Sent on behalf of the AU Research Ethics Board (REB)........

TO ALL RESEARCHERS and SUPERVISORS of STUDENT RESEARCHERS who wish to start recruitment and/or data collection in August or September:

Please be advised there will be no 'regular' REB meeting in July or August, due to staff, board member and subcommittee reviewer availability.  A notice of this annual service impact will be  posted at the ethics applications website http://research.athabascau.ca/ethics/forms.php .

As confirmed at the recent May REB meeting, following are the regular application submission deadlines for July-September, 2014:

1.  FACULTY / PROFESSIONAL RESEARCHERS -- (All reviews are normally conducted by regular REB):
      -- No regular July reviews....see #3, below, for 'emergency' situations. 
      -- No regular August reviews…see #3, below, for ‘emergency’ situations.
      -- Apply by Fri, September 5, for review at September REB meeting (meeting date to be confirmed).

     (** First Friday of the Month regular monthly application deadline will resume in September).

2.  STUDENT RESEARCHERS -- are not required to adhere to the monthly meeting deadline, but should always submit applications as soon as possible, keeping in mind that:

* Applications submitted anytime during the summer will be reviewed by subcommittee, dependent upon risk level and/or availability of reviewers at the time of application receipt.

Reviews between July 1 and August 31 may be slower than normal (e.g. may take from 4 to 6 weeks to complete, rather than the normal 2 to 4 weeks). 

3.  'EMERGENCY' REVIEW DURING SUMMER 2014 -- If, due to the nature of the topic or availability of participant population, a significant research opportunity arises suddenly which could not be foreseen in time for submission of an application within the review schedule noted above, every effort will be made to provide a timely review in order to enable the research to be undertaken as soon as possible.  Turnaround will, however, depend upon availability of reviewers and the level of risk of the research (which dictates whether a delegated review or full board review is required).  Staff absences and/or workload may also impact communication during this period. 

If you have any questions, please contact the REB Office @ <rebsec@athabascau.ca>.

Thanks
 

Gail