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Ethics and bids for external funding

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To support a bid for external funding for a research project involving human participants, some funders may require one of the following:

1. Evidence that the OU has a comprehensive ethics review process

The following text can be used to outline the OU research ethics process:

Research at the Open University is supported by a structured governance framework to ensure that high ethical standards are maintained. Any research involving the collection of data or biological samples from human participants must be reviewed by the OU Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). OU researchers should adhere to the following principles and policies when conducting their research:

  • Ethics Principles for Research with Human Participants
  • OU Code of Practice for Research
  • The Concordat to Support Research Integrity

​2. For the research proposal associated with the bid to have a provisional research ethics review

If the funder requires a provisional ethics review, please complete the HREC Project Registration and Risk Checklist, (which can be found on the Human Research Ethics Review Process page - following the flow chart) and submit this, together with your bid proposal, to the Human Research Ethics team. The HREC chairing team will review these documents (which can take up to seven working days) and once your proposal has received a provisional favourable opinion, the following text can be used in the funding bid:

Research at The Open University is supported by a structured governance framework to ensure that high ethical standards are maintained. Any research involving the collection of data or biological samples from human participants must be reviewed by the OU Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). OU researchers should adhere to the following principles and policies when conducting their research:

  • Ethics Principles for Research with Human Participants
  • OU Code of Practice for Research
  • The Concordat to Support Research Integrity

The outline proposal for this research has received a favourable opinion from the HREC. If funding is awarded, the HREC will be contacted so an assessment can be made, to determine whether a full ethics review will be required.

3. Economic and Social Research Council

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has developed a framework for research ethics. The ESRC does not usually require an ethics review to take place at bid stage, but it may be useful to add the following paragraph to the bid:

Open University research ethics procedures are fully compliant with the ESRC Framework for Research Ethics. If funding is awarded, this research proposal will be reviewed by the OU Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) to determine whether a full ethics review is required. The Principal Investigator will ensure that the ethics review has taken place, and favourable opinion has been granted, before any research involving human participants commences.

The proposal must include a consideration of the possible ethics implications of the research project and how these will be addressed. Further guidance and examples of ethics statements can be found on the ESRC website.

After funding is awarded

When a bid for funding for a research project involving human participants is successful, the Primary Investigator should follow the HREC ethics review process, to determine whether a full ethics review will be required.