ICEHR shall include both men and women, with due consideration to gender equity. The Committee's membership will include:

• At least six University members with broad expertise in the methods and areas of research covered by ICEHR, with consideration to providing representation from the various disciplines under ICEHR’s jurisdiction;
• One member knowledgeable in ethics;
• One member knowledgeable in the relevant law; and
• Two community representatives with no formal affiliation with the University (approximately 1 to 5 ratio).

Appointment and Terms of Office

Members

Members are appointed by the President of the University, or designate. Additional members may be appointed on the recommendation of ICEHR to the President. At the discretion of the Chair, temporary members may be appointed on an ad hoc basis, or outside advice and opinions solicited, when special expertise regarding participant populations, research disciplines, methodologies, or other matters is required to reach a competent decision.

The term of appointment for members shall normally be three years, and may be renewed once. Appointments may be for a longer or shorter duration to allow continuity of membership, as deemed necessary by the President. Members who have served two consecutive terms may be reappointed to the Committee after a period of one year without membership on the Committee.

The REB is a very active working committee which requires members’ regular attendance at meetings and commitment to the provision of thorough and prompt ethics reviews. Therefore, members who are unable to attend at least 75% of meetings in a given semester and/or are unable to consistently contribute to the review process will be asked to step down. Temporary replacements may be sought to substitute for committee members who anticipate unavoidable lengthy absences. The use of substitute members should not alter the membership structure of the committee.

Chair

The Chair is appointed by the President of the University, or designate, in consultation with the administrative heads of the academic units for whom ethics review is provided and will normally serve for a period of three years, renewable once.

Vice-Chair

A Vice-Chair is chosen by the Chair and the Ethics Officer, in consultation with the Committee members, and will normally serve for a period of three years, renewable once.

Accountability

ICEHR is accountable to the President of the University and provides an annual report of the activities of the Committee to the President. Annual reports to the President are based on the fiscal year (i.e. April through March) and include such information as:

• Committee membership (including names, affiliation(s), and terms of office);
• The number of committee meetings held;
• The number of applications received, reviewed, and/or transferred (e.g. for HREB review);
• The number of project files being maintained (as evidenced by the number of annual project reports recevied/processed);
• The number of amendments to previously approved protocols requested by researchers and reviewed by ICEHR;
• A discussion of any current area(s) of concern