For more than 15 years, BC’s research ethics community has worked to build an environment where health research involving people, their data or their biological materials is carried out in a respectful, just and compassionate way.

Out of this commitment came the Harmonization for Multi-Jurisdictional Studies — a collaborative effort to streamline ethics reviews while building trust in the research process and protecting participants.

A group of diverse individuals sitting around a circle on chairs, looking intently at a speaker, an elderly woman with dark skin who is gesturing emphatically at a binder in her lap.

The harmonized model allows researchers to submit a single ethics application for studies conducted across multiple geographic areas or involving participants, data or resources from more than one institution. This helps reduce duplication and burden in reviews, while increasing efficiency and maintaining integrity. Today, it is in use by all BC health authorities, most research universities and many colleges, reducing duplication and strengthening collaboration across the province.

We support this work by coordinating and advancing the harmonized model, engaging researchers and institutions, and helping to ensure that BC remains connected to national and international efforts to strengthen research ethics within all clinical trials.

View the list of institutional research ethics boards and organizations who are part of the harmonized ethics reviews.

History and evolution

  • 2007: The harmonization initiative began in 2007 as the BC Ethics Harmonization Initiative (BCEHI).
  • 2011: The BCEHI forms as a collaborative effort among BC’s health authorities and four major research universities to streamline the ethics review process for health research involving multiple institutions.
  • 2018: The initiative moved under the BC Academic Health Science Network (AHSN).
  • 2020: BC AHSN became part of Michael Smith Health Research BC (Health Research BC).
  • 2023: In 2023, the Ministry of Health and health authorities launched the Research Approvals Processes Project (RAPP), a provincial initiative to improve research approvals across ethics, privacy, contracts and data access.
  • 2024: The total number of organizations participating in harmonized research ethics reaches 27.
  • 2025: Ethics harmonization has been ongoing in British Columbia over the past 15 years, supported by Health Research BC and its predecessor organizations. Moving forward, this work will continue under Clinical Trials British Columbia.
  • October 2025: The BC Research Ethics Strategic Action Group (BC RE SAG) formed to identify key issues in the research ethics system in BC and recommend ways to strengthen it. The group is currently drafting a position paper to guide the next steps in improving the system.

How we support research ethics

We play a supportive role in advancing harmonization while leading collaborative change. We engage researchers and institutions, and share information, tools and resources to build ethics capacity across BC.

Get started with research ethics

Where to apply and who to contact for multi-jurisdictional research.

Navigate research ethics review

The application process and the Provincial Research Ethics Platform (PREP).

Join the harmonization network

How to sign up and what it includes.

Find guidance documents and manuals

Further supports for researchers, REB members, and administrators.

Understand national policies

The guidelines used in British Columbia for research ethics review.

Learn about our eCOPs

Members of our electronic Communities of Practice (eCOPs) are always learning and growing.

Get started with research ethics

Researchers have a responsibility to ensure that the studies they conduct involving human subjects are respectful, just, and compassionate.

Research ethics in Canada is guided by the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2 (2022)). Institutions that fund research with grants from one of the Tri-Agencies must ensure that all research conducted under their jurisdiction is reviewed and approved by a research ethics board (REB).

The BC Ethics Harmonization Initiative (BCEHI) aims to create a province-wide, harmonized system for research ethics reviews of studies conducted in multiple geographic areas involving the resources, people, patients, or data from more than one BC research institution.

Navigate research ethics review

British Columbia’s harmonized research ethics review model is used by all BC health authorities, most research universities, and many colleges. It allows researchers to submit a single ethics application regardless of the number of BC jurisdictions involved. The application will be collaboratively reviewed and a single certificate of approval issued.

If your host institution is already part of the harmonization network, you can submit your harmonized or multi-jurisdictional research application through the Provincial Research Ethics Platform (PREP).

If you are a new researcher in the harmonization network, please contact us for an initial consultation at researchethics@clinicaltrialsbc.ca.

If you have already started your PREP application, please review each institution’s page for additional information and guidance. Research that takes place across multiple institutions will need to meet the requirements of the institutions that you will be working in or with.

Access PREP

The Provincial Research Ethics Platform (PREP) allows for a single collaborative review for multi-jurisdictional research. It is hosted in UBC’s Research Information System (RISe).

To access PREP, you must use the RISe platform and register for related accounts.

You can submit an application through PREP if you are a BC researcher who is affiliated with an institution participating in the BC Research Ethics Harmonization Initiative.

To access PREP for harmonized studies, you will need a Campus Wide Login (CWL) and a RISe account.

  1. Create a CWL account:
    Follow these instructions to create a UBC CWL account: https://activate.id.ubc.ca/iamweb/
  2. Contact the RISe support team to register your CWL for RISe
    a. Follow the steps on the access RISe page: https://www.rise.ubc.ca/access-rise
    b. If you do not have a UBC affiliation, select “Register RISe Account (for non-UBC researchers)”
    c. After that, contact the RISe support team at risesupport@ors.ubc.ca. They can provide you with RISe access and permissions.
  3. After you log in to RISe, create and submit your application.

Explore these resources:

Join the harmonization network

The Research Ethics Harmonization Initiative is always growing. For institutions looking to join the community or become a participating REB, please contact researchethics@clinicaltrialsbc.ca.

Are you a First Nation organization or community-based Research Ethics Committee (REC) or Research Ethics Board (REB)?

We would love to connect with you and learn more about what you are doing. We can also offer:

  • Connection with an expert in the research ethics community
  • Opportunities for teaching and learning
  • A referral network for your REC/REB/research approvals process

Connect with us at researchethics@clinicaltrialsbc.ca.

Find guidance documents and manuals

Explore our resources related to:

If you are a Research Ethics Board Administrator (REBA) or REB member looking for additional resources, you can join the closed BC Ethics Harmonization Initiative SharePoint site and Community Forum. For permissions or inquiries, email researchethics@clinicaltrials.ca.

Understand national policies

Applicable guiding documents for research

Learn about our eCOPs

On behalf of the Research Ethics Harmonization Initiative, Clinical Trials British Columbia hosts a number of electronic Communities of Practice (eCOPs). This includes an eCOP for Research Ethics Board Administrators (REBAs).

We have 27 organizations participating in harmonized research ethics across British Columbia.