7210-42 Research Ethics Board Official Policy

Introduction

Vanier’s core business is educating our students and preparing them for university entrance and/or direct entry into the workplace. Meeting our commitment to the education of our students requires dedicated, innovative, creative teachers and staff making the professional and personal development of our teachers a critical part of Vanier’s Strategic Plan. Research is one of the important ways in which the College will work to empower the members of our academic community. Three areas of research are involved:

1. Pedagogical research directed at improving our knowledge and understanding of our students, their learning styles and needs and assisting us in developing ways to help them learn better.
2. Research aimed at learning from other educational institutions as a way of benchmarking our progress and pushing us to excel among our sister institutions.
3. Applied research directed at providing the opportunity for scientific and technical advancement of our teachers, invaluable experience for our students as they participate in research projects with their teachers, but also strengthening our links to our host community by collaborating with outside business and community organizations in seeking solutions to their problems.

Role of research office

The Research Office is responsible for:

1. Informing the members of the Vanier research community about sources of funding that are available to them;
2. Providing support to the research community by reviewing applications submitted to granting agencies;
3. Assisting faculty in understanding and interpreting the regulations of granting agencies;
4. Ensuring the research activities at the College comply with the requirements of funding and granting agencies;
5. Supervising the opening, renewal and revision of all research grant funds; ensuring that researchers are meeting the requirements to receive additional tranches of granted funds;
6. Developing annual research statistics for the College, granting agencies, government officials and other relevant organizations.

General responsibilities: research office

Research development

1. Develops research capacity; acts as a leadership force in College for the promotion of applied research;
2. Sponsors seminars and workshops on research ethics and on the preparation of documents for research grants;
3. Supports student research projects;
4. Provides professional development for faculty and staff in collaboration with the Pedagogical Development Office and other Vanier academic departments;
5. Acts as a clearing house for the Research Ethics Board (REB) and as a link between REB, Research Ethics Appeal Board (REAB) and the Vanier community;
6. Maintains and updates research policies and recommends modifications to College policies in response to changing requirements of granting agencies.

Research services

1. Maintains a database of all applied research projects at the College; administers funds allocated by granting agencies and other bodies to individual projects; advises the Financial Office of the College as to the eligibility of researchers to continue to receive disbursements from grants;
2. Supervises the collection and storage of research reports and data developed during research projects as well as the minutes of deliberations of the REB and REAB;
3. Provides secure storage with limited access for all records on investigations of breaches of the Vanier policy on Research Misconduct.

Procedure for approval and administration of research projects

1. Potential projects may be forwarded by researchers, students, as a result of a request from a granting agency or from industry or other non-college agencies.
2. Applicants may apply directly or through their department. A signed and dated copy of the Application to Conduct Research Form (Appendix 1) must be submitted to the Research Office. A granting agency’s forms and guidelines may replace the College’s forms when the project arose from an application to such an agency.
3. The Research Office must review the proposal with respect to: the College’s research criteria and policies and the experience and qualifications of the lead researcher. If an ethical review seems required, the Research Office must forward the Application to Conduct Research Form and accompanying documents to the Chair of the REB to be dealt with in a timely manner. The Research Office may consult with any other members of the College community whose expertise and advice may be relevant to the decision.
4. The Research Office should seek the approval of the head of the relevant department, and of the College’s Finance Office, if necessary, in determining whether the College has the resources and personnel to support the particular proposed research projects. This determination is separate from the question of the ethics of the proposed research.
5. A budget and details of the budgetary process including an expected overhead charge must be prepared by the researcher and the Research Office; the budget will be managed by Research Office in collaboration with the Finance Office.
6. A work plan, deliverables and the relevant timelines must be worked out by Research Office and applicant.
7. All reporting to funding agencies will be managed by the Research Office.
8. The applicant should disclose to the Research Office any potential for intellectual property that may arise from the project. The issue of the ownership of intellectual property developed as a result of research undertaken at the College and by College staff falls under the College’s Research Integrity Policy.

