Membership requirements

The appointment of RU-IREC membership will be direct appointment by the Vice Chancellor of Rongo  University. TheRU-IREC shall be 9 (Nine) to 15 (Fifteen) members of whom at least 40% shall be drawn from human health professions, taking into account the diversity of the disciplines in the University. The committee shall also include at least 40% of either gender.

Eligibility of membership shall be as follows:

  1. A social and behavioral scientist (cultural anthropologist and medicalsociologist),physician, epidemiologists, basic scientists, Educationist,social and behavioral scientists, a lawyer, a statistician, a lay person, a religious representative, a community representative, a media person, Environmentalists,  natural scientists,. ’This list is clearly indicative and not exhaustive’
  2. A rotation system will be adopted for membership in order to maintain continuity, development and maintenance of expertise within the RU-IREC, and the regular input of fresh ideas and approaches.

Terms of membership

  1. Members should be willing to make public their full names, profession, and institutional affiliation.
  2. Members shall be expected to declare any conflicts of interest which may arise or exist during their tenure on the RU-IREC committee. Such conflict will be declared in writing before each meeting and documented in the minutes. Members will recuse themselves from any discussion of a protocol in which they have a conflict of interest (COI).
  3. Members will sign a confidentiality agreement at the beginning of their appointment regarding meeting deliberations, RU-IREC committee applications, information on research participants, and related matters; in addition, all RU-IREC Secretariat staff shall sign a similar confidentiality agreement.
  4. Each member shall serve for a period of three (3) years. The tenure may be renewed for one or more additional terms at the discretion of the Vice Chancellor and the University Board of Management.
  5. The Vice Chancellor in consultation with the  University Board of Management shall have authority to remove or replace a RU-IREC committee member.
  6. The Vice Chancellor may terminate the services of or disqualify a member of the RU-IREC on grounds of:
    • Misconduct.
    • Abuse of office.
    • Non-disclosure of competing interests.
    • Inappropriate behaviour.
    • Unprofessional conduct.
    • Failure to abide by the terms of appointment.
    • Failure to attend more than 60% of the meetings in a year.
  7. A member may resign from the RU-IREC on his/her own volition. The member shall be required to submit his/her resignation in writing at least two (02) months prior to his/her anticipated end date to allow time to fill the vacancy that will exist as a result of his/her resignation.
  8. When a new member has been appointed to the RU-IREC, an appointment letter from the Vice Chancellor shall be sent to the new member. The chairperson of RU-IREC or a RU-IREC committee Secretary shall then arrange an orientation session with the new member. On completion of the induction, the new member may begin attending the RU-IREC meetings.
  9. Members will be reimbursed for expenses incurred in attending the RU-IREC meetings and/or research site visits. The allowance shall be decided upon by the executive members of RU- IREC
  10. Note: The Executive RU-IREC members is composed of the VC, DVC – ASA, RU-IREC chairperson and secretary and Dean, Research and post graduate studies.

Continuing Education for RU-IREC Members

All the RU-IREC committee members shall be asked to participate in workshops germane to the RU-IREC committee responsibilities.

Each RU-IREC committee member shall be given the opportunity to attend Bioethics and Scientific Conferences or Seminars whenever funds to support these activities are available.

All the RU-IREC members shall be required to undertake ethics training, e.g. The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) program or a similar curriculum, at least once every three (3) years.