Dear Colleagues:
We hope this finds you all well and somehow hanging in! We are writing as Co-Chairs of the Teachers College Research Ramp-Up Task Force, to let you know about upcoming plans.
Due to COVID-19, all research-related activities taking place on campus in-person at Teachers College are still suspended.
However, we have been working hard to move forward responsibly and safely to ramp up in-person research activities on campus by the Fall term. Research activities may or may not include interactions with research participants, as we will need to assess risk based on various factors, including the nature of the activity and the vulnerability of the participant of the participant. We aim to respond to the needs of researchers while minimizing risks to participants and staff.
As recently communicated by Columbia University, the ramping-up of laboratory research requires satisfying two conditions:
Official New York State permission to initiate research
College approval to begin research as contingent on established policies and procedures in place so we can move forward with all the prudence required.
Until this week, New York State was not permitting laboratory and clinical research activities to commence until New York City entered Phase Two of the Governor’s New York Forward Plan, which it has not yet achieved. This week, the Governor reclassified Higher Education Research as a Phase One activity. Since New York City entered into Phase One on Monday, June 8th, the first of the two conditions is now satisfied.
Determining when the second condition is satisfied is a matter for our own judgment, based on pilot testing, program evaluations, and consistent risk assessments. We cannot responsibly ramp up on-campus in-person research until we are confident that we have made all necessary arrangements for securing access to personal protective equipment, symptom-tracking procedures, facility readiness, training, and any other important safety measures. We are collecting survey data from research labs and centers and conducting semi-structured Zoom or telephone interviews to ensure that the measures we use for research ramp-up, and their implementation, are well designed. Of course, there will be limitations to any design and we will need to adapt procedures and policies as environmental or social changes occur. If you would like to contribute your insights to the design of our procedures and policies you can either:
Complete any emailed electronic surveys geared at gauging the pulse of research
Volunteer for a 15-minute semi-structured interview to voice your concerns (email IRB@tc.edu, with a subject line of “Research Lab Input for Research Ramp-Up”)
Ramping up in-person research activities will take time and we value your patience. Part of our plans include:
Training preparations based on function and roles on campus
General health and safety trainings that meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards
Training for working with participants in-person
Training for researchers who work with vulnerable populations
Training for researchers who work off-campus or conduct in-home visits
Determining who needs to take on specific responsibilities;
Deciding which labs and centers may open, and when;
Determining who may participate in research and under what conditions;
Providing consistent messaging for both researchers and participants on keeping oneself and others safe.
Our ongoing aims are to:
Determine best practices for maintaining the health and safety of all research participants as we undertake a return to research on campus;
Develop guidelines and requirements for ramping up in-person research;
Identify practical ways and means for researchers to comply with in-person data collection guidelines (such as training, certifications, access to materials, oversight, consultation);
Establish iterative phases with different densities of occupancy of research buildings, based on public health data;
Act, alongside the Institutional Review Board, as the primary point of contact for assistance, guidance, and support concerning the research ramp-up process, regulatory and administrative guidance, and inquiries about research status.
To support these aims, the Research Ramp-Up Task Force is comprised of or working closely with personnel from the Provost’s Office, the Office of Finance and Administration, the Environmental Health and Safety Office, Public Safety, Facilities, the Institutional Review Board Office, the TC Information Technologies Office, the Office of Sponsored Programs, the Office of Risk Management, the Office of Special Projects, and the other campus-reopening committee groups.
Although we are being guided by parallel considerations at Columbia University and other institutions in the City, Teachers College is developing its own policies and procedures for our in-person research ramp-up initiative that are tailored to the needs of our researchers. Our aim is to clearly communicate policies and procedures and what next steps mean for you and your research. Please do not misinterpret delayed communication for inaction; rather, we are working to remain thoughtful and thorough in how we approach any situation – precisely because the stakes are so high.
Even after we start ramping up on-campus research, if you can do your work online, we encourage you to continue to work remotely. By keeping population density on campus as low as possible, we will be better able to protect our community and those who will start to come back to campus.
We will continue to inform the TC Research Community of our progress through email updates or postings on the “Updates” section of the TC IRB’s website.
We are very grateful to TC researchers and all those who are contributing to campus reopening efforts; the problems we face are multi-faceted, and every part of our community is engaged in addressing them. We look forward to our next steps back from the restrictions of these past months, and we thank you for your patience and continued flexibility.
Best regards –
Dr. Karen Froud
Dr. Myra Luna Lucero