Project Summary
A concise overview of aims, hypotheses, and methods that allows nontechnical reviewers to understand scope and potential participant impact.
The form creates a standardized, auditable starting point for institutional review, privacy screening, and resource allocation. It reduces back-and-forth by collecting core project facts early and enabling triage to IRB, FERPA/HIPAA review, or sponsored-program offices.
The form speeds internal routing and establishes an institutional record of intent that supports timely triage and assignment of compliance reviewers.
A concise overview of aims, hypotheses, and methods that allows nontechnical reviewers to understand scope and potential participant impact.
Demographics, recruitment sources, estimated sample sizes, and any inclusion/exclusion criteria required for assessing risk and FERPA applicability.
Specific datasets, identifiers, and planned retention; flags whether education records or protected health information (PHI) will be accessed.
Planned consent or assent processes, templates or scripts, and whether waivers of consent are being requested for minimal-risk activities.
Checkboxes or fields indicating FERPA, HIPAA, external data agreements, vulnerable populations, or mandatory reporter considerations.
Institutional contacts, departmental approvals, funding identifiers, and space for required signatures or electronic attestations.
| Field | Configuration |
|---|---|
| Routing | Auto-route to IRB when compliance flags selected |
| Conditional Questions | Show FERPA questions only when students are participants |
| Attachments Required | Require consent template upload before submit |
| Notification | Email confirmations to PI and department approver |
Ensure the platform can export signed records in tamper-evident PDF with an audit log suitable for retention and potential regulatory review.
Institutions accept EOIs year-round or by quarterly cutoff.
1–5 business days typical for administrative completeness checks.
3–10 business days when FERPA/HIPAA issues are flagged.
Varies: expedited review often 2–4 weeks; full review longer.
Sponsor or data agreements may extend processing by several weeks.
Assemble summary, consent drafts, and data inventory before submission.
Department confirms completeness and routes to privacy and IRB.
IRB issues determination: exempt, expedited, or full review.
Obtain necessary signatures, agreements, and funding authorizations.
An operations leader described streamlined internal workflows and easier customer interaction
A healthcare founder emphasized responsiveness and API flexibility
| signNow | DocuSign | Adobe Sign | PandaDoc | HelloSign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $8/user/mo | $15/user/mo | $14/user/mo | $19/user/mo | $15/user/mo |
| Free Trial | 7-day trial | Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies |
| Bulk Send | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Audit Trail | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HIPAA Compliant | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Envelope Cap | No cap | 100 envelopes/user/year | Varies | Varies | Varies |