Research Ethics BC
Information for researchers
British Columbia’s harmonized ethics review model, which is used by all BC health authorities, most research universities and many colleges, allows researchers to submit a single ethics application regardless of the number of BC jurisdictions involved in a project.
We have compiled the following resources to assist researchers and research participants in understanding and implementing harmonized approaches to ethics review.
Research Ethics BC resources
Research ethics resources include forms, guidance notes, policies and more.
View Research Ethics BC resources
Webinars
We provide training and development opportunities for researchers and project managers in a variety of topic areas. View past webinars and symposia presented by Research Ethics BC:
Register and gain access to PREP
To access PREP for harmonized studies, researchers must first create a UBC CWL account to access UBC’s RISe, which hosts PREP.
If you have no current or previous affiliations with UBC, create a basic account for RISe. You will not be able to self-register for a RISe account with a basic account, so the next step is to contact the RISe support team.
Research Ethics BC Network
We currently collaborate with 27 institutional research ethics boards (REBs) across BC in working toward province-wide harmonized research ethics review processes.
Researchers within the network can submit their harmonized or multi-jurisdictional research application through the Provincial Research Ethics Platform (PREP).
If you are a new researcher within the network, please contact us at researchethicsbc@healthresearchbc.ca for an initial consultation.
If you have already completed your PREP platform application, please see each institution’s page for additional information and guidance on how to apply for a research ethics review at their location.
Research across multiple institutions will need to meet the requirements of the institutions that you will be working in or with. Please also review the requirements for being a principal investigator and research team composition across the health authorities and secondary institutions within the Research Ethics BC Network.
BC Cancer
BC Children’s and Women’s
BC Institute of Technology
Camosun College
Capilano University
Douglas College
Emily Carr University
First Nations Health Authority
Fraser Health
Interior Health
Island Health
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Langara College
North Island College
Northern Health
Royal Roads University
Simon Fraser University
Thompson Rivers University
UBC BREB (behavioural and social science/humanities research)
UBC – Okanagan Behavioural REB
UBC Providence Health Care REB
University of Fraser Valley
University of Northern British Columbia
University of Victoria
Vancouver Community College
Vancouver Island University
Research ethics network contact information
Please reach out to a member of our team at researchethics@healthresearchbc.ca if any information in the list needs to be updated.
Research ethics during COVID-19
In March 2020, COVID-19 was declared as a pandemic and a public health emergency in the province of British Columbia. As research funding became available for COVID-19, Research Ethics BC and the research ethics community created processes to enable researchers to respond quickly and effectively. We also created a go-to location for researchers and research ethics boards to find information and guidance.
For more information, get in touch with our team at researchethicsbc@healthresearchbc.ca.