Can there be more than one Reviewing IRB for a study under the SMART IRB Agreement?

Yes. Although having a single Reviewing IRB minimizes duplicative IRB reviews to the greatest extent possible, under some circumstances it may be necessary to establish more than one Reviewing IRB. While atypical, more than one Reviewing IRB may be established for the following reasons:

• Significant differences between research sites in procedures to be performed or subject populations involved could necessitate more than one Reviewing IRB, each with different areas of relevant expertise.
• If one or more Relying Institution declines to cede review to the established Reviewing IRB, additional Reviewing IRBs may be established in order to include and enable reliance for more institutions.

Please note that in such cases, a separate Reliance Request (Reliance ID#) would need to be established if the reliance request is being executed in the SMART IRB Reliance System.