Reminder: Certifications required for Tri-Agency awards

The Office of Research Services (ORS) would like to remind researchers of certification requirements for new and ongoing awards. In particular, certification requirements for any research project involving animals, biohazards or human participants.

Upon release of the notifications of awards, the ORS must confirm all appropriate certifications are valid prior to setting up new accounts for new grants OR prior to authorizing the release of next instalments of funding to existing grants.

Instructions for Researchers

Please refer to this chart to determine how this might affect you:

A PDF version of the chart is also available.

"If you are awarded a new Tri-Agency grant this spring, or you expect an installment for an existing grant, Office of Research Services (ORS) will need to hear from you."

In particular:

• If you are currently using or will immediately use animals, biohazards and/or human participants in your research for your grant’s fiscal year beginning April 1
  • E-mail Grants Officer with
    • Valid certification number, e.g.
      • Animal Utilization Protocol #
      • Biosafety permit #
      • REB certificate #
      • REB statement of intent
    • Expiry date of most recent approval
• If you will use animals, humans and/or biohazards in the future (sometime after April 1 of this year but before March 31 of the following year)
  • E-mail Grants Officer
    • Date by which certification will be required
• If your application indicated use of animals, biohazards and/or humans but you do not plan on using these in the current fiscal year (often occurs for the final installment of an ongoing grant):
  • E-mail Grants Officer
    • Date by which certification was no longer required
• If there is a change in your research methodology such that new certifications are required
  • E-mail Grants Officer
    • Specify what new certifications are required (animals, humans, biohazards)
    • Provide valid certification number(s) and/or dates of expiry as described above

Grants Officers Contact Information

Ornella McCarron for CIHR or SSHRC (omccarro@uoguelph.ca  or ext. 52832)
Katie Meyer-Beck for NSERC and Tri-Agency Partnership Grants (kmeyerbe@uoguelph.ca or ext. 54059)

Special Notes

• Grants Officers will communicate any changes to certification requirements to the Tri-Agencies.
• In some cases, where there are delays in obtaining required certification, the Tri-Agencies may need to be notified within a few months from the grant’s award date. If there may be such delays in obtaining applicable certifications, please contact the ORS for further information.
• We will make every effort for 1) all new accounts to be authorized for set up, AND 2) all instalments for ongoing grants authorized, within four (4) weeks after we receive the award notifications, but will not be able to do so in the cases where certification is required but not yet valid.
• Please note that Research Financial Services will release funding to individual researcher accounts after it is received from the granting agency, and after the Tri-Agency signing delegation is received (if applicable, for new grants only).

Resources

Ethics and Regulatory Compliance – Animals
Ethics and Regulatory Compliance – Biohazards
Ethics and Regulatory Compliance – Human Participants

Information on the University’s obligations to the Tri-Agencies is available in the Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions.