The Central Planning Group of the Integrated Co-coordination and Planning Committee (ICPC), including the President, Vice-Presidents and Deans, has been active in developing a phased plan for restarting research on campus, with support from the Research Restart Working Group.
Previously, researchers could request access to continue on-campus research if the research was deemed critical (that is, not continuing it would result in a significant loss of data or equipment) or related to COVID-19. Phase 1 of the Research Restart plan begins with an expansion of criteria for on-campus research activities for those that cannot conduct research remotely or require access to labs. These criteria now include considerations for:
- COVID-19 related research
- Research that if not continued would result in a significant loss of data or equipment
- Grants and contracts with time-sensitive milestones
- Graduate students nearing research degree completion
- Research with needs for intermittent lab access
- Early career researchers
Over the next six-to-eight weeks, criteria will continue to expand gradually, with the expectation that full access to all on-campus research labs is targeted for mid-July, providing continued approval from health authorities and successful implementation of each phase of reopening labs.