SOP: Congruency Review

Background

The Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (IV.D.2., V.B.), and the NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIH GPS 4.1.1.2) requires recipient institutions to verify, before award, that the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) has reviewed and approved the components of grants and contracts related to the care and use of vertebrate animals. Institutions are responsible for ensuring that the information the IACUC reviews and approves is congruent with the information in the proposal.

Applicability

This Policy applies to awards funded by the Public Health Service (PHS), as well as non-PHS organizations that have adopted PHS congruency requirements.

Policy

Lehigh University confirms congruence between grant and contract proposals and IACUC protocols by providing the IACUC approval date to the funding agency. 

The IACUC approves an IACUC protocol only when congruence between the grant or contract and the associated IACUC protocol(s) has been confirmed.

Procedure

• All animal work outlined in the sponsored program application must be submitted to the IACUC in an IACUC protocol. 
• Principal Investigators must include key components of the grant or contract, including the Vertebrate Animals Section and the Research Strategy, as part of the IACUC protocol. 
• The IACUC protocol will be reviewed and approved as described in Lehigh University’s Animal Welfare Assurance. 
• The IACUC confirms congruence between the proposal and the IACUC protocol by approving the IACUC protocol.