The Screening Tool will be in pilot until April 2025
UBC's Office of Research Ethics and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, along with Island Health and Research Ethics BC (REBC), are piloting a self-guided ethics screening tool designed to help researchers determine if their project requires research ethics review. Some activities do not fit under the TCPS2 definition of research and do not require review due to their intent and scope. These include quality assurance and quality improvement (QA/QI) activities, program evaluations, some Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) activities, creative practice, and public health surveillance studies. If your project falls into one of the above categories, this tool will help you determine whether ethics review is required. In addition, the tool provides:
- A risk assessment report based on the project information you provide
- A DRAFT exemption letter (if appropriate) that verifies your project is exempt.
- Instructions for proceeding with an ethics application, should one be required.
At this time, the tool is only available for academic applications. (For information about the clinical tool, please contact elizabeth.bennett@islandhealth.ca). Until the pilot has concluded, the exemption letter should be considered as guidance only (it will be marked as a DRAFT). If you need an official letter, please contact the UBC-BREB office.
Open the Self-Guided Ethics Screening Tool
We would greatly appreciate your feedback on your experience using the tool.