Introducing the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans – TCPS 2 (2022)
January 11, 2023
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) are pleased to announce the release of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans – TCPS 2 (2022). TCPS 2 (2022) replaces TCPS 2 (2018) as the official human research ethics policy of the three federal research funding agencies (the Agencies).
TCPS 2 (2022) includes guidance on the following research ethics themes:
- Broad consent for the storage of data and human biological materials for future unspecified research (Chapters 3 and 12);
- Streamlining multi-jurisdictional research ethics review of minimal risk research (Chapter 8);
- Research involving totipotent stem cells (Chapter 12); and
- Review of research involving human cell lines (Chapter 12)
The Panel on Research Ethics (PRE) is responsible for the evolution of the TCPS 2, which is a living document created by the Agencies and periodically revised. TCPS 2 (2022) reflects priorities identified by PRE and the Agencies; deliberations among PRE and its ad-hoc subcommittees; and feedback received during the 2021 public consultation (June to October 2021).
A summary of the changes found in TCPS 2 (2022) are available on the PRE website. In response to the needs of the research community, the Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research (Secretariat) and PRE will develop additional interpretations or guidance to supplement TCPS 2 (2022), where needed.
The Secretariat's next major initiatives include a review of its policies from an equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) perspective, and the development of new guidance and updates to existing guidance on research involving Indigenous communities, lands and territories both in the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (the RCR Framework) and in the TCPS 2. The Agencies recognize the breadth of engagement needed to appropriately address research involving Indigenous communities, lands and territories in the TCPS 2 and in the RCR Framework, and that this important work will take time to complete.
It is of note, for those who are using the PDF version of TCPS 2 (2022), that the total page count is significantly greater than TCPS 2 (2018). This is due to formatting adjustments that will hopefully render the Policy more accessible.
The online version of the TCPS 2 (2022) is considered the official version and reflects the most recent changes to the Policy. Copies of TCPS 2 (2022) may be printed or downloaded from PRE's website.
If you have any questions about TCPS 2 (2022), please contact us at secretariat@srcr-scrr.gc.ca.
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