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Glossary Term

Reliance Agreement

A formal agreement by which one institution cedes IRB review to another institution's IRB (the IRB of record).

A reliance agreement (also called an IRB Authorization Agreement, IAA) documents the responsibilities of the reviewing IRB and the relying institution. Common frameworks include the SMART IRB master agreement and bespoke single-study IAAs.

The relying institution retains responsibilities for local context review, HIPAA, conflicts of interest, and reporting to the reviewing IRB.

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