Safety in Field Research Policy

POLICY

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

The Application Guidelines are available as a pdf file and contain detailed guidance for planning field research and implementing the requirements for reasonable care. They contain a form (the Field Research Safety Planning Record) to assist in assessing risks, and documenting the precautions taken. They also contain information on:

• Insurance Coverage
• Continuance of University Benefits
• Health Insurance Coverage while outside Canada
• Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Benefits
• Travel Health Immunization Guidelines
• Travel Advisory Reports

FIELD RESEARCH PLANNING RECORD

Download here, as a pdf document, a copy of the Field Research Safety Planning Record form.

FIELD RESEARCH RISK ASSESSMENT FORM

EXTERNAL WEBSITES

• Centers for Disease Control Travel Health Advisories
• Department of Foreign Affairs Travel Advisory Reports
• Health Canada Travel Health Information

1.0 Introduction

It is part of the mission of the University as an institution of scholarship and research that its members - faculty, staff and students - should engage in field research beyond its geographical boundaries. It is the policy of the University to encourage such activities as may be appropriate to its character and to take every reasonable precaution to protect the personal health and safety of its participating members.

The range of activities in the field is potentially as broad as the intellectual diversity of the interests of faculties, departments, institutes, centers and hospitals. By way of example, one may cite geological research in the Arctic, anthropological research in Africa, political studies in Asia, archeological studies in the Middle East and sociological studies in South America. Individual scholars of the University in the course of time range indeed over the surface of the planet and its seabed and it is not beyond imagination that outer space will be a new frontier. Significant risks may be associated with such activities. Working responsibility for safety in field research rests primarily upon the persons who directly supervise and carry out the research on location. Such persons are expected at all times to use good common sense. The University's concern in this policy is to require that due diligence be exercised by all concerned parties in giving attention to the nature of, and the means for dealing with, the categories of risk that may be associated with each location and kind of field research. It is the intention of the University that participants enter into field research on the basis of their informed understanding of the associated risks and their consent to the means for dealing with such risks.
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2.0 Concerned Parties

The following parties share concern for field safety:

1. each individual in the field;
2. the person in the field responsible for leading a field team of two or more;
3. the person who has responsibility for supervising the academic study of an individual whose work in the field is a necessary part of such study;
4. the department (or equivalent institutional entity) that is the academic home of the research; and
5. the University.

3.0 Requirements for Reasonable Care

The following are areas in which those involved must exercise reasonable care to secure safety in field research:

1. assurance of a satisfactory state of health and of immunization of the participants for purposes of travel to and participation in field research at the particular location;
2. availability of first-aid supplies and expertise, as appropriate;
3. availability of appropriate personal clothing, personal equipment and field equipment to support the research;
4. arrangements for appropriate transportation to, at and returning from the location of the field research;
5. availability of appropriate food and accommodation on site and during travel to and from the site;
6. provision of information about requirements of foreign governments and other jurisdictions concerning travel to and research at the site;
7. provision of information prior to departure to the study area on the character (to the extent known) of distinctive local risks and dangers;
8. provision of information prior to departure about insurance needs, availability and limitations;
9. arrangements for continuous responsible leadership of all field teams;
10. definition prior to departure, and on a continuing basis on the site, of the tasks and responsibilities assigned to each participant;
11. recognition of the right and responsibility of an individual to exercise personal judgement in acting to avoid harm in situations of apparent danger;
12. availability of procedures for contacting the University to obtain assistance in a crisis situation.

4.0 Responsibilities and Procedures

1. The responsibility of the individual field researcher or research team member is to acknowledge the risks of the particular field project and to understand the Requirements for Reasonable Care, and to confirm these matters in writing to the departmental chair or equivalent.
2. The academic supervisor is responsible for the following:
   • approving the composition of the field team including any dependents of team members, unless a dependent of the academic supervisor is to be included in the team in which case the composition of the team shall be approved by the departmental chair or other academic administrator to whom the supervisor reports;
   • establishing a clear chain of responsible leadership that is understood by all participants, in place at all times and placed on record in writing with the departmental chair or equivalent;
   • alerting each individual field researcher or research team member to the Requirements for Reasonable Care and of the risks of the particular field project;
   • obtaining the written confirmation required in section 4.1, above.
3. The departmental responsibility is to disseminate University policy on field research safety and to require its diligent application.
4. The responsibility of the central administration on a continuing basis is to inform concerned parties about this policy and the procedures by which it will be implemented.