Ethics Review Committee Inner City faculties (ERCIC)

The ERCIC was created for the purpose of helping researchers conduct their studies in line with high ethical standards. Even though submitting a protocol for review may feel like “an extra step”, the procedure is designed to protect both the researcher and the research participants by considering ethical implications for research activities and advising safeguards when necessary.

We use a dialogic process of review. During our review meetings, members from all four faculties discuss each application individually to find consensus about any ethical concerns raised in the research design. Because this discussion involves cross-disciplinary research expertise, it is important that applications are drafted in clear language and without presuming prior knowledge – much in the same way your research should be communicable to participants.

Important notice

Please make sure you first consult with your data steward before beginning the ERCIC review process. Requesting advice ahead of submitting an ERCIC application has the potential of improving the quality of an application which may lead to a smoother review process.

Review by ERCIC currently takes place on a voluntary basis, and is welcomed and encouraged for any UM researcher undertaking research involving human participants or personally identifiable data in the four faculties we represent: Law, FASOS, FSE, and SBE. We can only accept submissions for ethical review before starting core research activities, and cannot provide retroactive approval nor exemption from review. We can coordinate ethics review with other institutions; please contact us by email if you have questions related to that.

Application procedure

Register your project within the Research Project Services (RPS) platform.
Complete an ERCIC application form within RPS.
For support with the RPS platform, please consult your Data Steward or RDM team.

For more information about ERCIC, application procedures, and how to apply, please consult our FAQ page on UMployee.

Apply with RPS!

Deadlines and review timeline

Please consider that all applications have a strict 12:00 PM (noon) deadline on the dates below, whether submitted by email or RPS. This helps us ensure that our Committee members have sufficient time to review your application ahead of the Committee meeting. For this reason, late submissions are deferred to the next ERCIC meeting.

Please expect the first committee response within three to four weeks after the submission deadline. Be aware that the first response may require further revisions.

ERCIC members

Dr. Lauren Wagner (chair)
Greg Stapleton (secretary)
Prof. Frank Cörvers (SBE)
Dr. Robert Gianni (FASoS)
Prof. Remco Havermans (FSE)
Dr. Jona Linde (SBE)
Dr. André Nunes Chaib (Law)
Dr. Soetkin Verhaegen (FASoS)
Dr. Mindy Duffourc (Law)
Prof. Gerhard Weiss (FSE)
Dr. Tatiana Skripka (SBE)

ERCIC deadlines 2025/2026

ERCIC meets every 4 weeks during this academic year to consider applications for ethical review: