Global Health Research
Sponsorship, Ethics and Insurance
Sponsorship
Global health studies involving human participants, their tissue, or their data require Sponsorship. If you are planning any projects involving human participants, please get in touch with the Research Governance Team at the Clinical School to ensure you are aware of all requirements for Sponsorship. They have a dedicated page about governance of International Research.
When all assurances are in place, the University will be able to act as the research Sponsor, taking overall responsibility for the management of the study.
Ethics
All projects involving human participants require ethical review. Global health research projects often require ethics review both in the overseas country as well as in the UK. There are multiple research ethics committees who can review your application, both internally and external to the University. The University developed guidance about ethics review procedures for different types of research. You need to ensure your project is reviewed by the required committee(s) before it starts.
- University Ethics Committees
- University’s general guidance about ethics review for overseas research
Insurance
All studies involving human participants need appropriate insurance. Nearly all overseas studies (except questionnaires, interviews, data analysis, etc.) incur an additional premium. The department will be advised of the cost and must agree to pay the premium prior to the cover being arranged. The Insurance team can provide premium estimates based on a study abstract and the number of participants in each country. More information and the application for can be found on the Insurance website (Raven protected).
Sponsorship of global CTIMPs (Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products)
The University does not currently take on sole sponsorship of clinical trials of investigational medicinal products (CTIMPs, or ‘drug trials’) in the UK or overseas. Co-sponsorship with an in-country institution or a registered UK Clinical Trials Unit may be possible. Sponsorship arrangements for global CTIMPs should be discussed with the Research Governance team at the earliest possibility.
Next page: Contracts, Finance and Working with International Partners.
Last edited: 13 January 2021