Planning Accounts and Systems to Connect

Before requesting an IRB Exchange account from Huron, you need to understand how many accounts you need and for what purposes. This also helps you plan for the digital certificates you'll need to secure your systems' connections to the Exchange and communicate your request for accounts to Huron.

Action: Download the example Excel account request spreadsheet and use it to capture the key outcomes of this planning process, based on the sections that follow. The key information includes:

• Your organization name to be on the IRB Exchange account
• Role on Exchange (pSite only, or sIRB)
• Account for IRB Exchange Production or Test site
• Your system name
• Certificate-related file name

Note: The spreadsheet contains additional instructions for each column. This planning process is best conducted in communication with Huron's technical staff who understand the requirements and options. Ask your Huron representative for assistance.

Planning Your Huron IRB Exchange Accounts

Action: Fill in the table you created with the production accounts and test accounts your institution needs, based on the information below.

Production Accounts

Many institutions require more than one IRB Exchange production account. This typically occurs when the institution encompasses multiple organizations (such as separate IRB offices, campuses, etc.) that segregate their IRB review data and represent themselves differently to other parties involved in collaborative research. It may also occur if the institution has multiple production systems to connect to the IRB Exchange. Each of these separate organizations and systems require separate IRB Exchange production accounts.

Test accounts

For each IRB Exchange production account, Huron will supply a test account that can be used on the institution's staging or test system. This account is valid for connecting to the IRB Exchange test site for practice purposes. If any institution has only one production account, Huron can supply an additional test account to enable the institution to connect another test system to the Exchange test site. With its two systems connected to the Exchange test site and labeled as different organizations, the institution can play both the sIRB and pSite roles on the same study.

Tip: For institutions using Huron IRB 8.1 or later, multiple Exchange test accounts can be used on a single staging store by assigning them to different IRB offices. If you have only one IRB office, a fake office can be created for temporary testing purposes.

Planning Your Systems to Connect to the Exchange

Action: Fill in the table with the specific systems that will connect to the IRB Exchange, based on the information below.

Systems to Connect to the Exchange

If you completed the account planning above, you should have a good idea of which systems you need to connect to the IRB Exchange. You may need to employ an additional system not used in your normal process to accommodate testing from both the sIRB and pSite perspectives. Identifying the specific systems is important for obtaining certificates.

Certificates Needed

Each of the IRB Exchange accounts you request will need its own certificate. You'll need to purchase all certificates to be used on your production sites to connect to the IRB Exchange production site. You can use free certificates for connections to the IRB Exchange test site. As part of the next steps identified below, you'll fill in the remaining columns in the spreadsheet with the required certificate information.

Next Steps

Next, you'll purchase production certificates and request free test certificates, as described in Getting Digital Certificates.