External Approval

External Ethics Approval and other required permissions

DCU-based researchers who have obtained ethical approval from appropriately constituted research ethics committees outside DCU should notify DCU REC of this approval. This process involves e-mailing rec@dcu.ie with details of the research and attaching a scanned copy of the external REC approval letter. The DCU REC will then advise whether an application to the DCU REC is required. While DCU may accept notification of ethical approval from other Irish-based ethics committees, it is the researchers’ responsibility to determine if other organisations will accept DCU REC approval in lieu of their own ethical approval processes. 

Even if a project has received REC approval, other permissions may be required to obtain access to potential participants or to conduct research on specific premises. This includes permission to contact students, employees, patients, clients, etc. using email lists, giving presentations to groups, etc. Data Protection issues must also be complied with by researchers. It is the researcher’s responsibility to identify the permissions needed, note these in the relevant REC application and obtain them prior to contacting potential participants or initiating research. Please note that all queries regarding DCU indemnity for those conducting research offsite must be raised with Brendan Blake (Insurance Manager, DCU Finance) who liaises with the DCU insurers on these matters.

Please note that having external REC approval may not suffice for research involving both off-site and on-site (DCU-based) components. For example, a project where some parts of the project occur at a hospital and other parts are conducted at DCU may require ethical approval from both the hospital and DCU REC. Or if a DCU staff member is registered for a PhD with another institution and will be applying to them for ethical approval, but they intend on involving their DCU students as research participants. The type of submission needed at DCU will depend on the specific research being conducted here - please contact rec@dcu.ie to discuss your particular requirements.

For external researchers who are looking to access DCU staff or students as potential participants for their research study, they need to contact rec@dcu.ie with details of their proposed research and the approval letter from the external Research Ethics Committee who reviewed their research study. The DCU REC will then decide whether further review is required, or additional information (e.g. indemnity insurance statement). Note that applicants would still need to obtain permission from the relevant authority (Head of School, Director of Student Support etc.) to access the particular cohort of potential participants.