How to submit your project to the REB?
The HEC Montréal REB uses the Nagano software system to review and follow up on the ethics of research projects involving human subjects. Accordingly, all documents required by the REB for the submission and follow-up of your research project (declaration of ethical responsibility, research project declaration form, project renewal, project changes and project completion forms) must be submitted electronically via Nagano.
How to access Nagano?
Go to the website: https://cer.hec.ca/login
Enter your HEC ID in the username field and use your HEC password.
To change the language of Nagano user interface for “English”, follow these steps :
- Click on your profile icon (the silhouette one) and then, click on the “ÉDITER” button;
- You will see the field “Langue de l’interface” : Select “Anglais”;
- Then, go at the bottom of the screen and click on the button “SAUVEGARDER”.
Pour déclarer un nouveau projet :
Once you have accessed the Nagano dashboard, click on the project icon (illustrated by a stack of files) and then click on the red «New project» button and answer the questions.
For information on the different steps to follow for project submission and follow-up (new project, project change, annual renewal, project completion), please refer to the appropriate guides for each situation in Nagano, in the Documentation, (
icon, top menu) under HEC Guides.
Who is responsible for reporting?
The principal investigator, whether a professor, researcher, master’s or doctoral student or post-doctoral fellow, is responsible for completing and submitting the appropriate submission form(s) for his or her project via Nagano.
Any student who submits a research project must be supervised by a HEC Montréal professor in order to obtain an ethics certificate from the REB. It is not possible for a student to obtain a certificate of ethics approval as an independent researcher. For this reason, students must obtain the signature of their director or co-directors before submitting their form in Nagano.
Submission of a doctoral thesis project
All doctoral theses, regardless of whether or not they involve humans, must be submitted to the REB in Nagano using the form F4 – Declaration of Ethical Responsibility of a Doctoral Student, prior to approval of the student’s Phase III.
Once the REB has reviewed the project, an email will be sent to the student, with an attached notice of the REB’s decision on the thesis proposal. It is important to keep this official notice and to forward it to the Ph.D. program office before submitting the Phase III form.
Student projects that falls entirely within a broader research project led by a professor at the School
If the researcher is a tudent whose project falls entirely within a broader research project led by a professor, the professor must clearly indicate the name(s) of the student(s) participating in the various phases of the research project when submitting the project via Nagano. In this case, the ethics certification issued for the professor’s project is also valid for that of the student, provided that the REB has been informed.
If any students join the research team of a professor whose research project has already received ethics approval, the professor must inform the REB of this fact using the form F8 – Request for Changes to the Research Project, available in Nagano.
Student projects not fully included in a broader research project led by a professor at the School
If the data collection conducted by a student in the context of a professor’s research project is not fully included in that project, the student must personally submit his or her data collection to the REB for approval via Nagano.
When to submit a research project?
The researcher must complete and sign the form(s) and appendices related to his or her research project and submit them to the REB BEFORE commencing the collection and/or consultation of documents and/or databases involving human subjects. No one shall engage in the collection, pre-testing and/or consultation of documents and/or databases involving human subjects before having obtained a certificate of ethics approval from the REB.
It can take an average of four to six weeks between the submission of a completed application and the issuing of the certificate of ethics approval.