Updated Eligibility Criteria for UK Reliance Agreements

UK is updating Reliance Agreement eligibility criteria for multi-site research (primarily those receiving federal funds) to be reviewed and approved by a single IRB (sIRB) rather than multiple institutional or private IRBs to now also include non-federally funded research conducted at multiple sites under the same research protocol.

Since January 25, 2018, NIH policy has mandated sIRB for NIH-funded multi-site studies, and the expectation is that FDA will follow suit in the near future. Since January 20, 2020, the revised Common Rule has also required sIRB for other federally funded studies.

The goals of this update are to streamline the IRB review process, reduce administrative burden and ensure consistent protection for human research participants.

As reliance on single IRBs increases, so will the activities of the Reliance QA/QI program at UK to ensure compliance with regulations and the protection of human research participants.

For more information, visit the UK Single IRB Reliance site.