The Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research (SRCR)

The Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research is mandated to, among other things, provide substantive and administrative support to the Panel on Research Ethics and the Panel on Responsible Conduct of Research.

Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research
Telephone: 343-803-4358
Toll Free: 1-888-366-3851
secretariat@srcr-scrr.gc.ca

Staff

Karen Wallace
Executive Director
karen.wallace@srcr-scrr.gc.ca

Hanan Abdel-Akher
Senior Policy Analyst, Research Ethics
hanan.abdel-akher@srcr-scrr.gc.ca

Sarah Barry
Senior Policy Analyst, Responsible Conduct of Research
sarah.barry@srcr-scrr.gc.ca

Margaret Blakeney
Senior Policy Analyst, Research Ethics & Responsible Conduct of Research
margaret.blakeney@srcr-scrr.gc.ca

Grace Kelly
Senior Advisor, Responsible Conduct of Research
grace.kelly@srcr-scrr.gc.ca

Erika Kleiderman
Senior Advisor, Research Ethics
erika.kleiderman@srcr-scrr.gc.ca

Tierry Laforce
Senior Policy Analyst, Research Ethics
tierry.m.laforce@srcr-scrr.gc.ca

Terms of Reference

Mandate

The Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research (formerly, Secretariat on Research Ethics) provides substantive and administrative support for the Panel on Research Ethics (PRE), the Panel on Responsible Conduct of Research (PRCR), and for the three federal research granting Agencies (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) with respect to the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans, 2nd edition (TCPS), and the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (the Framework). 

The mandate of the Secretariat with respect to PRE, PRCR and the Agencies is to:

For PRE, the Secretariat provides administrative, substantive and communication support by:

For PRCR, the Secretariat provides administrative, substantive and communication support by:

The Secretariat supports the Agencies by :

Relationships with Other National Organizations

The Secretariat collaborates with other national organizations, such as the Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards (CAREB), the Canadian Association of Research Administrators (CARA), and the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Secretariat also has the option to engage in activities through outsourcing, which benefits the process by involving a larger expert constituency in the evolution, interpretation, education and implementation of the TCPS and the Framework.

Reporting Structure

The Executive Director of the Secretariat reports to the Advisory Panel on Research Ethics and the Advisory Panel on Responsible Conduct of Research through their respective Chairs primarily on policy matters, and to the Interagency Management Committee (IMC) primarily on interagency administrative and operational matters.

The IMC is composed of the Vice-President, Research – Programs (CIHR); the Vice-President, Research Grants and Scholarships (NSERC), and the Vice-President, Corporate Affairs (SSHRC). The IMC Chair position rotates annually between the committee members. The membership of this committee could vary should the Presidents of the Agencies wish to designate other senior executives and agree to such a modification. The IMC provides administrative oversight and facilitates the operations of the Secretariat. The IMC reports to the Steering Committee, composed of the Agencies' Presidents, on operational and strategic issues, as appropriate and required.

Reference

Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct of Research Involving Humans (2022)

Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (2021)

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