Temporary on-campus research ramp down, Dec 14, 2020 - Jan 11, 2021

Posted: December 10, 1:25 p.m.

Based on the current public health crisis and new provincial restrictions, the university's Public Health Response Team has made the difficult decision to temporarily ramp down on-campus research from Dec. 14, 2020 - Jan. 11, 2021, with the possibility of extension based on situational circumstances and provincial government direction. This temporary ramp down will be reviewed the week of Jan. 4. 

Effective immediately, research ramp down protocols must be implemented in order to preserve, relocate, and/or deactivate research safely. Exceptions to this temporary university-wide ramp down are very limited, and only include:

• COVID-19 research.
• Clinical research or clinical trials that if interrupted, would endanger the life, health or safety of the study participants or patients.
• Critical animal care, maintenance of breeding colonies, and critical cell line maintenance.
• Critical research support that if interrupted, would endanger the life, personal safety or health of our community and/or irrevocably damage the environment or university property, infrastructure maintenance, animal care and hazard risk management. 

NEXT STEPS FOR RESEARCHERS AND RESEARCH TEAMS

• All research activities (minus exceptions above) must be suspended or taken off-campus by 11:59 PM, Sunday, Dec. 13.
• Currently approved on-campus research must implement their contingency plans, and ensure all on-campus research operations are suspended safely. 
• All on-campus research after Dec.13 must meet one of the critical research/work definitions above. If you meet one of the definitions above, please provide your research activity and location via this Google form. This will enable the university to determine where critical research/infrastructure supports will be needed. 
• Exceptions and new on-campus approvals Dec. 14 - Jan. 11 can only be approved by the Public Health Response Team (phrtinfo@ualberta.ca).
• Off-campus researchers may visit on-campus workspaces to retrieve critical items for research, and as required for equipment and lab maintenance activities, but these visits must be kept to a strict minimum and be approved in advance by their supervisor(s).
• All field research, including all off-campus community-engaged or human participant research, must also meet new public health requirements, and will continue to be approved by the Public Health Response Team using the existing process.

Please review the university’s ramp down protocols as soon as possible. If you still have questions after reviewing the protocols, please submit them to PHRTinfo@ualberta.ca for the quickest response. This email is monitored regularly.

This change may prompt some additional HR considerations for supervisors and managers. Please reach out to your HR partner for guidance and advice as needed.