Concerns and Issues with SFU's Research Ethics Board

Hi all,

Apologies for the length of this message….

A heads up that the February Senate Agenda is now available and it includes some proposed changes to the Research Ethics Board procedures. Before I dig too much into those, I first want to summarize what we know about the REB and the current controversy (see the previous SFUFA Bulletin, linked here https://www.sfufa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/January-23-bulletin.pdf). There are two streams of concern:

1. Procedural: that is, since May 2022, SFU has violated or ignored many of its own procedures regarding REB appointments, creating the current crisis; and

2. Substantive: that is, the proposed changes to the REB procedures create an inherent conflict of interest between SFU and the REB.

I’ll deal with each item separately.

Part 1. Procedural

A. SFU allowed the terms of 13 members of the REB to expire, including the Chair and Vice Chair (11 expired May 31, 2022 and two others in December). Four further vacancies in required areas remain (2 in research methods; one in research ethics; and one in Indigenous research)

B. SFU allowed expired members to believe they had been renewed (and indeed told them they had) and as a result they continued to do ethics work as the REB (including reviewing and approving ethics applications).

C. SFU removed these members in early January without any justification beyond expired terms. It is unclear whether any new members were appointed.

D. Senate has not been consulted in these removals and based on the REB annual report presented in December, believes the REB from last May is the official SFU REB.

E. If these members are no longer on the REB, it is unclear as to whether we have a current REB in place (since none of the five required core members are in place) or if we have had an REB in place at all, since last May. This would seem to put all ethics approvals offered since last May in jeopardy.

F. Rather than address the problem and and ask Senate to renew the expired Board or install a new Board, SFU is asking Senate to allow the VPRI to make revisions to the appointments procedures.

G. This appears to be a hostile takeover of the REB by the VPRI and has created uncertainty at SFU as to the status of ethics approvals and who, if anyone, is making those approvals.

To me this is a substantial concern, both due to the fact that we may not have a functioning REB in place and may not have had an appropriately appoint board in place since last May, AND because nobody is taking accountability for the problem.

Part 2: Substantive

Wow does this require a lot of reading—SFU is proposing to adopt modified recommendation of the Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards. On its face, many of these recommendations make sense, but there are serious concerns about the modifications that SFU has made that do not match CAREB model language.

In short, SFU’s proposed changes allow the VPRI to appoint, renew, and remove REB members at will and without Senate oversight in the case of renewal, non-renewal, or removal. (See 5.2 and 5.5 of: https://www.sfu.ca/research/sites/default/files/2023-01/ORE-SOP-202%20Management%20of%20REB%20Membership.001.pdf and 5.7.3 of: https://www.sfu.ca/research/sites/default/files/2023-01/ORE-SOP-202%20Management%20of%20REB%20Membership.001.pdf).

Further, the VPRI actually takes on the role of Chair of the REB in the SFU revision (specifically SOP 202, 5.4.1, inviting special experts to the review of some applications; and, 5.7.3 removing REB members who are not fulfilling their duties). These are the express duties of the Chair in the National Standards and giving these powers to the VPRI creates an inherent conflict of interest.

Why is this important? As the Standards all reference, the REB needs to be independent of the University because the University has other interests to protect than those of researchers and research participants (some of you may remember the Ogden incident: http://www.sfu.ca/~palys/OgdenPge.htm). As a result, CAREB notes:

"In the interest of public trust and the integrity of the ethics review, the REB must act independently from the Organization under whose authority they were established and given their mandate, and avoid or manage real, potential or perceived COI.”

The Tri-Council Policy Statement is more specific about potential conflicts:

"Institutions involved in research hold trust relationships with participants, research sponsors, researchers, and society. These institutions may have financial or reputational interests including, but not limited to, the provision of education and the promotion of research that conflict with the institution's obligations to protect and respect human dignity as characterized by the core principles of this Policy. For example, institutions may experience pressures to attract particular research funding or certain types of research activities that are self-sustaining, which may compromise their independence and public trust. Institutions have an obligation to ensure that the ethical conduct of research is not compromised by real, potential or perceived conflicts of interest."

Having the VPRI appoint, renew, and remove all members of the REB, as well as appoint and remove the Chair and Vice Chair, while occasionally taking on duties of the Chair, clearly (in my opinion) creates a conflict of interest.

I’m sure there are other issues and I’d invite other folks with greater expertise in ethics than me to comment as well.

Thanks for taking the time to read this—this really feel like an existential threat to research at SFU and to participant protections within our research activities. I’d encourage you to reach out to your Faculty Senators, the SFU Board of Governors, and the VPRI in sharing your concerns.

Dan