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Background: This article examines intrapreneurship principles that can contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of service delivery in the O.R. Tambo District Municipality.Aim: The aim of this research was to investigate whether municipalities practise intrapreneurship and how intrapreneurship drivers may be incorporated into the municipal environment to improve service delivery to surrounding communities.Setting: This study is based in the O.R. Tambo District Municipality, and the target population is middle- and top-level managers from all the municipalities in the district.Methods: The research is situated within the interpretivist paradigm and employed the qualitative method of semi-structured interviews, which were purposively conducted with 12 middle- and top-level managers. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. Municipal documents were also used for triangulation purposes.Results: The empirical findings revealed that policies, laws and regulatory aspects are a hindrance to the development of intrapreneurial practices. The bureaucratic environment that exists is not flexible enough to encourage intrapreneurial conduct among employees. The blurred lines between the administrative and political wings in the municipalities lead to a constricting environment that hinders intrapreneurial practices in the municipalities.Conclusion: A framework for the integration of intrapreneurship drivers to improve service delivery was developed. The article recommends that employees and the community should play a larger role in the planning process so that they can assist to identify best practices and alternate approaches to certain identified issues. The implementation of projects should be left to the administrative managers and staff, and contingency platforms should be introduced to manage transition periods with new replacements.

The strict adherence to ethical principles (namely respect for persons, beneficence/non-maleficence and justice) when conducting research involving human participants is the bedrock of research. There has been little research on students’ experiences with the research ethics process and how these students incorporate ethical standards into their research work, despite previous research looking into teaching methodologies, curricula, and the educational environment for postgraduate students. The purpose of the study was to investigate postgraduate students’ experiences with research ethics during their research project. A sample of 11 participants was used. Through online interviews, this qualitative study, underpinned by the interpretivist paradigm, collected data from postgraduate students from different disciplines and universities in South Africa between June and August 2021. The findings showed different perspectives on the training received in research ethics, and on support and guidance received from supervisors, and the application of research ethics principles in their research projects. Most participants indicated gaps in the teaching and support they received and had not read their university research ethics policies. By focusing on students’ experiences in a developing country and different disciplines, the study contributes to the body of knowledge on postgraduate student experiences. Furthermore, the findings suggest that there is need for more research ethics training amongst postgraduate students in South Africa.