College Research Governance Structures

The institutional Advisory Group on Research Ethics and Governance provides overarching guidance on the scope and operation of research governance responsibilities across the University to ensure rigour and consistency in its Governance and ethical review procedures. It also facilitates interaction and sharing of experience and best practice between the Colleges. The Directors of Research from each College provide an interface between their College governance structures and the Advisory Group, and a link across Colleges. However, it is expected that each College will manage its own local research governance arrangements and Local Ethical Review Process (LERP) in accordance with guidelines provided by AGREG, and related University policies, codes, and guidance and the requirements of relevant funding and professional bodies.

Responsibility for oversight and guidance on research governance within each College is provided as follows:

  • College of Arts and Social Sciences: College Research Committee
  • College of Life Sciences and Medicine: College Research and Commercialisation Committee
  • College of Physical Sciences: College Research and Commercialisation Committee

Beneath these Committees, each College has local research governance and ethical review Committees which have delegated authority to implement, monitor and revise College research governance and ethical review processes, to ensure that they conform appropriately to the research governance requirements appropriate to the disciplines of each College, as well as those of the University, relevant funding bodies and external partners or authorities.

A summary of the College ethics and governance structures is given below.

College of Arts and Social Sciences

The College Research Ethics and Governance Committee has devolved authority from the Research Committee with a remit to monitor and revise governance and ethical review structures, policies and process across the College, and to ensure that arrangements are implemented at School level. Each School within the College also has a Research Ethics officer who will oversee governance and ethical arrangements at a localised level and will be a member of the College Research Ethics and Governance Committee. For further information on research ethics and governance arrangements within the College, see www.abdn.ac.uk/cass.

College of Life Sciences and Medicine

The College Committee for Research and Commercialisation has over-arching responsibility for all research related issues within the College. However, the scope of Research activity in the College means governance requirements for the College are complex and broad, and must adhere to a number of diverse external partners and regulatory bodies including, for example, the Home Office, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Research Ethics Service (NRES) of which the North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee (NOSREC) is the local committee. The College has extensive research governance structures in place across its Schools and Institutes in order to meet all of the national and international regulatory and legislative requirements for best practice in research governance. These include the College Ethics Review Board and the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health Ethics Committee. This also includes monitoring programmes and training workshops. For further information on research ethics and governance arrangements within the College, see: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/iahs/research/research-governance/ and http://www.abdn.ac.uk/clsm/staff/cerb/

College of Physical Sciences

Research governance within the College of Physical Science is overseen by the College Ethics Board which considers research ethics and governance matters within the College and liaises with discipline ethical review committees, to ensure that research proposed and undertaken within the College satisfies the University requirements for research ethics and governance, and the requirements of external regulators and funding bodies. For further information on research ethics and governance arrangements within the College, see: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/cops/research/reg/