Ethics and Compliance
Establish and maintain the highest standards in research.
Plan Your Research - Ethics and Compliance
The University of Calgary has two research ethics boards, three animal care committees, and a biosafety committee.
All research, funded or unfunded, involving humans, animals, or biohazards must first be reviewed by and receive approval from the appropriate board or committee before research can begin. Access to funds, if applicable, only occurs after all of the required certificates and approvals are in place.
The Tri-Council agreement identifies the roles and responsibilities in the management of federal grants and awards and includes an outline of all compliance certification requirements.
At the University of Calgary, there are two Research Ethics Boards responsible for reviewing research applications involving human participants: The Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (CHREB) and the Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board (CFREB).
How We Can Help:
CFREB Human Ethics: Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board
The Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board (CFREB) reviews application from researchers affiliated with following faculties: Arts, Education, Engineering, Environmental Design, Haskayne School of Business, Law, Science, Social Work, Veterinary Medicine, Institutes associated with any of these faculties, and Libraries and Cultural Resources.
CHREB Human ethics: Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board
The Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (CHREB) reviews applications from Researchers affiliated with the following faculties: Kinesiology, Cumming School of Medicine, and Nursing.
Training
TCPS2 CORE Tutorial, or CITI Human Subjects Research Course (Biomedical or Social Behavioral-Educational module, whichever is most relevant to your discipline). and SoTL CFREB Training through the Taylor Institute.
IRISS: Human Ethics and Animal Care Protocols
All applications to the human Research Ethics Boards (CFREB and CHREB), the Animal Care Committees (HSACC, LESACC, and VSACC) are created and submitted via IRISS.
UCARE and Animal Use Protocols
All animal care and use (research, teaching, and testing) must be reviewed and approved by the Animal Care Committee prior to starting a research project.
Biosafety
A Biosafety Permit is required for use and storage of biohazards and is conditional on registration with and approval from the University of Calgary Biosafety Committee.
Radiation Safety
There is a registration and inspection process in place to ensure compliance with safety requirements for the radiation emitting devices.
Quality Assurance for Clinical Trials - CSM
Note - QA for Clinical Trial Research is now overseen by the Cumming School of Medicine.
The CCCR provides Quality Assurance (QA) and Regulatory Compliance services for the research community to ensure that all clinical research meets high-quality standards and ICH Guideline for Good Clinical Practice and applicable regulations are followed in the conduct of clinical trials. The QA program conducts internal file Reviews which verify that research studies are conducted and data is generated, documented and recorded in compliance with the study protocol, applicable regulations, standard operating procedures and institutional policies.
The University of Calgary (through its membership with N2) provides access to CITI’s online training as well as access to their complete set of Clinical Research Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The QA program also supports the research community by providing standard tools and processes.
Learn More: Quality Assurance for Clinical Trials (CCCR)
Research Integrity
University of Calgary researchers are held to the highest standards of conduct and shall strive to follow the best research practices honestly, accountably, openly, and fairly in the search for and in the dissemination of knowledge. In addition, researchers shall follow the requirements of applicable University policies and professional or disciplinary standards and shall comply with applicable laws and regulations.
Researchers must be familiar with the University of Calgary’s Research Integrity Policy and Code of Conduct.
For information on the breach of research integrity, refer to the Investigating a Breach of Research Integrity procedure.
Research Ethics Appeal Board
• Research Ethics Appeal Board Terms of Reference (.pdf)
• Research Ethics Appeal Board Procedures (.pdf)