The Busara Institutional Scientific and Ethical Review Committee
Critical infrastructure to support high-quality ethical research in the global majority
Who we are
The Busara Institutional Scientific and Ethical Review Committee (Busara ISERC) is accredited by the National Commission For Science, Technology & Innovation (NACOSTI) to conduct scientific and ethical review of research protocols in humanities and social sciences.
The Committee is deliberately diverse, drawing members from inside and outside Busara, across a range of social and behavioral science disciplines, and importantly, from the communities where Busara works most frequently, such as Kibera and Kawangware. This ensures that ethical review draws on both technical expertise and lived contextual knowledge of the populations most affected by the research under review.
What we review
We specialize in the oversight of behavioral science research in the global majority. This specialization was born out of Busara's own reckoning with the unpredictable, sometimes serious harms that behavioral research can cause, even when the underlying intent is benevolent, combined with the recognition that existing regulatory infrastructure in much of the global majority is nascent, under-resourced, and often unfamiliar with the specific risks that behavioral science creates.
How we review
Core competencies
Behavioral science expertise
A lack of behavioral science expertise can lead to miscalibrated attention, with too much scrutiny on some protocols that are genuinely low risk and not enough scrutiny on protocols that present higher levels of risk. Both the secretariat and committee at Busara ISERC is staffed with members who have a good understanding of behavioral science.
Accountability
Busara ISERC is committed to accountability at two levels: • Shielding the ethics review process from outside influence • Establishing proper feedback mechanisms and acting on all learnings they provide
Efficiency
Busara ISERC is committed to streamlined and user-friendly processes.
Community input
To ensure knowledge and expertise on context is left to the experts - communities themselves - the Busara ISERC has seats reserved on the committee for members of the communities where Busara works most frequently, such as Kibera and Kawangware.