Ethical and robust research underscores Participatory Development Associates’ (PDA’s) vision of: “A world where states, communities and organisations provide an enabling environment in which all people, regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, creed, age or disability, can realise their full potential and contribute their best to the common good”. It is for this reason that the Ethical Review Committee (ERC) was set up in January 2017 to help ensure that research is carried out to the highest ethical standards. The ERC has been formed to review research proposals in PDA and the general research community. It advises on the research process to ensure that both researchers and participants are adequately protected. The ERC is also interested in ensuring that researchers put adequate measures in place to minimise biases that could arise from both researchers’ and participants’ prejudices in the research process. The ERC has a multidisciplinary membership of eminent scholars and practitioners in their fields of specialisation.
Ethical review is aligned with our organisation’s Values in the following ways: