Simcoe County District School Board

Application packages are reviewed by the chair of the ERRC upon receipt. Should the chair require clarification from the applicant, they will be contacted before their application is submitted to the committee for review.  

Applicants must review the SCDSB Research Review Checklist before submitting an application. This checklist outlines the five key criteria used by the ERRC when completing a review. Once the applicant has reviewed the checklist and ensured that their project aligns with the SCDSB’s criteria, they are invited to complete and submit the Application to Conduct Research in the Simcoe County District School Board.

If an application is approved by the ERRC, the chair of the committee will provide a letter of approval and connect external research project team members with the respective SCDSB leader(s) for further discussion related to the board's capacity to support the project at the current time.

An approval from the ERRC in no way obligates principals, staff, students or their families to take part in any research. An approval serves to inform potential participants, including school administration, that an external research project has met all required ethics protocols. School administrators may choose to not participate in a research project at their own professional discretion. The decision for non-participation by school administration will be supported and upheld by Research and Decision Support Services and the ERRC. 

The applicant will be contacted within one week of an ERRC decision. Arrangements for the research project will then be made through the principal investigator (PI) and the school administrator (or their delegate). Participation from any individual or group is strictly voluntary, and all consent forms should clearly state that participants may refuse to participate or may withdraw from the study (without consequence) at any time. 

All instructions for applicants are clearly provided on the application form. The following are key considerations for all applicants: 

• Under freedom of information legislation, information collected for school records is not obtained with the expectation of disclosure to independent researchers. 
• The SCDSB will not allow for identification of individuals or groups in external research projects. External research projects proposing to use data collection (e.g., surveys, focus groups, etc.) will only be considered if participants are completely anonymous
• Any person who will have direct involvement with students must provide certification of a Criminal Background Check Vulnerable Sector Screening (CBC-VSS) prior to commencement of the study and must have been obtained within the previous six months
• The rights and well-being of study participants must be protected
• The school board will not be named in any project reporting
• No SCDSB school or staff is identified in any report
• Parental permission is required for any research with or about students. Permission must be informed consent (e.g., a consent form) 
• Projects will not be approved to start during the month of September at elementary and secondary schools, or during the first month of the second semester at secondary schools, and must be completed by May  
• Data collection (surveys, focus groups, interviews, observations, etc.) must be completed by May of the school year that the project has been approved. 
• Demands on schools and study participants are to be minimal. Little conflict with students’ academic program would occur 
• Any adverse events are to be reported to the SCDSB Research and Decision Support Services department within 24 hours of the occurrence
• Permission to conduct research in the SCDSB can be withdrawn at any time
• Approval to conduct research is for one year. A renewal may be requested from [email protected]

Applications are accepted from:

• masters or doctoral thesis candidates (including SCDSB staff)
• institutionally funded projects
• externally funded projects
• community or agency organizations