RESEARCH COMPLIANCE REVIEW PROCEDURES FOR RESEARCH INVOLVING ANIMALS, HUMAN PARTICIPANTS, ARTEFACTS AND SAFETY ISSUES
The University community has a collective responsibility to ensure that proper research practices are carried out in accordance with University standards and regulations at all times, to be vigilant in guarding against serious lapses, and to report violations if they occur.
Research proposals, including funded research, unfunded research, commercial contracts and other types of research-related proposals are screened for research practices that involve animals, human participants, artefacts and safety concerns by Sub-Committees under the auspices of the Committee on Research Practices (CRP).
The Research Compliance Review Procedures guide researchers through the review process of research practices. To make a protocol application, please visit the Tick@Lab platform.
A. Procedures for Funded Research
Funded research includes projects that are funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC) recurrent budget (e.g., Research Travel Grant), the Research Grants Council (RGC) (e.g., Direct Allocation Grant and General Research Fund), and non-UGC/RGC sources. There are three sequential stages that warrant review.
Proposal Stage
All research proposals registered with the Research Office (RO) are screened for research practices that involve animals, human participants, artefacts and safety issues, and reviewed by the Animal Ethics Committee (AEC), Human and Artefacts Research Ethics Committee (HAREC) and Safety Panel (SP) respectively. The screening is based on the Principal Investigator's (PI's) declaration and the subsequent Department/Division Head's confirmation in Part VI of the Online Research Project Submission Approval (ORPA) form.
For research involving animals, human participants, artefacts and safety issues
The PI must obtain approval from the relevant review committee/panel by submitting a research compliance application via Tick@Lab, the University's online research compliance review platform, before the commencement of the research. For more information about Tick@Lab, please click here.
For research involving human genetic resources from Mainland China via the Shenzhen Research Institute (SRI)
Please seek approval as follows:
- Research to be conducted at SRI should seek approval from the SRI Ethics Committee for Human Genetic Resources (ECHGR);
- Research to be conducted at Clear Water Bay campus (i.e. involving the export of Mainland human genetic resources) should seek approval from both HAREC and ECHGR.
To make an application to ECHGR, please contact SRI.
Upon receipt of a research compliance application, the Tick@Lab Coordinator will first verify the application, and then send it to the Department/Division Head of the PI for e-signature. Upon endorsement by the Department/Division Head, the research protocol will be forwarded to the relevant review committee/panel for review. For research compliance applications involving human participants and safety issues, the related proposal(s) must also be provided and uploaded to Tick@Lab together with the applications. Since time is required to review the research practices, a draft version of the proposal will be accepted provided that the sections relevant to the research practices are duly completed.
Upon completion of the review by the relevant review committee/panel, the Tick@Lab Coordinator will relay the outcome and the recommendations for amendments/clarifications (if any) to the PI via Tick@Lab.
Where a sponsor does not require review of the research practices or permits such a review to be completed at a later date, a proposal can be submitted to the sponsor whilst the related research protocol is being reviewed by the review committee/panel. If a proposal requiring corrective measures by the relevant review committee/panel is approved for funding, such corrective measures must be made before the related research commences, unless the PI successfully appeals to the review committee/panels against making the recommended corrective measures.
Initiation Stage
Prior to the commencement of the research, the Department/Division Head concerned must ensure that any corrective measures are made or successfully appealed. Failure to do so will be deemed as a lapse in administrative responsibility, and will be reported to the appropriate authorities by the Committee on Research Practices (CRP).
Active Stage
Should there be any significant changes in the research practices after the research proposal is approved, the PI concerned must obtain approval for the revised protocol. The ultimate responsibility for complying with the agreed research protocol rests with the individual faculty member/researcher. Any serious and willful violation will be deemed as a violation of academic integrity.
B. Procedures for Unfunded Research
Unfunded research includes research projects not associated with any research income, student projects, and theses. Similar to funded research, if these projects involve animals, human participants, artefacts and/or safety issues, the PI must obtain approval from the relevant review committee/panel via Tick@Lab before commencement of the research, and comply with the 3 Stages mentioned afore. It is the responsibility of individual faculty member/researcher/student and/or the supervisor, that proper procedures are followed and complied with.
C. Procedures for Commercial Contracts
Commercially-sponsored research involving animals, human participants, artefacts and/or safety issues, including those handled by HKUST R and D Corporation Ltd (RDC) as contracts, must follow the same procedures as funded research to obtain approval from the relevant review committee/panel via Tick@Lab, before commencement of the research.
D. Procedures for Handling Alleged Non-compliance/Complaints
In response to any non-compliance cases that occur in any funded, unfunded research project or commercial contracts, the CRP will handle and review such cases according to the “Procedures for Handling Non-compliance and Complaints”. For severe cases of research malpractices, the CRP will report them to the Provost and Vice-President for Research and Development, for further handling.
E. Procedures when a Principal Investigator (PI) terminates his/her employment/association with HKUST
When a PI terminates his/her employment and/or association with HKUST, his/her research protocol will be automatically and immediately discontinued.
If the PI wishes to transfer the research protocol to another HKUST investigator of his/her choice, he/she must first submit a written request, with endorsement from the relevant Department/Division, to the Tick@Lab Coordinator via email at crphelpdesk@ust.hk. The request will then be reviewed by the relevant review committee/panel. The transfer of the research protocol and continuation of the study is subject to approval by the relevant review committee/panel.
If the PI chooses to close the study, he/she must inform the Tick@Lab Coordinator as well as RO/RDC in writing. The PI is also responsible for making arrangements with his/her Department/Division to ensure data and records are stored properly and remain confidential.
F. Reminder
PIs are reminded to allow sufficient time for the Department/Division Head to endorse, the relevant review committee/panel to review, and revision of protocol if necessary.
G. Research Compliance Review Approval Mechanism
STAGE | ACTION |
---|---|
Identification | PIs identify and declare potential ethical and/or safety concerns of their research proposals, which require vetting and approval by the Animal Ethics Committee, Human and Artefacts Research Ethics Committee and/or Safety Panel. |
Review | PIs submit their research compliance applications via Tick@Lab, which are reviewed by the relevant review committees/panel to ensure their proposed research practices adhere to research compliance standards. |
Outcome | The relevant review committees/panel notify PIs of the result of the reviews. For funded research and commercial contracts, if compliance clearance is granted, the University certifies to the funding agency that the research proposals have been examined and granted research compliance standards approval. |