Governance review information
Governance review of the research protocol is required to confirm the suitability of single or multi-centre research to be conducted at sites. It entails risk management and the identification of ‘actual’ or ‘in kind’ resources that will be required for the conduct and completion of the project and whether they can be met by either the sponsor or the Health Service. It enables Health Services to reduce risk and quantify the contribution of resources and assist with future operational planning and budgets. All human research projects must undergo governance review before commencement of the research.
The Research Governance Review Function is coordinated by the WACHS Research Governance Coordinator in Central Office.
Submission process
A) Please submit your governance application through the RGS system and refer to the RGS website for the submission instructions
Please note, as part of the Research Governance Service IT system submission process, researchers are required to obtain support from relevant Hospital Administrators via RGS. WACHS adopts a different process for obtaining the relevant signatures of support from site staff. Therefore please allocate Catherine Gartner (A/Clinical Research Manager), as delegate for Hospital Administrators on RGS, to sign the Site Specific Assessment Form, Budget Form and Access Request Form. In order to ensure each site has been consulted on the project, the project team must complete the Site Support Request Form (SSRF), and submit this form to the relevant WACHS site staff for their considerations to support the research. It is advised that the SSRF and a drafted Budget is completed first, prior to the submission of all other site authorisation forms. This ensures in-principle support for the research is obtained prior to completing and submitting other aspects of the application. Once the relevant signatories are obtained on the SSRF, it is uploaded under ‘Site Authorisation’ ‘Documents’.
After the application is submitted and the research governance review is complete, the Research Governance Coordinator will ensure the project is considered for authorisation at WACHS site(s).
Application forms
A new governance application requires the following forms, (these forms are embedded within the application section of the RGS website).
The WA Health Site Specific Assessment Form which assesses the suitability of the site and investigator(s) physically accessing the site in order to conduct the research.
OR
The WA Health Access Request Form which is required when a human research project requires support from a Health Service in the form of access to participants, tissue or data but does not involve the conduct of research at any facilities, locations or services under the control of that Health Service.
Contact Information:
WACHS Research Governance Coordinator
Email: WACHS.ResearchGovernance@health.wa.gov.au
Telephone: 08 6553 0887