Coronavirus (COVID-19) Research FAQ

The REBs will be using the following principles concerning research with humans at this time:

1. Only critical COVID-19 research and critical research approved by the Incident Management Team for exemption may be conducted on campus. All other research that can only be conducted on campus must be shut down on Friday, March 20, 2020 at 5pm.
2. Only new submissions for on-campus research that are approved by the Incident Management Team (for research on-campus) will be reviewed by the REB.
3. Off-campus research can continue if there is no direct contact with participants (e.g. online survey, Skype or phone). If changes will be made to the protocol or consent process to conduct the research through non-contact methods, you should submit an amendment for REB review. Please contact ethics.review@utoronto.ca for guidance.
4. If a currently-approved off-campus study will involve an amendment that is COVID-19 related, please contact ethics.review@utoronto.ca at the time of submission.
    

Please note TAHSN hospitals are focusing on clinical care. Please follow the direction of the TAHSN hospital concerning research.

For more information on REB review, please see TCPS 2: Research Ethics Review during Publicly Declared Emergencies

Separate communication has been sent to researchers. Please follow-up as necessary with your local facility. Questions about protocol review and approval should be sent to acc.coordinator@utoronto.ca.

Instructions are available here.

We have templates available to help you prepare your lab in case there is any disruption:

1. Laboratory Contacts List
2. Equipment Maintenance Information
3. Equipment Specific Instructions
4. Laboratory Emergency Preparedness Checklist

During the University of Toronto lab research operations shutdown Environmental Protection Services (EPS) will still be operating normally for hazardous waste operations and chemical spill emergency response. EPS will be able to obtain access to buildings and labs with support from the U of T lockshop and caretaking to pick up biohazardous waste and radioactive waste. If you don't have a regular weekly pickup please contact EPS at (416) 946-3473 or hazwaste.ehs@utoronto.ca to request pickup and/or supplies. The central chemical waste rooms/facilities will continue to be serviced by our contractor as per normal schedules.

If a lab has a large amount of chemicals to be disposed instead of moving them to the building’s central chemical waste storage area you can designate an area in the lab and leave the chemical waste there with a sign indicating 'Chemical waste for disposal'. Call the EPS general line (416-946-3473) or email hazwaste.ehs@utoronto.ca and request a pickup, which will be handled on a first-come first-served basis. Any stable chemicals for disposal that can wait until normal lab research operations resume should be set aside in storage until then.

For lab closures, ONLY emergency cases will be considered due to staff constraints at this time. Please contact Aman Khan – ((416) 978-7910) / aman.khan@utoronto.ca) or Rob Provost ((416) 978-7000 / rob.provost@utoronto.ca) for lab closure-related questions.

Yes, the University will maintain access to certain point of delivery for certain critical supplies. More information to come soon.

• Social distancing does not replace the normal requirement for wearing PPE in the laboratory e.g. safety glasses, lab coat, gloves.
• Social distancing within labs should be implemented to the extent possible (i.e. maintain a 2 metre distance between individuals in the lab);  
• Limit the number of individuals in the lab at any one time  
• Disinfect common laboratory areas and frequently touched surfaces with disinfectant e.g. 70% ethanol (e.g. doorknobs, sink handles, freezer doors, fume hood sashes, lab phone) 
• If needed, implement alternating work schedules to meet the demands of the laboratory while limiting close contact with others to ensure the safety of colleagues

In accordance with [COVID-19] Continuing University Supports for Employees, most employees will receive pay continuity until April 30 and are expected to continue to work either remotely or in limited circumstances onsite, as previously instructed.  Human Resources is working with managers in units where exceptions apply and where there is no ability to work at home because of the type of work performed.

Updates regarding Post-doctoral Fellows, Graduate Students and Teaching Assistants may be found at these linked sites.

All purchasing should be suspended unless urgent and needed to maintain critical operations or essential COVID-19 research.

Refer to the March 18^th memo issued by Procurement Services which advised:

• All purchasing should be suspended unless urgent and needed to maintain critical operations
  • if necessary, the individual placing the order (via uSOURCE, Purchase Order or PCard) must ensure that the delivery can be accepted by an individual on campus (off campus deliveries are not permitted)
• Regular procurement processes and protocols remain in place
• Procurement staff are working remotely and can process requests as they are received

Should you have questions regarding research-related procurement during this period, please be in touch with your academic unit/division contact.

The University has Working Alone Guidelines that include resources available to support members of our community while on our campuses.

During this period of uncertainty and potential related delay/interruption to research programs, it is important to keep research sponsors apprised of the status of funded research initiatives.  Every initiative is subject to a research agreement which includes contractual obligations.

Most major research sponsors, have existing mechanisms for addressing exceptional circumstances, and are sharing information via dedicated web pages, such as those hyperlinked in 4.3, below.

NSERC and SSHRC have authorized institutions to provide an extension of 12 months for grants that end between February 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 due to delays as a result of COVID-19.  NSERC or SSHRC grant holders wishing to obtain an extension can write to their contact in RSO or IPO.

CIHR has announced that all active CIHR grants will receive an automatic one-year extension to the authority-to-use-funds date in order to give researchers an additional full year to use any residual unspent funds. Researchers need not apply for the extension. CIHR will also financially extend all existing Investigator-Initiated Research grants scheduled to expire between June 30, 2020 and March 30, 2021, for one year. Bridge grants provided to Nominated Principal Investigators (NPIs) in the Fall 2019 Project Grant competition who applied to the Spring 2020 competition will receive a 6-month financial extension. More details about CIHR's response to the COVID-19 pandemic are available on CIHR's website, their FAQ, or you can reach out to your contact in RSO or IPO.

Smaller and /or private sector sponsors may not publicly communicate in the same way. Should you have questions or concerns about existing agreements with such sponsors, please be in touch with the relevant VPRI staff member.

