0 Participating Institutions including all CTSA hubs
NIH Funding for SMART IRB has resumed! We are grateful to our partners at NCATS and to the single IRB research community across the country for their advocacy, patience, and support during the funding pause. Read Latest Updates
Supporting single IRB review and advancing collaborative research
SMART IRB eases challenges associated with multisite research by providing free, comprehensive support for single IRB (sIRB) arrangements.
From small collaborations to large research networks, SMART IRB is designed to make multisite research work better for both IRB/HRPP personnel and research teams. Our educational resources, tools, templates, and guidance help Participating Institutions across the country improve efficiency, reduce burden, and advance research.
SMART Talk
July 16, 2025
How Shall I Staff for Single IRB? Let Me Count the Ways…Exploring Models of Reliance Staffing
SMART IRB Reliance Agreement V3.0 is here!
Review and join the *new* SMART IRB Reliance Agreement.
Office Hours
Summer Series: Select Wednesdays
Updates, guidance, practical tips, and technical support.
Streamlines IRB review and oversight for multisite studies and eliminates the time and effort of negotiating IRB authorization agreements for each study. Once your institution has joined, you may use the Agreement to support collaborations with Participating Institutions.
Allows institutions to join the Reliance Agreement and maintain their Institutional Profile. Provides a centralized system for investigators and institutions to request, track, and document reliance arrangements for their studies.
Browse, search, and sort SOPs, templates, checklists, tools, guidance, and more. These flexible resources are ready to use, easy to adapt, and designed to support IRB/HRPP staff, investigators, and study teams.
Education, on-demand training, and packaged resources to help investigators, study teams, and IRB/HRPP staff and institutions successfully plan for and navigate single IRB arrangements.
Learn about your responsibilities related to single IRB and download start-up packages to help you plan your study and navigate IRB reliance arrangements.
Learn about the roles and responsibilities of Reviewing IRBs and Relying Institutions and download start-up packages to help you implement the SMART IRB Agreement.
A monthly community forum
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
July 2025 SMART Talk: How Shall I Staff for Single IRB? Let Me Count the Ways…Exploring Models of Reliance Staffing
Best practices for defining ancillary reviews and recommendations for centralizing reviews, timing, and allocating responsibilities in an sIRB context. Includes guidance and an implementation checklist.
Addresses responsibilities of a Relying Institution and a Reviewing IRB/Reviewing IRB Institution in the COI review process, including FAQs and guidance for determining and managing COI.
Identifies best practices and provides tools to support for-cause and not-for-cause audits in an sIRB context. Includes guidance, checklists, and a template report.
Stay up to date on news, resources, and educational offerings.
This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. 75N950C00008.
Copyright ©2025 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
If you require any of our publications, videos, or website content in an accessible format, please email us.