Protocols are assigned to Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs) for review/approval based on animal housing locations except when research procedures are, in the opinion of the chief campus veterinarian or designee, of a nature or duration that oversight by the IACUC responsible for the procedure or procedure site is more appropriate.
In most cases, the review/approval and post-approval monitoring is carried out by a single IACUC. There is no regulatory requirement for duplicative IACUC review and approval of animal care and use protocols. However, for purposes of information-sharing and animal program consistency, it may be appropriate at times for members of multiple UW–Madison IACUCs to be involved in the review of protocols that involve animal activities that cross IACUC oversight areas.
The assignment of protocols to UW–Madison IACUCs and oversight will be managed as follows:
- When all of the animals are housed in facilities that fall within the oversight of a single IACUC, that IACUC will review, approve, and oversee the animal protocol.
- Upon determination of the chief campus veterinarian or designee, a protocol will instead be assigned to the IACUC with oversight of a procedure, or procedure site or sites, and that IACUC will review, approve, and oversee the animal protocol.
- If animals are housed in facilities that fall within the oversight of more than a single IACUC, or if research procedures are conducted on animals in locations that fall within the oversight of more than a single IACUC, the chief campus veterinarian in consultation with the IACUC administrators will determine the primary IACUC. The chair and senior program veterinarian(s) of the other involved IACUC(s) will be provided a copy of the protocol (or amendment) by Research Animal Resources and Compliance (RARC) IACUC office staff during the initial review phase for review. The chair and senior program veterinarian(s) of the other IACUC(s) have four options:
- Relegate review/approval to the primary IACUC.
- Relegate review/approval to the primary IACUC and provide input into the Application Review for Research Oversight at Wisconsin (ARROW) system to be considered by the primary IACUC in reviewing the protocol.
- Relegate review/approval to the primary IACUC with the chair and/or senior program veterinarian(s), or their designee(s), serving as consultants to the primary IACUC in reviewing the protocol.
- Require review of the protocol at a joint meeting of all involved IACUCs.
- Any IACUC may involve consultants (e.g., the chair or senior program veterinarian(s) of another IACUC) as allowed by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) 2.31(d)(3) in the review of protocols. (Per AWA 2.31(d)(3), the IACUC may invite consultants to assist in the review of complex issues arising out of its review of proposed activities. Consultants may not approve or withhold approval of an activity, and may not vote with the IACUC unless they are also members of the IACUC.)
- If an amendment to or three-year renewal of an active protocol is submitted and expands the IACUC oversight to involve a second or additional IACUC(s), the amendment/renewal will be managed as described in (2) and (3) above.
- In cases of relegated review (see point 2 above), the IACUC to which the protocol is relegated is responsible for postapproval monitoring activities, review/approval of protocol amendments, and annual reviews of that protocol. In cases where more than one IACUC is involved in a protocol review and approval, all IACUCs are responsible for post-approval monitoring activities and annual reviews of the protocol.
