GovernanceHow we stay accountable.
We publish our structure, our funding, our salary bands, and our outputs. Independence is a structural choice, not a slogan — encoded in our bylaws, our board composition, and the funders we say no to.
Principles.
Six commitments that show up in our bylaws, our financials, and our public record.
Researcher-elected board
Six of the eight board seats are filled by active fellows and program leads, on rotating two-year terms. Term limits are enforced (no more than two consecutive terms). The other two seats — Ethics Chair and Treasurer — are independent, non-voting, and serve fixed three-year terms.
Funder firewall
No funder controls research direction. Grants are either fully unrestricted or scoped to a published pillar — never to a specific project. We decline funding that requires reserved seats, naming rights over research, or pre-publication approval. We've turned down two such offers since founding.
Annual transparency report
Audited financials, program outputs, salary bands, demographic breakdowns, and a 'what we got wrong' section published every year, in the same week. The full FY25 report is linked below.
Independent ethics review
An external ethics committee, chaired by Prof. Tunde Adebayo, reviews any project involving health data, biometric data, or other sensitive use cases. The committee has authority to delay or halt releases. They've used it twice.
Open conflicts register
Every board member and program lead publishes their outside affiliations, grants, and advisory positions in an open register, updated quarterly.
Whistleblower protection
An anonymous reporting channel routed to the independent Ethics Chair and Treasurer. Reports are investigated within 30 days; outcomes are summarised in the annual report.
Board & officers.
Six voting seats, two independent non-voting seats. Six of the eight live and work on the African continent year-round.
Elected 2025, term ends 2027
Elected 2024, term ends 2026
Elected 2025, term ends 2027
Elected 2025, term ends 2027
Standing seat
Standing seat
Non-voting · 3-year term
Non-voting · audit chair