Research Services is pleased to announce that the University has procured Worktribe Ethics, as part of its investment in digital transformation of systems and services and its commitment to improving the experience of researchers and professional services staff across the University.
Worktribe Ethics is an online system to support the preparation, submission, review and approval of research ethics applications. The workflow-based system will replace previous offline and email processes. Requirements for the solution were gathered through consultation with departmental and interdivisional research ethics committees at the University and with researchers.
Ethics approval is needed for all research involving human participants and/or personal data. Once the system is implemented, researchers requiring ethics approval for their research project will prepare and submit an ethics application online via Worktribe Ethics. Supervisors, co-investigators, ethics administrators and ethics committees will manage, comment, review and approve applications within the same system.
University research ethics policies and requirements will remain the basis on which research projects are reviewed and approved. The system will be configured to direct applications to the appropriate ethics committee. Submissions directly to external ethics review bodies (such as Health Research Authority) will sit outside of the system.
First to go ‘live’ on the new system will be the Department of Education. Onboarding will start for ethics administrators and ethics committee members in April, and researchers in Education will be introduced to the system soon afterwards. Other departments, divisions and ethics committees will follow.
Introduction of the new system across all other departments and divisions will be phased throughout 2024, so that all users can receive the support they need. Training and information, as well as in-site guidance, will help all users become familiar with the system and help them get started.
A single, online system to support our ethics review processes across the University has been a longstanding need. The implementation of Worktribe Ethics marks the first step in transforming our digital services across the research lifecycle and improving the experience of researchers and professional services staff - Stephen Conway, Executive Director of Research Services
As a workflow-based system, Worktribe Ethics is intuitive to use. Worktribe is a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions for management across the research lifecycle. Its products are in use extensively in the UK higher education sector, including in over half of Russell Group universities.
For more information and updates on the timing of the transition to Worktribe Ethics, please visit the Research Ethics website from April.
