Harvard University's Federal Wide Assurance Number for the Protection of Human Subjects

Federal agencies use the "just-in-time" principle for approval of the use of human subjects in research. Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval does not need to be received at the time of a proposal submission, but must be in place before funds are disbursed if an award is made. Harvard University has a federal wide assurance (FWA) of compliance with the US Department of Health and Human Services regulations for the protection of human subjects. If research proposes the use of human subjects that is not deemed to be exempt from review by the Harvard IRB, and approval has not yet been received, the FWA number certifies that Harvard has procedures in place to comply with human subjects protection regulations.

Federal Wide Assurance number: 00004837. Expiration date: June 5, 2009