Forms & Signatures

RIS Form

Faculty new to the University of Toronto will quickly become intimately familiar with the (Research Information Systems) RIS Application Attachment form. Each grant application or research contract proposal prepared by a researcher must be accompanied by a completed RIS form when it is sent to Research Services (UTRS), which is located in Simcoe Hall on the central campus, for institutional endorsement. Those who have been at UofTM for a few years may refer to the RIS form as "the blue form", as in the days before form-fillable PDF files the RIS form was printed on blue paper.

There are two important administrative sections of the RIS form to note: Ethical Reviews and Approval Signatures. If you will be using human subjects, animals, or biohazardous agents in your research, you will need to apply for an approved Ethics Protocol through the Ethics Review Office (ERO) on the downtown campus.

The RIS form needs to be signed by three people prior to being sent to Research Services:

  1. the applicant;
  2. the applicant's Chair; and
  3. the UofTM Vice-Principal: Research.

Grant Application Signatures

Approval signatures are sometimes needed not only on the RIS form, but also on the grant applications themselves.

University Signature

Signing authority on grant applications rests with the University rather than the individual investigator or Chair. UTRS is the only place to obtain the institutional endorsement needed on most grant applications. The university’s approval signatures confirm for the sponsor that:

  • The applicant is affiliated with the university (consistent with any agency requirements with respect to rank), is undertaking independent research and has time, space, and basic facilities available;
  • The research is consistent with university and sponsor policies; and
  • The administration of, and accounting for, funds received by the university on behalf of the application will meet the sponsor’s terms and conditions.

In confirming these points, UTRS relies on the prior assurances and approval signatures provided by the applicant, Departmental Chair, and U of T Mississauga Vice-Principal: Research.

U of T Mississauga Vice-Principal: Research & Departmental Chair Signatures

These signatures for UTRS, and the research sponsor, that the following conditions are confirmed:

  • The applicant is a faculty member at U of T Mississauga;
  • The proposed research is consistent with university and sponsor policies;
  • The academic unit is willing and able to administer the research funding, consistent with university and sponsor policies;
  • Adequate space and facilities are available to allow the proposed research to be carried out; and
  • The time is available for the applicant to do the proposed independent research.

All U of T Mississauga research funding applications must bear the signature of the Chair or Director and the UofTM Vice-Principal: Research, whether or not the sponsor requires this.

Research Agreement Signatures

Signing authority for research agreements vests with the Vice-President, Research & Associate Provost and those designated by the Vice-President. Researchers themselves are not authorized to sign agreements on behalf of the University of Toronto. UTRS must review and approve all research-related agreements that name the University of Toronto, including the following contracts:

  • Research Grants or Contracts;
  • Collaboration, Licensing or Partnership Agreements;
  • Material Transfer Agreements; and
  • Confidentiality or Non-Disclosure Agreements.