Customize SMART IRB resources for your institution

Applies to: Agreement V3.0

Yes, you can customize them. Nearly every SMART IRB resource — the Communication Plan, the Implementation Checklist, the Letters of Acknowledgment, the checklists, the harmonization templates — is provided as an editable document so that institutions can adapt it. The two things you cannot change are the Agreement itself and anything in a resource that would contradict the Agreement.

What works. Resources reduce burden most when they are rolled out with, not instead of, local process work: - involve the people who will use them (IRB/HRPP staff, study coordinators, sponsored programs, counsel) before you finalize; - add your institution's branding, contacts, and eIRB fields so the document is obviously yours; - pre-populate the choices your institution always makes, so users only fill in what varies; - pair the rollout with a short training or a recorded SMART Talk; and - revisit after a few studies.

Worked example: a customized Communication Plan. One institution's adaptation of the template makes these changes:

• institutional logo and color scheme;
• a rewritten "Purpose of form" paragraph giving the institution's own reliance email for questions;
• the "Responsible party" column pre-populated with the institution's standard assignments, so study teams see the default without deciding it; and
• the "Notes" column used to point to institution-specific instructions (for example, where to send local consent language).

[Add screenshot: Two images: the unmodified template and the customized version — alt text: "SMART IRB Communication Plan template, unmodified" and "The same plan customized with an institutional logo, a green color scheme, pre-filled responsible parties, and notes pointing to local instructions."]

Questions about customizing a resource? Email help@smartirb.org or ask a SMART IRB Ambassador.

See also - The Communication Plan - The Letter of Acknowledgment (three versions)