RRI Project: Grades 9 to 12 only
The student research or engineering project is conducted under the guidance of…
- Regulated/Registered Research Institution (RRI). (Government regulations for institution’s use of animals in accordance with rules of IACUC or Good Laboratory Practice,(GLP), etc.)
- Professional research staff at a company or government lab.
- Professional research scientist or engineer providing advice and guidance.
- Mentors, other than teachers, who provide substantial guidance, data or sophisticated equipment not available in schools.
Judges will use Form 1C to determine student’s contribution to the research.
Note: Middle school projects may NOT be conducted in the facilities of a Regulated Research Institution.
Important things to know:
1) Your mentor or the PI of the lab where you are working should read the ISEF Rules and Guidelines before you begin. Projects may “fail to qualify” if the PI does not understand that ISEF rules are more stringent than those for NIH etc.
2) We accept RRI projects only from students in grades 9-12 with the proviso that they were working legally at the RRI.
3) Certain application forms require dated signatures or institutional documents before experimentation. For a summer project, use the 2025-2026 forms here (pages 31-44):
4) The forms that are required for your specific project may be determined by using the Rules Wizard on the ISEF website.
5) If you are using a proprietary data set (one that is not publicly available) then your project is considered an RRI.
6) You may present only the work you have done yourself for an individual project.
7) All the students on a team project must be eligible for the Championship; check eligibility here. This means that your lab partner(s) must attend school in Santa Clara County.
8) All high school students will need to have a teacher from their high school sponsor their project. The only exception is for homeschooled students.
List of Forms:
- Checklist for Adult Sponsor (1)
- Student Checklist 1A
- Approval Form (1B)
- Student Permission and Hold Harmless Agreement
- Regulated Research Institutional/Industrial Setting Form (1C)
- plus, if needed:
- Qualified Scientist Form (2)
- Risk Assessment Form (3)
- Human Participants Form (4); Obtain institutional approval forms to document prior review and approval. Without documentation, the experiment must wait for SRC/IRB pre-approval and IRB-approved Human Informed Consent Form.
- Vertebrate Animal Form (5B) (For research at a Regulated Research Institution) Obtain IACUC approval document before experimentation and supervisor signature afterwards.
- Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents…Form (6A)
- Human and Vertebrate Animal Tissue Form (6B)