The research ethics board (REB)

Responsibility

The Research Ethics Board is responsible for ensuring that research at Vanier College:

1. Respects the personal integrity of all human participants;
2. Ensures their physical well-being;
3. Respects the position of vulnerable persons;
4. Minimizes harm and maximizes benefits.

Authority

The Research Ethics Board (REB) reviews applications for research activities involving human subjects as described in the Vanier College policy “Research Involving Human Subjects”. The REB is authorized to approve, reject, propose changes to, or terminate any proposed or ongoing research involving human subjects. The REB is also expected to further the knowledge of and appreciation for research ethics at the College, serving as a source of information and advice to the Vanier College research community.

Membership

The Director General, in consultation with the Academic Dean, will appoint the members of the REB, including both men and women, for rotating three year terms.

The REB shall be composed of at least 5 members, each with an alternate:

1. At least two members have broad experience in the areas of research covered by the REB at the College;
2. At least one member is knowledgeable in ethics;
3. One is a lawyer, who is not the College legal counsel;
4. One is a member of the outside community with no affiliation to the College.

Reporting

The REB reports to the Academic Dean, who must ensure that the REB has the resources it needs to carry out its responsibilities.

Chair

The Chair of the REB is responsible for:

1. Calling and chairing meetings of the REB
2. Maintaining communications with the members of the REB and with the Research Office
3. Communicating decisions of the REB to research applicants
4. Ensuring that appropriate documentation of the deliberations in REB meetings are kept and forwarded to the relevant offices within the College.

Meetings

The REB will meet a minimum of six times per year. These meetings will be face-to-face and at intervals sufficiently spaced to permit applications to be received and decisions made in a timely manner throughout the school year. No meetings will be held in July and August. Meeting dates are to be set by the Chair in consultation with the members of the REB and the Academic Dean. The schedule of meetings should be made available to members of the Vanier community by posting them on the College website and publishing them in the Vanier Intercom.

1. The Chair will determine the agenda.
2. A quorum will be 50% plus one of the memberships being present. When there is less than full attendance, decisions requiring full review should be adopted only if the members attending the meeting have sufficient background and expertise to deal effectively and accurately with the issues covered in the proposal.
3. The REB must record and maintain in their files all documents of meetings and research applications involving human subjects, including all decisions, dissents and the reasons for them. Minutes must be available to authorized personnel of the College, the researcher, and the appropriate funding agencies.

Decisions

If a consensus cannot be reached, a decision will be made by majority vote. The committee may request external advice and/or meet with a researcher prior to making a decision. The decision of the REB must be recorded and signed by the Chair and communicated in writing to the applicant.

The committee may decide to:

• Approve an application;
• Request that it be modified; or
• Deny the application.

The REB must reconsider a negative decision upon receiving a written request from the applicant.

Research Ethics Appeal Board (REAB)

The Director General, in consultation with the Academic Dean, will appoint a Research Ethics Appeal Board (REAB).

Authority: The REAB will consider any appeal arising from negative decisions of the Research Ethics Board. Only the research applicant may launch an appeal.

Reports to: Academic Dean

Membership: The REAB shall be composed of at least five (5) members, each with an alternate:

1. At least two members with broad experience in the areas of research covered by the REB at the College;
2. At least one member knowledgeable in ethics;
3. One lawyer, who is not the College’s legal counsel;
4. One community member with no affiliation to the College.

Members of the Research Ethics Board cannot concurrently serve on the Research Ethics Appeal Board, nor can a member of the REAB participate in the review of a decision of the REB taken during his or her term of office on that committee.

The Chair, elected by the members of the REAB, will call meetings when required. Quorum will be fifty percent (50%) plus one of the members being present, provided those present have adequate knowledge of the issues to make a reasonable decision. If consensus cannot be reached, the decision will be made by majority vote. The decision and the rationale for it must be communicated promptly to the applicant by the Chair. All documentation and minutes of the deliberation must be filed with the Research Office and kept for at least one year. The decision of the REAB will be final and is not open to appeal.