If travel arrangements in relation to a funded research initiative have been cancelled but purchased travel fare did not include options for refunds due to cancellation, and no cancellation insurance was purchased, the travel claimant must document cancellation and financial credit details.

The Tri-agencies (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC including New Frontiers in Research Fund – Exploration funding), have confirmed that the reimbursement of non-refundable travel fees from agency funds is acceptable considering the impacts of COVID-19. This applies to the travel of both principal investigators and research personnel.

Researchers should continue to work with the Research Services Office to determine eligibility on other external funding sources. If a cancelled travel expense is not eligible on an external funds source, an alternative funds source may be identified in consultation with the head of the academic unit/division and expenses re-allocated.

Researchers and research support staff should regularly visit the websites of their research sponsors to see what new information they may be providing regarding COVID19-related changes. Given that the number of sponsor programs is in the thousands, we cannot link to them all here. Here are links to some key sponsor updates:

• CIHR
• NSERC
• SSHRC
• Canada Research Chairs
• New Frontiers Research Fund - Transformation
• Canada Council for the Arts
• Ontario Genomics
• NIH

The Agencies have committed to implementing the new Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration (the “Guide”) on April 1, 2020, as indicated in their recent communication. The Division of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) in collaboration with stakeholders across the University of Toronto have made significant progress over the past several months in reviewing and revising institutional policies to support the requirements in the new Guide. The ongoing COVID-19 situation has not impacted these preparation efforts and the University of Toronto is on track to implement the Guide on April 1^st. Information about additional training modules and learning tools will be posted on the VPRI Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration – Renewal website and communicated to the researcher community.
 

Resources:

• New Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration
• VPRI Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration – Renewal website
• Communication from the Agencies – March 23, 2020

NSERC , SSHRC, CRC and CFREF have postponed the deadlines for submitting financial reports for 2019-20 (April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020) until September 30, 2020.   Internal institutional deadlines have not yet been established, further details will be communicated to grant recipients and business administrators.     The preparation and distribution of financial reports will be led by the Research Oversight and Compliance Office (ROCO), utilizing SharePoint for both distribution and collection.  Questions may be directed to Donna Walker, Director, Research Financial Reporting & Audit.

On April 2, 2020, CIHR President Dr. Michael Strong advised the community that CIHR will cancel the Spring 2020 Project Grant competition. This is an unfortunate outcome but in light of this challenging time for all Canadians, we also understand that CIHR has had to make difficult decisions.

To mitigate the impact of the competition’s cancellation, CIHR provides the following options:

• Financially extending all Investigator-Initiated grants expiring between June 30, 2020 and March 30, 2021 for one year. The amount provided will be equivalent to one year of the grant’s annual average value.  Those accepting this option can apply in the Spring 2021 competition (but not the September 2020 competition).
• Applicants to Spring 2020 can have their applications forwarded to the Fall 2020 competition, with a one-page supplement for additional support data or publications.
• CIHR will financially extend bridge grants given to NPIs in the Fall 2019 Project Competition if they had applied to the Spring 2020 competition:
   
  • The amount provided will be the equal to 6 months of their bridge grant amount
  • NPI’s receiving the bridge grant extension can apply to the Fall 2020 competition.
     

The Research Services Office, and Dr. Tania Watts our CIHR University Delegate, are closely monitoring developments and will continue to update the community as information becomes available.

The University is actively working with the Granting Councils and the government on assessing the impact on the research community. There is a recognition of the long term consequences of the pandemic on our work.  However, the government’s attention, quite rightly, is focused on more urgent issues, particularly those directly impacted by immediate economic effects.  We expect that our issues will be given due consideration at the appropriate time.

ONRamp is closed until further notice.

No. Toronto RDC is closed until further notice. Researchers are encouraged to email their analyst with questions. They are available by email during the closure.

We encourage continued international collaborations using virtual tools; we recognize that international collaboration is crucial for addressing significant global issues including our response to COVID-19. Note, all on-campus research operations are to be shut down by Friday March 20 at 5:00pm. Researchers should continue to review the information here and on the University’s homepage, which are regularly updated.

International visits and delegations are not permitted due to federal travel restrictions.

No. Based on the guidance of public health officials, the University is advising all members of its community to avoid all non-essential travel. Refer to the U of T FAQs for additional information on travel.

If you have additional questions after reviewing these FAQs please email international@utoronto.ca.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centre for Research & Innovation Support (CRIS) has curated a set of resources for researchers. This new Spotlight page will be updated regularly to respond to the needs of our community. To sign up to receive future email communications from CRIS, including new Spotlight resources, please click here.

As outlined in the March 24, 2020 memo we have established points of contact for aggregating U of T’s contributions. There is a central online platform for those wishing to contribute their research expertise and/or resources. We ask that you add your information to the appropriate lists on the website.  If you are unable to access the site, please email strat.initiatives@utoronto.ca.

The latest resources and updates can be found at http://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/covid19resources/.

Yes, provided that the research is conducted remotely. Until further notice from the University, no on-campus research may be conducted (other than research with approved exemptions, which is not appropriate for undergraduate trainees).  All undergraduate trainee research activities must follow up to the minute COVID-19 public health and safety guidelines and also observe the University’s COVID-19 restrictions on research travel and human participants research.  Supervisors are encouraged to be flexible and creative as they develop summer research projects and/or courses, using virtual collaboration and training tools.

Indigenous populations are at increased risk from COVID-19 for numerous reasons; thus, in-person research with Indigenous individuals and communities is currently not possible. This includes observational research, both on and off-reserve, involving humans, wildlife, and environmental studies on the land. Please see the COVID-19 update from the Waakebiness-​Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health for more information.