The Office of Human Research Ethics (OHRE) is launching a new online protocol submission platform, Western Research Ethics Management (WREM), on September 7, 2017. Below are some updates related to process and timing:

Attestation
Chairs, chiefs and departments heads will now be responsible for providing a one-time initial attestation before a project can be submitted for REB review. This requirement is to confirm a) internal department requirements are met; b) the PI meets eligibility requirements for a PI at Western as per the Research-eligible faculty appointments resource to conduct the study; and c) the PI has sufficient space and resources to conduct the study.

Migration
All studies approved in ROMEO prior to September 7, 2017 will be migrated to WREM, and, as of this date, all new submissions are to be created using the new platform. If your initial submission or post-approval event has been submitted – but not approved – in ROMEO by September 7, it will be migrated at a later date. Migration will include: PI name, REB number and the study title; the Western protocol form, supporting documents, co-investigators and study team members will not be migrated.

To help minimize delays, please be aware of the following:

1. You should ensure you save copies of ALL currently approved documents from ROMEO to your secured network drive for easy access.
   As of midnight, September 6, 2017, you will no longer be able to access ROMEO to submit any new studies or post-approval events (e.g., amendments, continuing ethics review, protocol deviations, etc.). ROMEO will only remain available to finalize outstanding recommendations from the Office of Human Research Ethics (OHRE) and to access old files.
2. OHRE cannot guarantee any new studies, responses or post-approval events submitted to ROMEO after August 7, 2017 will be migrated during the first migration.

Training
Training for WREM began on July 11. Please visit the dedicated rollout website to register for an upcoming session, schedule individual training, or for additional information.

 photo credit: Madilworth A to Z (wall) via photopin (license)