Â鶹´«Ã½

Research sponsor

Â鶹´«Ã½ will only review research for which Â鶹´«Ã½ is the research sponsor.

However, there are exceptions, including for example:

• research undertaken by other organisations acting as sub-contractors, rather than collaborators
• research sponsored by an external organisation that operates in a different regulatory environment

Where a researcher is unsure whether or not to apply to Â鶹´«Ã½ for ethical approval, they should contact res.policy@ncl.ac.uk for advice.

Where Â鶹´«Ã½ is the research sponsor, Â鶹´«Ã½ may accept ethical approvals granted by external reviewers, if all of the following are met:

• the external review meets Â鶹´«Ã½'s ethics and governance standards

Â鶹´«Ã½ must be sure that the ethical review has been conducted by a credible reviewer, who adheres to similar ethical standards, in a similar legislative environment. For example, Â鶹´«Ã½ will often accept ethical approvals granted by other UK Higher Education Institutions' Research Ethics Committees and by the NHS/HSC Research Ethics Committees. 

• the scope of the external review is consistent with Â鶹´«Ã½'s ethics policy

The external review should follow similar ethical and governance standards, but additionally should cover an equally broad range of ethical issues, as those specified in Â鶹´«Ã½'s ethics policy.

• the Faculty Ethics Representative agrees to accept the existing approval in lieu of a new Â鶹´«Ã½ ethics application*

Researchers should contact their Faculty Ethics Representative to confirm whether or not they will accept the existing external approval, in place of a Â鶹´«Ã½ ethics approval.

If the existing external approval is accepted, please still complete the NU ethics form as it has a section to confirm that external approval has been accepted and you will not be required to input any other details.  This will then provide you with a confirmation email and NU ethics ID.

If you wish to recommend any changes to the information above, please contact: res.policy@ncl.ac.uk.