Research ethics in the international context

Additional ethics, governance and management information for international research.

Alongside robust ethical oversight, research undertaken abroad or with international partners will require additional attention to research ethics, governance and management, as well as the health and safety of researchers. 

Sponsorship

Any international or global health study planning to include humans, their tissue or data requires a sponsor.

As detailed on our Clinical research support page, the sponsor is not the funder but the institution that takes responsibility for the overall management and conduct of a study and ensures that, for example:

• the project is legal, ethical, feasible and safe
• insurance and indemnity are in place
• correct approvals are in place. 

The University's Sponsorship team for CMVM is based within ACCORD, which is a joint office between the University and NHS Lothian, situated at the Edinburgh BioQuarter campus.

Sponsorship must be confirmed before seeking any other approvals, so please contact the ACCORD team as soon as possible when planning a global health study, and no later than ten working days before the funder deadline.

Ethics Review 

CMVM Research Ethics Committees (RECs) strive for robust, equitable and transparent ethical review of Global Health research studies submitted to us by University of Edinburgh staff and students. Ethical review seeks to protect not only the rights of participants but also the rights and professional reputations of researchers and the institution, and hence there is a responsibility to review work that involves people and resources from UoE.

The term ‘global health’ is often used to refer to work carried out in Low- and Middle- Income Countries or contexts (LMICs) by funders and research organisations. We are using the term to apply to all non-UK based, i.e., international, research (i.e., research conducted exclusively outside the UK), irrespective of whether Low-, Middle-, or High- Income Contexts.

An internal audit and review by a short-life working group has led to the CMVM position of applying a ‘dual review’ policy to all global health research, irrespective of funder, or of non-UK location. CMVM has taken the approach of CMVM REC submission first, then in-country REC submission. For further information and access to the position statement and FAQ document, please visit the EMREC SharePoint site. 

Global Health Research Projects and Ethical Review 

Ethical Action in Global Research: A Toolkit

ACCORD Global Health sponsorship