Research Ethics Board Timelines
Research Ethics Board (REB) review is a multi-step and ongoing process. Review turnaround times (for both initial submissions, resubmissions, and modification requests) may vary due to a variety of factors such as the availability of reviewers, the volume of applications submitted to the REB, the level of risk associated with the research project, and the complexity of the application.
It is the principal investigator’s responsibility to ensure that the research team is able to meet any time sensitive deadlines (e.g., conducting research at an event that is scheduled in advance, WRDSB review deadlines) and that projects are feasible to complete within restricted timeframes (e.g., course-based research projects). The REB recommends submitting applications well in advance of any time sensitive deadlines.
|
Type of Review |
Average Review Time* |
|---|---|
|
Initial review (minimal risk projects) |
15 business days |
|
Initial review (higher than minimal risk projects or projects requiring expert review) |
20-30 business days |
|
Initial review of modification requests |
5-10 business days |
|
Review of resubmissions |
5-10 business days |
*Note: Although these are general guidelines, they may be exceeded during busy periods.
The REB recommends submitting minimal risk projects at least one to one and a half months before any anticipated start dates to allow for initial review, your revisions, your resubmission, and approval) in advance of any anticipated start dates or deadlines. For example:
- For courses beginning in September, submit no later than August 1
- For courses beginning in January, submit no later than December 1
- For courses beginning in May/June, submit no later than April 1
Due to the high volume of projects submitted to the REB, it is not possible to guarantee review turnaround times or accommodate requests for expedited reviews except in exceptional circumstances (i.e., unforeseen circumstances that arise under a research protocol that require immediate consideration). Exceptional circumstances do not include research deadlines or timelines known well in advance (e.g., course timelines). If you are requesting an expedited review, you will need to clearly define the exceptional circumstance to the REB.
Projects that have been submitted for review will be automatically withdrawn from the review process if there has been no activity after a period of six months.
Please note that alternative review processes (e.g., psychology review process, full board review, expert review) may also impact review timelines. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact REB@wlu.ca.
On August 1, 2023, we launched a companion document to assist researchers in filling out the new application.
Delegated (Minimal Risk) Non-Psychology Applications
- Once you submit your application on Romeo, you should receive an e-mail confirmation. All project team members whose Romeo profiles have been properly added should receive this e-mail (see How Do I Add Team Members to A Project? on our Romeo Research Portal page). If you do not receive this e-mail confirmation, please contact REB@wlu.ca to ensure that the application has been submitted.
- Please note, applications are processed 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and not on holidays or weekends.
- The majority of applications submitted to the REB are delegated (minimal risk) review. This review process refers to non-psychology applications that fall in this category. Alternative review processes may impact review timelines and these are outlined in detail below.
- Once your project has been submitted, it will be reviewed by the research ethics coordinator to ensure completeness. Administrative review is generally completed within five working days of application submission. If all required documentation has been submitted, the review process will begin (see Step Three). Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant.
- Minimal risk applications will be delegated to the chair and one other reviewer (selected based on expertise and availability to complete review) – the majority of applications submitted to Laurier’s REB fit into this category. The average processing time to receive the initial review from the REB is 15 business days.
- The chair of the REB will likely send comments and suggestions for changes to the projects in the form of a review memo. All research team members whose Romeo profiles have been added to the application will receive the review memo e-mail. If there are no comments and suggestions, you will instead receive the clearance notification at this stage.
- The review memo e-mail contains instructions on the correct resubmission format and how to re-submit the file on Romeo. Applications that do not follow the required format (i.e., point-by-point revisions summary attached, use of track changes or highlighting to denote changes, capital letters for Romeo application revisions) will be returned.
- Once the REB has received your resubmission, the average processing time for review of resubmitted documents is five to ten business days. Similar to the initial review process, this timeline may vary due to the availability of reviewers, volume of resubmissions received, and the complexity of the resubmission.
- If there is additional information required or items from the initial memo that have not been adequately addressed, another reviewer memo will be issued to the research team and the resubmission process will repeat.
- This ongoing review will take place until all REB concerns have been addressed at which point the clearance notification will be issued.
- Deadline to resubmit: Projects that have been submitted for review will be automatically withdrawn if there has been no activity after a period of six months. In such cases the principal investigator (PI) will be notified via email and the project will be marked as withdrawn.
