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“EXCELLENCE THROUGH KNOWLEDGE” P A G E 19 An Analysis of the Research Ethics Policy at a Caribbean University Susan Muir Faculty of Engineering & Computing The paper presents an analysis of the research ethics policy at a Caribbean university. It examines each phase of policy making in this context, presents a Systems Framework, and evaluates the precision and plausibility of the policy. The Research Ethics policy formulation at University of Technology, Jamaica, is sound, based on a review of the policy documents in this case study. However, there are challenges in policy implementation andmonitoring. The role of politics and the value of changeagents– torespondtoopportunities formarked improvements in policy implementation and monitoring – are considered. Lessons from this paper could be utilized to improve the protection of the health, safety and rights of human subjects in research projects in institutions across the Caribbean and other developing countries. Globally, Research Ethics Committees (RECs) encounter challenges that prevent optimal operations. For example, scholars have noted multiple concerns with the functioning and capability of RECs in developing countries (Silverman and Sleem, 2014). Due to the growing number of research studies in the region, as much as 270 million residents of the Caribbean region are at risk due to ineffectual or inefficient oversight of clinical trials (U.S. National Institutes of Health Project Information, 2015). This paper will outline opportunities to improve the system of ethical review at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica). I will analyze the current policy using a systems framework, discuss the precision and plausibility of the policy and the phases of research ethics policy-making, as well as evaluate the impact of interest groups on RE policy outcomes. Editor’s Note: This research was published in full in the Journal of Arts, Science and Technology, Vol. 9, 2016. SusanA. Muir

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