Reliance System: Updates and Work in Progress (June 29, 2026)

Since going live on March 17, 2025, the Reliance System (RS) has successfully replaced the previous Joinder and Online Reliance Systems, providing a central place to join SMART IRB and request, track, and document reliance arrangements. We continue to develop and refine the RS, in collaboration with our partners at NCATS Information Technology Resources Branch (ITRB), to address system bugs, improve functionality, and meet the evolving needs of our network of more than 1,450 participating institutions.

Below is a summary of the major enhancements we’ve implemented through June 2026, along with a look at what we’re working on next.

Editing Reliance Requests
As one of our most highly requested features, we have expanded the editing function to more user roles. Now, the submitter, Home Institution site admin(s), and any listed research personnel from the PI's Home Institution may edit a reliance request. Editing is available for requests in the “Draft” or “Under Review” states. Previously, this feature was limited to the submitter and Home Institution site admin(s).

Note: Once a request progresses past the ‘Under Review’ state, editing capabilities are currently limited to adding sites and/or research personnel. For further information, please see our support article on editing reliance requests.

We plan to further expand editing functionality—see the ‘What’s Next’ section below for details.

Viewing Reliance Requests
View access has been significantly expanded. Now, the request submitter, site admins, and any research personnel listed at an involved institution can view the reliance requests they are associated with. Previously, view access was restricted to the submitter and site admins.

Note: For view access to function as described above, the email address listed for the research personnel must match the email they use to access the RS. 

Optimized Email Correspondence
We conducted a comprehensive review of all RS email communications to ensure consistency, improve content, and incorporate your feedback. Key updates include:

• Recipient List Corrections: Ensuring correspondence is accurately routed to the relevant institutions.
• Updated Triggers: Enabling faster turnarounds for actions like adding sites later, "willing to rely" notifications, and site reminders.
• Refined Content: Providing clearer directions to improve the overall user experience.

Display Name vs. Legal Name
The Reliance System now uses an institution's “Display Name” rather than its “Legal Name” across the system, except in an Institution’s Version 3.0 Joinder Agreement and Indemnification Joinder (if applicable), This provides a cleaner interface and allows institutions to better customize how they are presented throughout the system. To update your institution’s Display Name, please refer to the Updates to Institutional Details User Guide.

Participating Institutions Page Updates (June 2026)
The SMART IRB Participating Institutions page now dynamically pulls additional relevant information directly from the Institutions module, including:

• Group Email(s) and IRB/HRPP websites: Clicking on an institution’s name will now display any group email(s) listed for the SMART IRB Point of Contact and/or Alternative Point of Contact, as well as any IRB/HRPP website listed in the RS Institutions module.
• CTSA Hubs: An asterisk (*) next to a Participating Institution’s name denotes whether that institution serves as a CTSA hub.

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes
Dozens of miscellaneous, behind-the-scenes bug fixes have been deployed since launch to ensure a smoother, more stable experience. Notice a new or persistent bug? Let us know: reach out to us at help@smartirb.org.

What’s Next?
NCATS ITRB rolls out system patches approximately every three weeks. We have identified the following top priorities to enhance the system in the coming months:

• Institutional Profile (IP) Redesign: The IP is essential for documenting institution-specific, static local requirements and policies. We are updating the PDF output to harmonize with the new SMART IRB guidance on local considerations. This will introduce a more efficient layout, while preserving all the critical information traditionally collected.
• Edits for the Life of the Study: Currently, once a request moves forward beyond the “Under Review” stage, editing is restricted to adding sites and/or personnel. We are working to expand this to enable changes to site activities and documents—such as updated protocol narratives and consent templates—throughout the entire life of a study.
• Request History Log Improvements: The RS request log tracks key milestones and decisions. We are pursuing the addition of granular details for when protocol changes occur, as well as a free-text comment feature. This will allow institutions to log “notes to file” and other custom documentation directly within the RS.
• Streamlining Commercial/Independent IRB Workflows: Currently, adding a commercial or independent IRB as a proposed reviewing IRB requires redundant data entry, such as listing them as a “site” even when they are not engaged in the research. We aim to streamline this workflow to eliminate duplicate entries and improve the user experience.

Whenever new patches go live, we announce them via the notification bell in the bottom right corner of the Reliance System screen. Stay tuned for updates!

How You Can Help
Have a bug to report? A system enhancement you’d like to see? Your feedback is essential to our mission of supporting IRB reliance and enables us to continue to improve the Reliance System. Let us know your thoughts: reach out to us at help@smartirb.org!