History of the VIU Research Ethics Board (VIU REB)

VIU's Research Ethics Board (VIU REB) is dedicated to ensuring all research completed by VIU students and faculty on the VIU  campuses is done within the ethical boundaries stated in the VIU REB's  policy and procedures. Today the VIU REB is a voluntary committee; the majority of members are from VIU. The VIU REB focuses on ethical compliance and the rights of research participants through an extensive ethical review process that is mandatory of all research projects. The following is the VIU REB’s history at VIU.

Key Events

1. VIU Policy on Research Involving Human Subjects was developed in 1991. This policy has since been revised in 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2007. The procedure was developed in 1998, amended in 1999, 2000 and 2002.
2. Degree-granting authority. VIU became eligible to confer degrees in 1995 and in 1998 (as Malaspina University-College) conferred the first of our own degrees. Over the years since, research and scholarly activity became more of a concern as our graduates went on to graduate schools.
3. Tri-Council Policy Statement on Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans was developed in 1998. Faculty who did research applied to usually one of three university research granting councils in Canada: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR). These three granting agencies are collectively known as the Tri-Council. The Councils will consider funding (or continued funding) only to individuals and institutions which certify compliance with this policy regarding research involving human subjects. (Summary and Appendix 2)
4. AUCC membership. VIU became a member of AUCC (Assoc. of Universities and Colleges of Canada) in 2000. They are the (informal but the only one we have) accreditation board for Canadian universities. As we began to confer degrees, we needed some form of accreditation for our institution and degrees.
5. PRE established. The Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics (PRE) is a body of external experts established in November 2001 by Canada's three Federal Granting Agencies (the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) to support the development and evolution of their joint research ethics policy, the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS).
6. Research and Scholarly Activity Office started on a part-time basis in 2001.
7. MBA program started in 2002. This increased the demand on the VIU REB and since the MBA was a one-year degree, the tight timelines were critical.
8. Tri-Council MOU. In 2002 the Tri-Council drafted a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which was sent to every University and College President in Canada. Every institution was asked to sign it in order to continue to be eligible to receive research grant funding. The MOU outlines roles and responsibilities the granting agencies and the universities each have in administering research grants. The MOU covers eight Schedules:

• Financial Management
• Ethics Review of Research involving Humans
• Ethical Review Involving Animals
• Integrity in Research and Scholarship
• Environmental Assessment
• Peer Review
• Statement of Principles: Postdoctoral Fellows
• Investigation and Resolution of Breaches of Agency Policies.

1. In 2002, our Ethics Policy 31.03 and Procedure 31.03.001 were sent to NSERC (and to PRE) for review. Some changes were requested followed by approval by both NSERC and VIU’s Board.
2. An expedited review process was created in 2003.
3. The Ethics Officer position was created in 2003 to help educate the VIU research community and assist in expediting applications.

The Committee was renamed the VIU Research Ethics Board (VIU REB) in June 2009.