The University of Southampton’s ERGOnauts team has been shortlisted for the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards 2020 for Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year.
The team, comprised of colleagues from iSolutions and Research and Innovation Services, have been nominated for their design and implementation of the University’s second-generation online ethics review system, ERGO II.
The system is used for online ethical review and approval of research projects undertaken by staff and students.
The award recognises the system and team for their outstanding contribution to improving efficiency and reducing the administrative burden of the ethical review and approval of research.
Its predecessor, ERGO I, was introduced in 2012, with ERGO II developed to be more user friendly, efficient, flexible, and adaptable to different organisations across sectors. This was rolled out with great success in 2018, winning the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Administrative and Operational Efficiency that year.
Diana Galpin, Chair of the ERGO II project, said ‘We’re delighted to be shortlisted for a Times Higher Education Award for this vital project. … As an institution committed to supporting high quality and responsible research, ERGO II has entirely transformed our approach to the ethical review and approval of research across the University.’
The THE Awards are a recognition and celebration of outstanding work across a wide range of university activity in both academia and the professional services. The winners will be announced in a virtual awards ceremony on the 26th of November.
