IASR Ethics Panel

The IASR Ethics Panel (RIEP) has the task of setting standards for the ethical conduct of research in the Institute and providing ethical review and oversight of research projects undertaken by staff and postgraduate research (PGR) students. Please note that separate arrangements apply to undergraduate and taught postgraduate courses within School.

In setting standards, the RIEP will:

1. Maintain an overview of developments in the range of ethical issues presented to IASR, reporting them to the IASR Board and incorporating them into guidance where appropriate and in liaison with the University Research Ethics Committee (UREC)
2. Communicate to staff and PGR students the University’s research ethics requirements and procedures
3. Provide training in the procedures for ethical review (starting 2018-19);
4. Mapping the research ethics content of in-house training and PGR programmes (starting in 2019-20)
5. Provide an annual report to the IASR Board and University Research Ethics Committee (UREC).

In providing ethical review for research projects, the RIEP will:

1. Establish a system for notifying the Panel of applications; notified to the Panel at least 3 weeks in advance
2. Appoint and train internal reviewers to assess applications
3. Arrange for each application to be reviewed by at least two internal reviewers, who will offer review independently of each other, and amalgamate internal reviews into a single report to the applicant
4. Undertake to review standard applications within 4 working weeks of receipt, provided the application has been notified to the Panel in advance;
5. Offer an expedited route to provide ethical review in urgent cases within 2 working weeks, provided the application has been notified to the Panel at least 1 week in advance
6. Undertake to review amendments requested within 2 working weeks of receipt;
7. Issue a letter outlining initial ethical approval signed by the Chair on behalf of the Institute (this constitutes the formal approval that should be cited in internal documents and published outputs on the project)
8. Provide a system for applicants to notify the panel of changes of research design after initial ethical approval
9. Consider a system for end of project reporting, indicating the main ethical issues that arose in the project and how they were resolved (starting in 2019-20);
10. Maintain records to demonstrate the proper conduct of ethical review within the Institute.
11. To review the Terms of Reference annually

Meetings

The RIEP will meet three times a year.

Membership

The RIEP will have at least 6 active members, including:

• A Chair (a senior member of the Institute, appointed by the IASR Director)
• An administrator (nominated by the IASR Director)
• Six research-active staff who are either members or associate members of the IASR

We will review the membership on an annual basis.

Reporting arrangements

The RIEP is a subcommittee of the IASR Board, to which it provides an annual report.

Dr Lisa Bostock
Chair of the IASR staff and PGR Ethics Panel
Updated January 2023