Research Ethics BC (REBC) works to make BC a more competitive and innovative health research environment by streamlining and improving research ethics review processes.
Research Ethics BC supports a provincial, harmonized system for research ethics reviews of multi-jurisdictional studies involving human subjects (i.e. involving the resources, people, patients or data from more than one BC institution). It’s founded on a collaborative effort by a group of BC health research partners to develop the harmonized ethics review models now in use by most BC health authorities and research universities.
Harmonization streamlines the ethics review and approval process, allowing for submission of a single ethics application across all partner institutions. It also standardizes processes among research ethics boards, ensuring review quality and compliance with national policies.
By streamlining and improving research ethics review processes, REBC is helping British Columbia become more competitive and innovative in health research.
Prior to its adoption by BC AHSN in April 2018, this initiative was supported collectively by the partner institutions, with core funding from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR). In 2016, MSFHR provided additional funding to support ongoing management, sustainability and development of a shared online platform.
For more information, please visit the Research Ethics BC website.
