Effective January 1, 2023, all new single jurisdictional protocols requiring ethics review must be submitted through the ROMEO Research Portal.

For existing protocols that were commenced prior to being submitted through the Romeo Research Portal, the REB Renewal and/or Amendment Application (.doc file) posted on the Research Ethics forms web page will continue to be supported for at least one year, and can be submitted by email to reb@unbc.ca.

Minimal risk applications

Research projects that meet the Tri-Council definition of minimal risk will be eligible for delegated review by the REB. Minimal risk applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and will normally be reviewed by two REB Members and the Chair of the REB. Note that during the months of July and August we cannot guarantee a specific turnaround time for a response as the minimal risk applications are reviewed upon the availability of REB members. Please refer to the Office of Research Forms page for further resources. Please allow three weeks from the submission deadline for a response from the REB.

Above minimal risk applications

Applications above minimal risk must be submitted by the "Application Due Date" referred to in the 2024 REB Meeting Schedule and Application Due Dates. Note that above minimal risk applications will not be reviewed during the months of July or August. Please refer to the Office of Research Forms page for further resources. Please allow two weeks from the Meeting Date for a response from the REB.

Multi-jurisdictional applications

If your application is multi-jurisdictional, with two or more Research Ethics BC partners (REBC partners), and is to be processed as a harmonized research ethics review for the involved partner institutions, please complete an application through the Provincial Research Ethics Platform (PREP).  Information and resources can be found online at Research Ethics BC.

PREP entered hard launch on January 1, 2019. All new multi-jurisdictional applications involving REBC partners will only be processed through PREP.

Joint research projects involving the Northern Health Authority and UNBC are to be completed through PREP.

There are no procedural changes for non-REBC partners involved in a multi-jurisdictional protocol. Non-REBC partner institutions will still require their own institutional ethics application form to be submitted to their REB for investigators under their auspice.