentially hazardous biological agents (pHBAs) require prior approval from the relevant ethics or biosafety committee. 

Detailed steps for determining and obtaining the necessary approvals are outlined below.

Determining the need for ethics approval

Projects involving human participants are reviewed by the relevant Faculty Research Ethics Committee (REC), or the Inter-Faculty Human Research Ethics Committee (IFHREC) for inter-faculty or trans-disciplinary health-related research. A pre-screening questionnaire (PSQ) on UCT eRA assists in determining whether approval is required and identifies considerations relating to the Protection of Personal Information Act.

Research using human or animal biological materials, plant-based research, or potentially hazardous biological agents requires Faculty Biosafety Committee approval, with some cases referred to the Institutional Biosafety Ethics Committee. Guidance is available in the Institutional Biosafety Policy.

Animal research projects require review from Faculty Animal Ethics Committees, and in some cases, may also require a Section 20 permit from the Department of Agriculture and procedures authorisation from the South African Veterinary Council. Biosafety approval may also be necessary for certain projects.

Research involving anonymised third-party data (secondary data) may require approval if identifiable elements are accessible. Relevant Faculty Ethics Committees provide advice in such cases.

Each faculty has specific ethics and biosafety procedures.

Projects requiring health-related ethics approval outside the Faculty of Health Sciences or involving inter-faculty collaboration are reviewed by the Inter-Faculty Human Research Ethics Committee (IFHREC).

If a pre-screening questionnaire (PSQ) determines that ethics approval is not required, exemption letters are provided via UCT eRA.

If ethics approval is required, the following steps apply

1. Submitting an ethics application

Applications requiring ethics or biosafety approval must be submitted via the UCT eRA system to the appropriate committee. Submission instructions specific to each faculty are available on their respective webpages.

2. Committee review and outcome

Ethics applications are reviewed by the relevant committee, and outcomes are issued through UCT eRA:

• Approved/Authorised
• Approved/Authorised with conditions
• Not Approved/Authorised

Outcome letters can be downloaded via UCT eRA. Assistance is available through the guide Ethics Management – Generating an outcome letter.

Appeals addressing procedural errors or conflicts of interest may be submitted to the following bodies:

• Senate Ethics in Research Committee
• Senate Animal Ethics Committee
• Institutional Biosafety Ethics Committee

Appeals are considered in exceptional cases and should only be initiated once all other avenues have been exhausted.

Research Integrity

Research integrity at UCT is underpinned by honest and verifiable methods, adherence to domain-specific standards, and compliance with institutional and professional regulations. It focuses on translating research into meaningful outcomes while maintaining public trust.

The responsible conduct of research (RCR) is a cornerstone of integrity, fostering accountability and professionalism across disciplines. RCR training equips researchers to address ethical challenges, comply with regulations, and adopt best practices in areas such as data management, authorship, peer review, and the prevention of misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification). It also supports the ethical management of human and animal subjects in research.

International research funders increasingly require evidence of RCR training. UCT offers a range of training and education opportunities, including:

• Asynchronous online learning through SuccessFactors (search “integrity” after logging in)
• In-person workshops and seminars, advertised via the research announcement newsletter or in collaboration with the ERP and OPGS platforms.

Customised workshops for departments or specific enquiries can be directed to the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). 

Advice and Support

Guidance on research ethics, integrity and best practices is available through the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). See also our Research Integrity section for details.