Building a Relationship with your Research Integrity Office

Institutional review boards (IRBs) and research integrity offices (RIOs) play distinct but related roles in research oversight and compliance. Oftentimes, the jurisdiction of these two bodies overlap, resulting in investigators, research staff, and other stakeholders, approaching both entities with the same questions and issues. It’s critical to understand the differences between each group’s purviews, and the importance of open and effective communication during the research review process.

During this webinar, Ross Hickey, JD, CIP, CPIA discussed best practices for effective communication and relationship-building among IRBs, RIOs, and their respective staff and members that can apply to a variety of organizational structures. Using case studies from biomedical and social and behavioral research, this webinar covered considerations for IRBs and RIOs in research review, study design, data integrity, and research misconduct.

What will I learn?

After attending this webinar, attendees were able to:

• Differentiate between the jurisdiction and responsibilities of the IRB and the RIO when it comes to addressing research inquiries and handling allegations of research misconduct
• Understand the different structures in which RIOs, IRBs, and other institutional bodies can be organized
• Facilitate effective communication between all parties

Who should attend?

This basic-level webinar was of value to IRB professionals who work in both biomedical and social and behavioral research, as well as other stakeholders in the research enterprise.