Health Research Ethics Board of Alberta|  Board of Record Agreement

 Note that “investigator” below refers to those who act as Principal Investigators for research submitted to HREBA. They are the leader of the research team and are responsible for the ethical conduct of the research and for the actions of any member of the research team.

As of August 1, 2019, investigators submitting to any of the Health Research Ethics Board of Alberta (HREBA) committees will be required to have an official agreement appointing HREBA as their Board of Record.

For investigators who conduct their research under the auspices of either Alberta Health Services, Covenant Health, Universities of Alberta or Calgary, the 2016 Research Ethics Reciprocity Agreement  (amended May 31, 2021) will act as this agreement – no action is required.

For investigators conducting research in Alberta through private practice, other community-based organizations (both for and not-for profit), or Universities outside of Alberta, a signed Board of Record Agreement will be required before approval certificates will be released.

Implementation of this agreement is being done for two reasons:

  1. As per Article 6.1 of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2), if an organization appoints an external Research Ethics Board (REB) to act as its REB of Record, there must be an official agreement between the parties.
  2. Provides clarity, as it outlines the roles and responsibilities for the HREBA committees and that of the investigator.

Process

If a Board of Record Agreement is required:

  1. Download the BOR Information Request below
  2. E-mail the Information Request to info@hreba.ca 
  3. Once received, Alberta Innovates will prepare the formal Board of Record Agreement and send to the investigator for signature.

When a new application is submitted for review, ethics staff will check that an official agreement is in place. If the study is not covered by the 2016 Research Ethics Reciprocity Agreement (amended May 31, 2021), a fully executed Board of Record Agreement must be on file with the ethics office. If required, the investigator will be requested to send a signed agreement to info@hreba.ca. After the agreement is signed by Alberta Innovates, the ethics approval certificate will be released, and a fully executed copy of the agreement will be e-mailed to the investigator.

When a modification or renewal is submitted for review, ethics staff will check that an official Board of Record Agreement is in place. As above, if required the investigator will be requested to send a signed agreement to info@hreba.ca. Once received, the ethics approval certificate will be released.

BOR 

Note that one Board of Record Agreement is needed per investigator, regardless of how many applications are submitted for review.  To start the BOR process, please complete the Board of Record Information Request below and email to: info@hreba.ca.  A draft copy of the Board of Record Agreement can be found below.  We will prepare the document for you and send a copy for your signature.

BOR Information Request

Draft Board of Record

Questions regarding the Board of Record Agreement can be directed to info@hreba.ca