Ethically Responsible Research: Guidelines and Committees
If your research project involves people, animals, the environment, or genetic material, an ethical approval may be required before you begin. This ensures that your research is carried out with respect for the rights and safety of involved research subjects.
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Which ethics committee should I contact?
Several ethics committees at UHasselt support researchers with tailored guidance and formal evaluations. Not sure which committee applies to your research? Use our decision tree for ethical committees (only available in Dutch) or explore the overview below.
Committee for Medical Ethics
Are you working with human participants or using human biological material (e.g. tissue, blood, DNA)? Or are you conducting research in a medical context? Then your project likely needs approval from the Committee for Medical Ethics (CME).
Ethical Committee for Animal Experimentation
Will your research involve animal testing? The Ethical Committee for Animal Experimentation (ECAE) reviews your planned experiments, checks training requirements, and ensures your research follows ethical and legal guidelines.
Social and Societal Ethics Committee
Are you conducting interviews, surveys, observations, or other types of research involving people that does not take place in a medical context? Then the Social and Societal Ethics Committee (SMEC) is the committee you need.
Biosafety Committee
Does your project involve genetically modified organisms (GMOs), biohazards, or other biological materials that could pose a risk? The Biosafety Committee will help you assess these risks and ensure safe procedures are followed.
Working with genetic materials from abroad?
If your research involves genetic resources (like plants, seeds, microbes, or other biological material) from another country, you may need to follow rules under the Nagoya Protocol. The Nagoya Protocol is an international agreement that applies to the collection, acquisition and use of genetic resources (such as seeds, plants and other living organisms) from other countries. It aims to prevent biopiracy and protect biodiversity by requiring users to respect the access rules of the country of origin.
This means that before using genetic resources from another country, you may need to:
- Obtain Prior Informed Consent (PIC) from the country of origin
- Agree on Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT) for sharing any resulting benefits
- Comply with the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) rules of that country
In the EU, these requirements are formalised through the ABS Regulation, which obliges researchers to exercise due diligence when acquiring and using genetic resources.
How do I know if this applies to my research?
To find out whether the Nagoya Protocol or ABS rules apply to your project:
- Use the Flowchart 2.0 to assess the relevance.
- Check national rules via the website of the ABS Clearing House.
- Consult the Nagoya Protocol Factsheet for a practical overview.
- Check the Contact manual to learn how to contact the country of origin.
Nagoya protocol contact point
To help you as quickly as possible, please fill out in the Assessment form to the best of your ability, and send it along with your question to RRI@uhasselt.be.