Paper short abstract:

To build an ethical ecosystem requires a combination of individual, group, and institutional commitments and synergies. In this presentation we share our experience and aspirations as an Ethics Committee in the Global South.

Paper long abstract:

Building an ethical ecosystem – here defined as the complex processes, actions, and structures put in place to embed ethics – in a university is a tedious, dynamic and learning activity. It requires a combination of individual, group, and institutional commitments and synergies, all of which are not without their challenges. In this presentation by the Ethics Committee in the Faculty of Social Sciences Lagos State University, we share our ongoing experience – and strategies – of embedding new ethics structures and processes. Specifically, we will discuss five main building blocks:

(i) training and retraining,

(ii) collegiate and multidisciplinary set-up,

(iii) student-centred innovation and informalisation,

(iv) collaboration within and outside Africa, and

(v) institutional conversation/engagements.

The goal of our presentation is to share our experience with researchers and Ethics Committees in peer institutions while also generating feedback from other settings.