Wessels, Jacobus S.Sadler, Elmarie2022-02-082022-02-082021Wessels, J.S. & Sadler, E. 2021. Conflict of interest: The case of a non-decision-making committee at a South African public higher education institution. TD: The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 17(1):1 - 12. [http://dspace.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/3605]1817-44342415-2005 (Online)http://hdl.handle.net/10394/38320https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v17i1.878The avoidance of a conflict of interest within private and public institutions is closely associated with good corporate governance. This study departed from the question of whether a conflict of interest is possible within a non-decision-making institutional committee. For this purpose, a high-level non-decision-making committee within a South African public higher education institution was selected as a case study. This article reports on an exploratory qualitative study consisting of qualitative content analysis of the constituting and operational documents of this committee, as well as on a study of the perceptions and lived experiences of the selected committee. It was found that the selected committee was established to be a high-level consultative body for the executive management committee of the university on decisions of strategic operational nature. This committee does not have any decision-making duties. Conflict of interest is perceived by committee members in terms of either the explicit or the hidden agenda metaphor. According to the explicit agenda metaphor, a conflict of interest within a non-decision-making committee is not possible, whilst the hidden agenda metaphor holds that a conflict of interest is the reality of members’ lived experiences. This article provides a comparison of the two perspectives according to three defining attributes of the concept and shows a need for a logical and principled definition of the concept ‘conflict of interest’ within the context of higher education and the public sector at large.enConflict of interestHigher education managementCorporate decision-makingConsultative forumInternal competitionHidden agendaExplicit agendaGovernanceHigher Education InstitutionsPublic higher education institutionsArticle