A new institutional Data Sharing for Research policy is now available. It describes requirements and best practices for, well, sharing research data, as its name implies. The policy was jointly developed by Cancer Clinical Trials & Regulatory Affairs, IRB, research compliance, and legal, among others. It contains limits on the eligibility of data sharing that follow NIH guidelines on genomic data, as well as a blueprint for what different oversight groups on campus will look for in future project plans. We hope this new policy will bring some clarity and speed to the approval of future genomic data sharing projects. It’s also important to note the policy applies to all research data, regardless of a study’s funding source, sponsor, or its use (or not) of protected health information.
Training on the new policy is under discussion. Details about training are to be announced in the near future.