Mission
The mission of the Office of Regulatory Affairs and Research Compliance (ORARC) is to support and promote ethical research practices at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and to protect the rights and welfare of participants involved in human research conducted by Harvard Longwood Medical Area Schools (HMS, HSDM, and HSPH) faculty, staff, and students. ORARC accomplishes this mission through education and the review and monitoring of research studies in order to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations as well as institutional policies.
Scope of Service
The Office of Regulatory Affairs and Research Compliance is responsible for a broad range of regulatory affairs and research compliance functions:
- working in conjunction with various Harvard departments in areas such as conflicts of interest, data and information security, research integrity, intellectual property, animal research and biological safety;
- overseeing efforts in international research compliance, including the review of institution collaboration agreements/Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), and providing global research ethics training, and
- providing operational support for the Harvard Longwood Campus Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) -a shared service across the Harvard Longwood Medical Area Schools (HMS, HSDM, and HSPH), which is responsible for providing independent review and oversight of human research conducted by Harvard LMA Schools faculty, staff, and students.
