Aware of the growing demand for ethical review in order to publish in top-tier scientific journals, the Institut Louis Bachelier (ILB) has established an Institutional Review Board (IRB) that is accredited by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This IRB accreditation, initially granted to American ethics committees, has since become the international standard.The IRB is a multidisciplinary ethics committee that provides advisory opinions on research protocols involving human subjects.
These opinions are issued following an expert review of the research protocol, focusing on an ethical analysis of the objectives and methodology, and more specifically on the procedures for inclusion, information, consent, data collection and storage, confidentiality, as well as the support, dignity, integrity, and rights of individuals throughout the research process.However, it is the responsibility of the research teams to ensure compliance with applicable laws (Jardé Law, GDPR, CNIL requirements, and, where relevant, local legislation if the study is conducted outside France).
Application process
The IRB may be consulted by members of ILB chairs and by researchers from ILB’s partner academic institutions for research in the following fields:
- Economics, finance, social sciences
- Applied mathematics, artificial intelligence, data science
- Actuarial science, risk studies
- Other ILB areas of expertise
This explicitly excludes all research conducted on human beings for the purpose of developing biological or medical knowledge as defined in Articles L-1121-1 and following of the French Public Health Code, which require approval from a Comité de Protection des Personnes (CPP). It also excludes animal experimentation, which falls under the responsibility of an animal experimentation ethics committee.
It is essential to contact the IRB before beginning the research.
To apply, the following cumulative conditions must be met:
- Submit a request to the IRB permanent secretariat to obtain the application form at the following address: irb@institutlouisbachelier.org
- Obtain approval from the director of the institution or the chair to which the requesting researcher is affiliated
- At least one member of the research team must have completed ethics training
If the research project is carried out by a student or PhD candidate, only the thesis/dissertation supervisor may submit the request to the IRB.
How it works
Upon receipt of a complete application, the Chair appoints two reviewers responsible for examining the research protocol. The IRB members then meet no later than one month after being contacted to deliberate on the file. Members with a conflict of interest withdraw from the meeting.
The IRB issues four types of opinions:
- Conditional approval (minor modifications validated by the reviewers)
- Qualified approval (major modifications to be resubmitted to the IRB)
- Not competent
- Unfavorable
The IRB’s opinion takes the form of a letter signed by the Chair of the IRB.
Any change to the research protocol must be approved by the IRB before being implemented by the research team. In addition, the research team must report to the IRB any unforeseen issues that have an impact on participants.
Composition
he IRB is composed of the following members:
- Guillaume Hollard (Chair), Professor of Economics and Vice-President of the Economics Department at École Polytechnique
- Marielle de Jong (Vice-Chair), Professor of Finance at Grenoble Ecole de Management
- Jean Berthon, Certified Actuary – FAIDER/Better Finance
- Samia Brisson, Legal Officer – Institut Louis Bachelier
- Florence Picard, Certified Actuary – High Council of the French Actuarial Institute
- Bertrand Villeneuve, Professor of Economics at Université Paris-Dauphine
Members are appointed by the ILB Board of Directors upon the recommendation of the ILB Scientific Executive Board.
