The Graduate School

Human Research Protection Program

Each institution that engages in federally sponsored human subjects research must provide the government with a written assurance. UW-Madison's Federalwide Assurance (FWA) guarantees that all UW-Madison investigators, working on all human subjects projects, will comply with the terms of assurance for protection of human subjects for institutions within the United States.

The FWA places shared responsibility for protecting the rights of human research participants on investigators and on the UW-Madison as an institution. Failure to comply with the FWA may constitute unethical behavior and violation of the law. Such violations can lead to loss of research privileges for an individual, a laboratory, or the entire university. Leading research institutions have had their entire human subjects research activities suspended for extended periods because they were judged to be out of compliance with federal regulations.

UW-Madison Federalwide Assurance

Assurance Number: FWA00005399-U Wisconsin-Madison

The Assurance is updated periodically. Click here for the most current version of the Assurance, including the current expiration date, IRBs linked to this Assurance and a list of components identified for this Assurance.

Investigators at the William S. Middleton Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital are covered by the UW-Madison FWA through an IRB Authorization Agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding between UW-Madison and the Middleton VA Hospital.