Study teams must submit a request to cede IRB review when they want to use an external IRB. The cede request is its own application type in ARROW and includes places to upload the study protocol as well as consent and authorization documents that will be used to enroll subjects at UW-Madison/UWHC, as applicable. RELIANT cannot review your request until all required study documents are provided. We recommend you follow the steps below when considering ceding review to an external IRB as well as when to submit a request. (Note these steps do not apply to NCI or commercial IRBs.) Since processes vary across institutions that serve as reviewing IRB, these steps may differ.

Step 1: Ensure that your study falls within the parameters for when UW-Madison will cede IRB review to an external IRB. See the When UW-Madison Will Rely on an External IRB section for more information.

Step 2: Ensure that external IRB is willing to serve as the IRB of record for you. We recommend that your collaborators at the site which may serve as IRB of record confirm this with their IRB rather than you directly contacting that IRB. Not all IRBs will agree to serve as the reviewing IRB, so it is important to check that they are amenable to serving.

Step 3: If the proposed reviewing IRB agrees to serve, you typically should not submit a cede application until the reviewing IRB has approved the study, including a template consent document, if applicable. Waiting until the reviewing IRB has approved the study ensures you are working with the most current study documents rather than drafts still undergoing revision. The lead study team is responsible for sending you the approved study documents for use in your cede request application. In the event a funder or reviewing IRB requires that a cede request be submitted at UW-Madison before a study is approved, please reach out to RELIANT so we can help identify next steps in these unique situations.

Upon receipt of your cede request, RELIANT will begin the reliance agreement process with the reviewing IRB.