The Final NIH Policy on the Use of a Single Institutional Review Board for Multi-Site Research is effective for grants submitted after January 25, 2018. The policy applies to NIH-funded multi-site studies where each site will conduct the same protocol involving non-exempt human subject research and requires that a single IRB (sIRB) provide IRB approval for all participating sites.
- The policy applies to domestic awardees and participating domestic sites only; foreign sites participating in NIH-funded, multi-site studies will not be expected to follow this policy.
- Exceptions to the policy can be requested, based on law or regulation, or due to some other compelling reason.
sIRB is not a new concept; many IU investigators already utilize sIRB processes via the KC IRB Reliance Request. The NIH policy has important implications for investigators submitting applicable NIH grants and even for investigators who are simply participating sites in grants submitted by external investigators.