Submitting an Application

Preparing Your Submission

When submitting to REB 3 - HREB Health Panel, the following documentation must be attached to submissions:

• Research proposal
• Consent forms
• Any documentation seen by (or read to) a participant including, but not limited to, recruitment advertisements; information sheets; pamphlets; on-line information etc.
• All data collection forms such as surveys, questionnaires, diaries and interview guides.
• Where any part of the research involves the collection of information from medical records, the data collection sheet, with a complete list of variables, must be appended.

Where available, consider including the following documents:

• Project Budget
• Letters of support (i.e., from facilities)
• Evidence of peer review.

REB 3: HREB - Health Panel is the designated REB to review applications from researchers enrolled at Royal Roads University who will be conducting research under the jurisdiction (ie. accessing patients, staff and/or their data) of the University of Alberta, Alberta Health Services (province-wide) or Covenant Health (province-wide) as part of the research.
Information for Royal Roads Applicants

REB Review

At the discretion of the Chair, HREB health protocols will be sent for either delegated or full-board review. Examples of applications that are typically reviewed by the full board include research with children or any other vulnerable population, research involving a novel intervention or research of a particularly sensitive topic matter.

Full Board Review

Estimated timeline: 2-6 weeks

Where a full-board review is required, Principal Investigators (or a named co-investigator) are required to attend the REB meeting. If a PI is unable to attend, review of the protocol will be deferred until the following meeting. Student investigators must attend with either their supervisor or a faculty member.

The Full Board Meeting Schedule is posted up to a year in advance. REB 3 meets on the first Friday morning of every month. Please check the schedule prior to submitting an application in order to ensure that the PI will be able to attend.

If you are invited to attend the meeting, approximately one week prior you will receive an email notification from ARISE advising you of the time and place. Generally, each study is allotted 20 minutes for discussion. Because all times are approximate, investigators should plan for a larger timeframe.

If the PI is unable to attend, notify the Research Ethics Office (780.492.0459 or reoffice@ualberta.ca).

Delegated Review

Estimated timeline: 2-4 weeks

Projects deemed to be minimal or below minimal risk will undergo a delegated review. Minimal risk is defined as research in which the probability and magnitude of possible harms implied by participation in the research is no greater than those encountered by participants in aspects of their everyday life that relate to the research. There are no submission deadlines for delegated reviews; these applications are processed as they are received by the office.

The delegated review process follows the path outlined below:

1. Submission received by the REB/REB Administrator ownership taken.
2. Preliminary review completed and changes requested. This step ensures the most complete application is forwarded to the delegated reviewer.
3. Upon receipt of changes the study is forwarded for delegated review (to either the Chair or another REB member). Any further change requests from the reviewer are forwarded through the administrator.
4. The second round of changes are reviewed and if satisfactory, the approval letter is drafted and forwarded to the Chair.

Examples of research eligible for delegated review:

• Examination of patient, medical or institutional records.
• Secondary analysis of data.
• Modifications of previously approved protocols.
• Surveys where the topic is not sensitive.