This procedure is intended to be a companion to the policy Research Involving Indigenous Groups and provide guidance for those Memorial Researchers who are engaged in Indigenous Research. 

For guidance on obtaining Evidence of Community Engagement (ECE) in Indigenous Research, please see the Procedure for Obtaining Evidence of Community Engagement for Research Involving Indigenous Groups. 

Right to revoke engagement 

Indigenous Groups may revoke their consent and partnership at any time. The decision and notice to revoke engagement must originate from the same level of authority that granted ECE. 

If a formal agreement has been executed for the Research project, Memorial’s Research Initiatives and Services (RIS) will engage with relevant parties to ensure necessary contractual practices and procedures are followed. 

If previously-engaged Indigenous Group(s) wish to reengage in the Research, revised documentation of ECE must be obtained. 

Formal agreement for supporting ongoing engagement 

Researchers should contact RIS to discuss partnership documentation options. RIS will support Researchers in discussing options with the applicable Indigenous Group(s) and determining plans for formal documentation of ongoing engagement for the Research. 

Agreements or other such documentation of partnership help establish key terms of the Research project. They may specify the Research timeframe, each party’s responsibilities, expectations for conducting the Research, payment terms for any funding, data transfer and ownership, treatment of intellectual property and authorship, outline benefits and risks, set out dispute or conflict resolution processes, set research communication or knowledge mobilization plans, etc. 

In some cases, an Indigenous Group will provide their own agreement or wording suggestions for consideration in documenting the Research partnership and ongoing engagement. In other cases, Memorial’s template Indigenous Research Agreement could be sent to the Indigenous Group(s) for their review and consideration. The template could be altered in consultation with RIS staff to reach a collaborative agreement satisfactory to all involved parties. 

A fully-executed (signed) agreement will be uploaded to the Research project’s file by RIS (via Memorial’s research repository, ROMEO.

Amending or revoking engagement terms

Memorial Researchers who become aware of revoking engagement terms for any form of partnership for their Research should contact the Associate Vice-President (Indigenous Research) in writing, who will in turn notify relevant parties involved, while also respecting a reasonable extent of privacy for Memorial Researchers, students, and Indigenous Group members. Indigenous Research must cease immediately upon notice of revoked engagement. 

The Associate Vice-President (Indigenous Research) shall investigate the suspension request and provide direction of the next line of action following such investigation. If resolution cannot be achieved and partnership with the Indigenous Group(s) is revoked, any contractual obligations associated with the Research will remain in effect until they are amended. 

Documentation of ongoing engagement 

For those Research projects that do not have a formal agreement or contract in place, Researchers should obtain documentation to indicate ongoing engagement on an annual basis. Researchers should ensure documentation is on file with RIS by uploading it to their project file in the Research Portal.