Variations in REC/IRB Systems
Ethics regulation varies between different countries. Some have sophisticated systems of ethics governance; some have more rudimentary systems; some have none at all. A good overview of this is given in chapter 4 of Research Ethics and Integrity for Social Scientists (2nd edn) by Mark Israel. This Framework contains links to national guidance on ethics regulation from EU countries where such guidance exists.
The SATORI Project (Stakeholders Acting Together On the ethical impact assessment of Research and Innovation) produced a set of standard operating procedures for ethics appraisal systems.
TRREE provides training and resources that are relevant to the work of all those who must ensure the protection of the interests and well-being of humans who participate in research as well as the promotion of the highest ethical standards. While some modules may focus on more specific training needs of research ethics committee members, or research teams including investigators, nurses, or study coordinators, the training is open to all and may be of interest to health authorities, funding agencies and universities, as well as to political authorities, patients and the media. Variations between systems in different countries is outlined.
Canada (available in English and French)
USA – the Institutional Review Board system is mandated and monitored by the Office for Human Research Protections. Although IRBs were originally developed to manage government liability risks in biomedical research, their jurisdiction now covers most research in the US, other than that carried out entirely within private sector organizations. The OHRP also has a useful list of laws, regulations and guidelines from 131 countries, although this focuses mainly on the biomedical domain.
There is a specific list of social-behavioral research standards at this domain
Nuffield Council on Bioethics
Appendix 1 of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics Report The ethics of research related to healthcare in developing countries has some useful resources, although they are quite strongly focussed on the biomedical domain.
The Norwegian National Committees for Research Ethics
The Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees are independent agencies for questions regarding research ethics, and investigation of misconduct, within all subject areas.
This holds a lot of mainly US resources on engineering ethics.
The UK Royal Academy of Engineering has a long-standing interest in ethical issues raised by its members work. This page links to a number of statements and reports.