What it costs, and how the quote works
Every package is quoted after the free review, so the price follows the file rather than a menu. One fixed fee, in writing, before anything is drafted or filed. Nothing billed by the hour.
The desk offers three packages: Determination & Plan, The Complete File, and Full Handover, the premium. Each is quoted in writing once the free application review has been read — one fixed fee for the package, with nothing billed by the hour and nothing added for a return. There is no price list on this site because the fee follows the file: how far along the route it is, how many sites and documents it carries, and whether it is coming to us clean or with a return letter. The free review costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
The three packages
Each package contains the one before it. The fee covers the package in full, returns included; the only thing that ever changes the quote is the file changing.
Determination & Plan
For a project that is not yet filed and needs its path settled — and for the professional who wants to write the file with a plan in hand.
- The review-path reading, argued and evidenced the way the board will test it: not human-subjects research, exempt, expedited or full board
- The document map for your file, piece by piece, with the version each piece must match
- The gaps named: the site letters to request now, the certificates to renew, the plan amendment to file first if one is needed
- A written plan you can carry yourself, or hand back to us for the next package
Quoted in writing once the free review is done.One fixed fee; nothing billed by the hour.
The Complete File
For a project ready to be filed, built so it says one thing everywhere — and handed to you to submit.
- Everything in Determination & Plan, plus:
- The application form drafted to quote the stamped plan; the consent and assent documents; the recruitment pieces
- Instruments and interview guides aligned to the plan; the data-security plan written out
- Site permission letters drafted for the signatory, and followed up until signed
- The file assembled, version-stamped and checked against itself before it leaves the desk
Quoted in writing once the free review is done.One fixed fee; nothing billed by the hour.
Full Handover
The whole process off your desk, from the determination to the approval letter in your hands.
Most chosen- Everything in The Complete File, plus:
- We file it with the board ourselves — or complete the filing with you, screen by screen, where Capella's current portal requires your own account
- Each reply the board sends, answered: the revision response, amendments when the study changes, the continuing-review cycle
- Carried until the approval letter is in your hands, returns included in the fee
Quoted in writing once the free review is done.One fixed fee; nothing billed by the hour.
How the quote works
- You send the free review. Where the project stands, and a line about it — the form takes a minute.
- A consultant reads it the way the board will and writes back with what the file needs. That reading is free whatever you decide next; some files come back with the honest note that you can file them yourself.
- If you want the process carried, the package is quoted in writing. One fixed fee for the package you choose, stated before anything is drafted or filed. The quote names what is in and what is not.
- You say go. Nothing is drafted, filed or billed until you do.
What is always in, and what is never in
Always in the fee
- The package as quoted, returns included. A board return does not add to the bill.
- The same three consultants across the whole file, with the desk described on its own page.
- Your questions, by email or in the chat, for as long as the file is on the desk.
Never in the fee, never on offer
- Conducting the research, recruiting participants, collecting data or authoring findings. The study stays yours.
- Any promise of an outcome, a review category or a date. The board's decision is its own; we never invent durations.
- Hourly billing, retainers, or a surprise line on the invoice. The quote is the fee.
Pricing questions
Why are there no prices on the site?
Because the fee follows the file. A single-site quality-improvement project with no identifiers and a returned two-site study with a consent problem are not the same amount of work, and a menu price would overcharge one and under-serve the other. The quote is written after the free review so it can be exact.
The quote is one fixed figure for the package, in writing, before anything begins. It does not change unless the file changes — another site added, a different path than the one first claimed — and if it must change, the new figure is put in writing before the work continues.
Is the free application review really free?
Yes. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing. A consultant reads where your project stands and writes back with what the file needs; you can carry that reading yourself, bring it to us, or do nothing with it.
It is the entry, not the service — the service is the entire IRB process — but the reading is honest either way, and some reviews end with the note that you do not need us.
What if the board returns the application after you file it?
Under Full Handover the returns are in the fee: the revision response, the resubmission and every reply after it, until the approval letter. Under The Complete File you are submitting the file yourself, and you can bring a return to us for a quoted revision response at that point.
Can I start with one package and move up?
Yes. Each package contains the one before it, so moving from Determination & Plan to The Complete File, or from either to Full Handover, is quoted as the difference, not from the start again. Many professionals begin with the plan and hand the file back once they see what it involves.
Is there an offer or a discount?
From time to time the site carries a seasonal offer, applied to the fixed fee quoted after the review. One offer per project; it is recorded against your file when you claim it and applied when the package is quoted. Nothing about the free review changes either way.
How and when is the fee paid?
The terms are stated in the written quote for your package, before anything is drafted or filed, and nothing is billed until you say go. The terms page carries the general conditions; the quote carries the specifics for your file.