Interinstitutional Animal Welfare Assurance

The Interinstitutional Assurance is required for institutions that are involved in Public Health Service (PHS)*, National Science Foundation (NSF), or National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-funded or supported animal activities that do not have:

• an approved Domestic or Foreign Assurance
• its own animal care and use program
• its own facilities to house animal
• an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

Instead, the animal activities will be conducted at another institution that must have an approved Domestic or Foreign Assurance.

Interinstitutional Assurances are approved for the life of the grant or contract, up to 5 years and are only valid for the institutions that signed the Interinstitutional Assurance document.

Multiple Interinstitutional Assurances may be required for the same award depending on the number and role of the institutions involved in the live, vertebrate animal work.

A new Interinstitutional Assurance must be approved if:

• there are changes or additions of institutions involved in the animal activity
• animal activities will continue beyond 5 years after approval of the initial Interinstitutional Assurance