- Once you submit your application on Romeo, you should receive an e-mail confirmation. If you do not receive this e-mail confirmation, please contact REB@wlu.ca to ensure that the application has been submitted.
- Please note, applications are processed 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and not on holidays or weekends.
- Once your project has been submitted, it will be reviewed by the human research ethics coordinator for psychology to ensure completeness. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant. Administrative review is generally completed within five working days of application submission.
- The average processing time to receive the initial review from the coordinator is 15 business days.
- The coordinator will likely send comments and suggestions for changes to the projects in the form of a review memo. All research team members whose Romeo profiles have been added to the application will receive the review memo e-mail.
- The review memo e-mail contains instructions on the correct resubmission format and how to re-submit the file on Romeo. If there is additional information required or items from the initial memo that have not been adequately addressed, another reviewer memo will be issued to the research team and the resubmission process will repeat. Once your resubmission is received, the average processing time for review of resubmitted documents is five to ten business days.
- Once there are no further comments and suggestions from the coordinator, you will receive a notification of your project being forwarded to the REB chair for review.
- The average processing time to receive the review from the chair is five to ten business days. The chair may send comments and suggestions for changes to the projects in the form of a review memo with the resubmission process repeating or you may instead receive the clearance notification at this stage.
Effective October 15, 2024, the agreement between Laurier and the University of Waterloo (UW) to jointly review minimal risk research projects will end due to updated TCPS 2 multi-jurisdictional review guidance. If you are conducting research with a collaborator from UW, please see the following updated processes:
- If the UW faculty member is the lead Principal Investigator (PI) on the project and the Laurier faculty member is a collaborator or co-investigator: UW is the reviewing REB and the Laurier researcher must complete the ‘Applications Approved at Another Institution’ process at Laurier after UW approval is granted. We will do our best to review these applications within 5 business days of receipt.
- If the Laurier faculty member is the lead PI and the UW faculty member is a collaborator or co-investigator: Laurier is the reviewing REB and the Laurier researcher must submit the Psychology/Non-Psychology Ethics Application form for review. Subsequently, the UW collaborator must complete the ‘multi-jurisdictional review’ process at UW after Laurier approval is granted.
If you have any questions about your project, contact REB@wlu.ca.
- Applications that have already been approved by another institution are only reviewed by the REB chair.
- These applications should be submitted by e-mail. Refer to Which Application to Submit for Review on our Research Ethics Board Review page for more information on the when this review process is applicable and how to submit.
- The average processing time to receive the initial review from the REB chair is 15 business days.
- Please refer to Delegated (Minimal Risk) Non-Psychology Applications, Step Four above for resubmission process details.
- Projects that are deemed to be higher than minimal risk require review by the full REB and will often require a face-to-face meeting of the entire REB to discuss the project.
- A full board review will take at least 20-30 business days, depending upon scheduling of REB meetings and the complexity of the project.
- The applicant will be notified of the decision to move the project to a full board review once this decision is made along with the expected timeframes once available. In some cases, this determination may be made during the initial review or following resubmission and subsequent review of additional requested information.
- Please refer to Delegated (Minimal Risk) Non-Psychology Applications, Step 4 above for resubmission process details.
- If the REB determines that there is not sufficient expertise on the board to review an application, the REB may request that an external expert review be conducted prior to the completion of the REB review.
- The applicant will be notified of the decision to request an expert review and will be asked to provide the names, contact information, and a written explanation outlining the qualifications of three proposed expert reviewers. All research project team members must have an arms-length relationship with the proposed expert reviewers.
- An expert review may take 20-30 business days, depending upon the availability of external expert reviewers.
- Please refer to Delegated (Minimal Risk) Non-Psychology Applications, Step Four above for resubmission process details.
- Review timelines are determined by the departmental REC. Please see the Departmental Research Ethics Review page for a list of Departmental REC contacts.
- Once the REB has received your submission, average processing time to receive the review from the research ethics coordinator is five to ten business days.
- The review and resubmission process is similar to the process for review of the initial REB application. The research ethics coordinator will likely send comments and suggestions for changes to the projects in the form of a review memo. All research team members whose Romeo profiles have been added to the application will receive the review memo e-mail. Resubmissions are generally reviewed within five to ten business days. If there are no comments and suggestions, you will instead receive the clearance notification at this stage.