BREO Quick User Guide - APPLICANTS

Logging in to BREO

Use your Brunel network credentials to login to BREO.

For students: Your username is your student number, and you should use your normal network
password.

For staff: Your username is your alphanumeric username (e.g. acstkkd), and you should use your
normal network password.

Please note: BREO does not have its own login credentials (username and password) – you must
use your Brunel network credentials to access the system.

Once logged in, you will be able to see your Work Area. This acts as your dashboard for all your
applications:

1
There are a number of buttons on the left-hand side of the Work Area screen:

• Create Folder: This enables you to keep all related applications within the same folder.
You may wish to create a project folder if you have multiple applications or amendments.

• Delete Folder: This enables you to delete any folder you have created.

• Create Project: This creates your application – see below ‘Creating an Application’.

• Delete Project: This can be used to delete applications which are no longer actively
needed. Please note applications cannot be deleted once they have been submitted.

• Duplicate Project: Use this function if you need to submit a similar application to one you
have already submitted. The fields will already be filled out so you can easily make the
changes you need.

• Transfer: This enables you to pass your application to a co-researcher to work on before
submission, or if you are completing an application for someone else, you can transfer it to
them to submit.

The Work Area Tiles:

2
 • Notifications: This shows you all notifications for your application, including alerts that
your application has been submitted, reviewed or approved. You will also receive these
notifications via email.

• Signatures: This shows any signatures which have been requested of you (if you are an
academic supervisor, requests from your students will appear here), with a link to the
form to sign.

• Transfers: This relates to the ‘Transfer’ button (see above), and shows applications which
have been transferred to you (e.g. from a co-researcher sharing their application with you
prior to submission).

• Shared: This shows you a list of forms that have been shared with you by other people.

Projects:

This is where all your applications will be listed:

• Project Title: This shows the title you have given your research project
• Project ID: This shows the identification number automatically generated by the system
once an application has been created. You can use this on all correspondence relating to
the project
• Owner: This shows the application owner (this will be you unless the application has been
transferred to you)
• Date Created: This shows the date the application was created
• Date Modified: This shows the last date the application was amended.

3
Creating an Application
Begin by clicking the ‘Create Project’ button:

A box will appear asking you to enter a project title. Select ‘Research Ethics Application Form’ from
the dropdown list, and then click ‘Create’.

You will now be able to see the application cover page.

To begin filling out the application form, click the first section of questions, ‘A1’:

4
You will then see the first page of the application form:

Fill out the application form with the details of your project. Please note, there is question-specific
guidance next to most questions under the information icon:

The form will change depending on the options you select, so you may notice new sections appear
for you to complete. For low risk projects, you will only need to complete sections A and J. For
other application types, there will be additional sections to complete.

5
There are buttons on the left-hand side of the page as follows:

• Previous, Next and Navigate: These take you forward or backwards through the
application form. Use ‘Navigate’ to take you straight back to the application form cover
page, where you can access each section easily.
• View as PDF: This enables you to download a copy of the application and print it if needed.
• Documents: This shows you the documents you have attached to the application (e.g.
consent form, participant information sheet etc.).
• Signatures: This shows you whether the form has been signed or a signature requested
(for example, from a supervisor).
• Save: This saves your progress. The system will automatically save your progress at the
end of each page BUT you should use this function if you are leaving your desk as the
system will time out after 20 minutes of inactivity. You can save your project and come
back to it as often as you like.
• Share: Sharing a form enables others to view or edit the form depending upon the level of
access you give them (e.g. you may wish to share your application with your supervisor).
• Collaborators: This shows any other users the application has been shared with.
• Completeness Check: This allows you to see all the mandatory fields of the form which you
have not yet completed. This feature will pop up if you try to sign your application without
having completed a mandatory question, and will link straight to the section(s) you still
need to complete.
• Submit: If you have a Supervisor, please ignore this button as once your Supervisor signs
the application, your form will be submitted automatically. For academic staff, this button
allows you to submit your application when you have completed it and all relevant
signatures are in place.

Please note, if you are sharing your form, for example with your Supervisor, you may wish to
make comments to one another within the form. This can be done using the yellow post-it notes
attached to each question. Please note these will not be visible to the review team and will not
affect your submission in any way (see next page):

6
Once you have completed the form, use the ‘Completeness Check’ button to make sure all
mandatory questions have been answered.

You will then see the declaration you need to sign in order to submit your application. Please read
and agree to each statement within the declaration, and make sure you understand each point.
Follow the links to the policies as needed.

For Academic Staff, once you sign this declaration, your form will be automatically submitted for
review.

Students: Once you have signed the declaration, you will see a new button appear which will
enable you to request your supervisor’s signature:

7
Click this button then fill in your Supervisor’s details. Your supervisor will be sent a request to sign
your form. They may decide you need to do some additional work on the form, in which case you
will receive a notification by email. If your supervisor is happy that the application is ready for
submission, they will sign it and it will be automatically submitted to the relevant Research Ethics
Committee. Please note: Your application will only be submitted when BOTH your signature and
your supervisor’s signature have been provided.

You will receive an email confirmation to let you know that your form has been submitted. A
notification will also appear under the ‘Notifications’ tile in your Work Area, and you should check
that the submission status in your Work Area has changed to ‘Submitted’.

Making changes to your application

Once you have signed and requested your Supervisor’s signature, your form will be locked for
review, and you will be unable to make any changes.

If you need to edit your form after it has been locked, you can only do so before your Supervisor
signs it. To do this, click ‘Unlock’ on the left-hand side of the page:

Please note, if you unlock your form, you will need to sign it again as the signatures will be
invalidated. If your supervisor has signed the form, this will need to be requested again.

8
After submission
Once your application has been submitted, you should normally expect to receive feedback from
the Research Ethics Committee within 15 working days (three weeks). You will then receive a
letter from the Committee, either asking you to make changes, or granting approval. Speak to
your supervisor or ask your College Research Office if you have questions about the feedback.

If you are asked to make changes to your application, please repeat the steps above and make
changes to your existing application (you do not need to start a new one).

Submitting an Amendment
If you wish to make changes to your research protocol after approval has been granted, ou will
need to seek permission from the Research Ethics Committee before implementing any changes.
Changes may include additional research methods, recruitment methods, participant groups etc.

If you wish to seek REC approval for an amendment, access your approved application from your
BREO Work Area and click ‘Create Sub-Form’:

Select the Amendment Form from the dropdown list, and click ‘Create’. Fill out the short form, and
the repeat the steps above to submit your Amendment application.

Help and support

For technical assistance please email [email protected]. For advice on your application
after submission, please email your College Research Office:

CBASS: [email protected]

CEDPS: [email protected]

CHMLS (Life Sciences): [email protected]

CHMLS (Health Sciences/Medical School): [email protected]

Good luck with your research!

9