Streamlining Cross-Campus Research: New Global Reliance Agreements for BMC/BUMC & CRC Faculty and Staff

April 2026 Issue

Author(s):

  • Matt Ogrodnik, MS, CIP, OHRA Director

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Introduction

Research collaboration between Boston University’s Charles River Campus (BU-CRC) and Boston University Medical Campus (BUMC), along with Boston Medical Center (BMC), has long been a cornerstone of the institutions’ multidisciplinary approach to advancing knowledge. Until recently, however, cross-campus faculty collaborations required individual, study-by-study reliance agreements whenever CRC investigators participated in human subjects research with BMC or BUMC, or vice versa. Each of these arrangements required separate submissions and coordination between reliance specialists at both institutions, creating administrative delays that could slow the launch of collaborative projects.

That process has now changed for the better. CRC, BUMC, and BMC have established global IRB reliance agreements that automatically apply to qualifying minimal-risk collaborative research, eliminating the need for individual per-study reliance agreements in these covered situations. These agreements, which are effective immediately, represent a significant step forward for faculty and staff engaged in cross-campus human subjects research.

 

What Changed and Why It Matters

Under the previous system, any time investigators from CRC and BMC or BUMC collaborated on human subjects research under a single IRB arrangement, a formal reliance agreement had to be executed between the two relevant IRBs on a study-by-study basis. A reliance agreement is a formal arrangement between two or more institutions that allows one IRB to “cede” review to another for a particular study. These agreements facilitate regulatory compliance and avoid duplicative reviews, but they require administrative effort before research can begin, including submission to both IRBs and collaboration between reliance specialists at each site.

Two new global reliance agreements now cover a broad range of these collaborative scenarios automatically.

The agreements are as follows: 

(1) CRC ↔ BUMC (Bidirectional): A bidirectional global agreement is in place between CRC and BUMC.

  • When CRC relies on the BMC/BUMC IRB (CRC → BUMC), the agreement automatically applies to collaborative research that:
    • Is no greater than minimal risk.
  • When BUMC relies on the CRC IRB (BUMC → CRC), the agreement automatically applies to collaborative research that:
    • Is no greater than minimal risk; and
    • Does not involve interaction with BMC patients or access to BMC patient data or biospecimens. 

(2) CRC → BMC (Unidirectional): A one-way global agreement is in place between CRC and BMC. 

  • When CRC relies on the BMC/BUMC IRB (CRC → BMC), the agreement automatically applies to collaborative research that:
    • Is no greater than minimal risk.

The benefits of these global agreements are substantial and include:

  • Faster study initiation: Investigators can initiate covered collaborative studies more quickly, without the need to submit an IRB application to the relying IRB, and without waiting for individual reliance agreements to be negotiated and processed.

  • Reduced administrative burden: Research teams and IRB staff no longer need to manage per-study reliance paperwork for covered collaborations.

  • Expanded research opportunities: By removing procedural barriers, investigators across campuses can more readily pursue meaningful collaborative research.

  • Simplified compliance: The global agreements provide clear, consistent guidance for a broad range of cross-campus collaborations.

Please note: CRC students working on BMC/BUMC research projects are covered under a separate global reliance agreement and should follow the procedures described here.

 

How the New Process Works

For studies that fall within the scope of one of the global reliance agreements, the process is straightforward. Investigators do not need to initiate a separate reliance agreement or submit an application to the relying IRB. The global agreement covers the study automatically.

The steps are as follows:

Step 1 – Investigator Submission: The Principal Investigator at the lead site submits their study to their home institution IRB. In the submission, study personnel from each campus and the activities taking place on each campus should be clearly identified.

Step 2 – IRB Review: The Reviewing IRB conducts the review and issues approval for both institutions. The approval letter will confirm the reliance. No IRB submission is needed to the Relying IRB.  

Step 3 – Administrative Notification: IRB staff at the Reviewing IRB send the approval letter to the Principal Investigator, with a copy to the Relying IRB. 

Step 4 – Process Complete: No additional paperwork is required. The approval letter serves as confirmation of reliance under the global agreement.

If you are unsure which IRB should serve as the Reviewing IRB for your study, contact your home unit’s IRB for guidance prior to submission.

Charles River Campus IRB: irb@bu.edu

BMC and BUMC IRB: medirb@bu.edu.

 

What Is Not Covered by the Global Agreements

While the global reliance agreements cover a wide range of minimal-risk collaborative research, there are important limitations investigators need to be aware of. The global reliance agreements do not cover:

  • BUMC investigators relying on the CRC IRB for studies involving BMC patients or BMC patient data or biospecimens; and

  • BMC investigators relying on the CRC IRB for any research conducted by and located at BMC

If you are uncertain whether your project qualifies under one of the global agreements, or if you need guidance on executing an individual reliance agreement for a study that falls outside their scope, please reach out to the IRB before submitting.

 

Moving Forward: Enhanced Collaboration Across Campuses

The establishment of these global reliance agreements represents a meaningful advancement in facilitating cross-campus research collaboration at Boston University and Boston Medical Center. Faculty and staff are now able to initiate covered collaborative studies more quickly, research teams benefit from reduced administrative overhead, and IRB staff can direct their expertise toward substantive protocol review rather than routine reliance paperwork and simple cede application review.

If you have any questions about whether your project qualifies under these agreements or about submission procedures, do not hesitate to reach out to the IRB:

Charles River Campus IRB: irb@bu.edu

BMC and BUMC IRB: medirb@bu.edu.