The GDPR coming in today has entailed a modest revision of our YNiC ethics forms. The new versions (V4 of the form and V6 of the guidance) will be available on the YNiC website soon, and should be used for all new applications.

The changes aren't too major - essentially Section 7 of the application form on data has been expanded to allow some extra checks to be performed on your data processing plans. One aspect that is new is that PIs need to consider whether their data might be considered "high risk" from a data protection point of view, and if this is a possibility then a Data Privacy Impact Assessment (DPIA) would need to be carried out. My reading of the definition of high risk is that most YNiC research wouldn't require this step. Further, if a strand of research does need an assessment then as I understand it an assessment could be carried out to cover that strand as a whole rather than each individual project. So I don't anticipate this being too burdensome in the main.

At the same time there are some new statements that need to be included in the participant information sheets and consent forms, and I have taken the opportunity to try to streamline the application process so that it is less time-consuming. I have cut down the guidance notes that you need to consult in making an application, and have added a template information sheet and a template consent form that you can adapt for your purposes. As well as making the application process a bit easier to complete, I am hopeful that there is less opportunity for researchers to use wording in their information sheets that conflicts with our guidelines. I'm happy to get feedback on how well this works and whether you can see further ways to improve the process.

Current projects with ethical approval do not need to be re-approved, but it would be helpful if any participant you test from now on could be given the attached supplementary information sheet as well as the information sheet that you have been using, to inform participants about their data under GDPR.

Please use the new forms for any new applications. People who are currently in the process of putting together applications (e.g., for this year's MPsych projects) can either use the new forms (preferred) or stick with the old forms provided they (i) verbally agree to the new statements in Section 7 in their application email, and (ii) add the attached supplementary information sheet to their participant information sheet.

Please let me know if you have questions or concerns,

best,

Gareth Gaskell

Chair YNiC Ethics and Governance Committee

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