- Full committee review of proposals
All research proposals that present more than minimal risk to human subjects are reviewed by two RU-IREC members who present the proposal to the RU -IREC for general discussion and a consensus decision. occasionally, the owners of the proposal under review are invited to respond to queries raised and to provide clarifications and/or justifications.
- Expedited review of proposals
A proposal is circulated for expedited review when the research procedures present no more than minimal harm to the research participants or communities. In this case, the proposal is sent to three RU-IRECmembers who are required to provide their feedback to the secretariat within 5 working days. As appropriate, the proposal is then either approved or returned to the investigator for further action.
- Exemption from RU-IREC review
Proposals are exempt from RU-IREC review when there is no possibility of harm arising as a result of the conduct of the research project or when the information being collected is available from the public domain for example in systematic review.
- Accelerated review
In the event of a public health emergency, such as the investigation of a disease outbreak or a disaster relief operation, a protocol may be submitted for accelerated review, the identified two reviewers will have a maximum five days to review and submit feedback to RU-IREC for discussion and consensus in ad hoc meeting.
- Continuing review
Since ethics approvals are provided to studies for a limited time period, the RU-IREC reviews the progress of the study at periodic intervals( every six months ). In order to renew the approval, the investigators should submit the necessary documentation to the RU-IREC prior to approval expiry.