The Health Information Research Governance Committee is an Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) mandated committee is a regional First Nations research ethics board. The HIRGC is currently housed within the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba (FNHSSM).

The HIRGC was established through AMC resolution to oversee the Regional Health Survey (RHS). Since then HIRGC has expanded its role to guide regional First Nations research and act as a gatekeeper to First Nations data including the Manitoba First Nations Research File (MFNRF) held at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP).

In 2019, the Manitoba Chiefs-in-Assembly revised the mandate for HIRGC to authorize HIRGC to act as:

• The gatekeeper of First Nations data at a regional level;
• The advisory body to offer guidance to research carried out on a regional basis, including reviewing applications from First Nations or academic researchers or consultants; and,
• The body to ensure that respectful research for and by First Nations is carried out according to these principles:
  • Free prior informed consent on a collective and individual basis;
  • First Nations OCAP® Principles so that First Nations have Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession of their own data and information;
  • First Nations ethical standards, whether Cree, Dakota, Dene, Anishininiwak (Oji-Cree) or Anishinaabe (Ojibway); and,
  • Benefits to First Nations.

The HIRGC meets 6 times per year, please see the meeting dates and subsequent application deadlines below:

For more information about the application process Click Here