Metrics last updated: February 12, 2026

RITHIM's Harmony system officially began accepting new ethics, privacy and health institutional assessment applications on July 2, 2025, with migration of projects from the previous University of Manitoba Bannatyne research ethics boards (REBs) and follow-on submissions beginning in November 2025.

Below is information related to the applications we have processed since this point, between July 2, 2025, and February 12, 2026.

Time from First Submission to Approval

The below chart shows how long new applications took to be approved from their initial submission, by month of initial submission, this does not include applications that have not been approved yet.

Overall, the time between application and approval has reduced drastically since processing began. Note that this data is subject to change based on future approvals.

Data Migration

One of the more complex tasks of the RITHIM Harmony launch was the migration of 2,302 projects that were currently active in the previous University of Manitoba's Bannatyne Research Ethics Board systems, going as far back as 1993. Applicants were asked to confirm the projects were still active by validating their projects. As of February 12, 2026, 1,048 projects were validated, or roughly 46%. Applicants are required to validate their projects before their next system activity. For many of these projects, these will be their eventual annual renewal date, so we expect more projects to be validated over the next year. In the event that a project is not validated ahead of their renewal date, their project enters into expired mode and eventually suspension and if necessary, termination. If a project is marked terminated, a new application must be created for any necessary reviews.

The process was later adapted to allow applicants to close finished projects without requiring validation, a time and energy-saving step that was implemented as a result of user feedback.

New Applications

Below is information on the current status of new applications submitted.

Status Explanations:

Ineligible - These are projects that would not need to be reviewed by any RITHIM committee. Examples include: not research related, not related to human research, or fall under another REB's jurisdiction.

Incomplete - These are projects that will require review, but staff have determined initial information is missing in the application, and the details of what is needed has been communicated back to the applicant.

Revisions Required - These are projects that have been reviewed by a committee and have been determined to require additional information. Staff work with the applicant to ensure this information is received.

Approved - The appropriate committee(s) have reviewed the application and issued the approving decision back to the applicant.

Amendments

When a project undergoes changes, an amendment must be submitted to the review committee(s) as soon as possible. These projects then undergo a review process.

Support and Training

RITHIM is committed to supporting all applicants and reviewers through the transition to the Harmony system. In addition to email support, a ticketing support system was created on September 2, 2025, to increase responsiveness and accountability. Below are metrics from this system as well as additional information related to support.