By Cornelius W. Ngalame| May 17, 2025
Our Deputy Vice-Chancellor (ACDRI), Prof. Isaac Nyamongo, presided over an induction exercise for The Co-operative University of Kenya’s Institutional Scientific Ethics Review Committee (CUK–ISERC) members. This institutional committee, which is under the chairmanship of Dr. Obadia Okinda, is an independent and recognised entity accredited by the National Commission for Science and Technology (NACOSTI) that evaluates research proposals on both scientific and ethical grounds, encompassing academic, applied, actionable, and standalone research submissions.
This committee operates within institutions like universities, hospitals, and research organizations, ensuring research involving humans, animals, or their data adheres to ethical standards, safeguarding participants’ rights, dignity, safety, and well-being. It reviews proposals to monitor compliance and align with national and international ethical guidelines, such as Kenya’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Act of 2013 and NACOSTI’s accreditation standards.
The primary role of CUK–ISERC is to ensure that The Co-operative University of Kenya and researchers who choose us uphold the most rigorous ethical standards in research and development. The CUK–ISERC achieves this by conscientiously reviewing research proposals involving interactions with study participants and data collection throughout the project. Researchers at CUK submit proposals through the CUK-ISERC online platform, which streamlines the review process. The Committee convenes regularly, with the primary intention of greenlighting the submitted proposals. Research proposals for review span both social and humanities fields, including but not limited to basic research, translational research, cooperatives and community research, gender studies, and anthropological research.
