LEON - Loughborough University Ethics ONline

The online ethics system, LEON, covers submission for ethics review of investigations involving human participants and also integrates the ethical processes relating to research involving animals, animal cells or tissues and security sensitive research.

PLEASE REVIEW THE DEMONSTRATION VIDEO AND GUIDANCE NOTES BELOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR ETHICS SUBMISSION.

Other videos

LEON - Quick Start Guide (further guidance available below)

Further details are available in the FAQ section within LEON (located under the Help tab at the top of the LEON Homepage).

Templates for supporting documents, e.g. Information Sheet, Informed Consent Form, Assent Form etc., are available through LEON.  They are located in the Templates section under the Help tab at the top of the LEON Homepage.

The LEON system can be accessed at:

LEON Guidance notes

‌(The system may not operate correctly in old versions of Internet Explorer or Edge.)

Further Guidance Notes on ethical issues are available on the page Guidance for Investigators.

The Ethics Review Form in LEON has a three-tier approach to ethics review of studies involving human participants: 

  • Checklist - raising no issues in Checklist A or B, are reviewed by Schools.  
  • Checklist+ - (yes to Checklist B questions but no issues in Checklist A) will require submission of additional information and will be reviewed initially by the Sub-Committee Secretary.
  • Enhanced - (yes to Checklist A questions) will be considered by the Sub-Committee at the monthly meetings.  Submission deadlines are available on the Sub-Committee website.

Other submission types will be reviewed by the Sub-Committee Secretary initially to determine the appropriate level of review.

Further details are available in the FAQ section within LEON (located under the Help tab at the top of the LEON Homepage).

Templates for supporting documents, e.g. Information Sheet, Informed Consent Form, Assent Form etc., are available through LEON.  They are located in the Templates section under the Help tab at the top of the LEON Homepage.

Key features

  • Includes integrated help buttons and frequently asked questions section
  • Projects can be shared between researchers
  • Includes online signatures
  • Allows upload of supporting documents
  • Interactive Form which varies depending on the responses tailoring the form to your study
  • Enables online review to expedite the approval process 

Standard Operating Procedures

 The following Standard Operating Procedures give details of the ethics review processes: