State Education Research and Partnerships (SERAP)

Research conducted in or with NSW public schools, public preschools and other NSW Department of Education (department) sites that require participants and/or data access must be assessed under the SERAP process and be granted authorisation before commencement.

The SERAP process allows the department to assess the suitability and feasibility of the proposed research project, check for alignment with the department’s Research Statement, Guide to Our Evidence Needs, Our Plan for NSW Public Education, Re-imagining Evaluation Framework, and ensure compliance with relevant State and Commonwealth legislation, regulations and guidelines, including the department’s duty of care for students and staff.

Please note, SERAP is not an ethics approval process. It is a key part of research governance that operates alongside the ethical and scientific reviews conducted by a Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC).

Research projects requiring SERAP authorisation

SERAP provides authorisation for research projects:

• in NSW public schools, public preschools and other department sites; and/or
• involves participants or data accessed through department sites.

SERAP authorisation is required for: 

• research (including evaluations) led by individual researchers or organisations external to the department
• research to be conducted in a department site, including a public school or public preschool
• research involving participants recruited through department sites
• Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC)-approved research seeking the disclosure of personal information (data) by the department for research purposes
• research including any of the above being undertaken to fulfil the requirements for higher degree research (for example, honours, Master or PhD), including employees of the department
• requests to expedite assessment.

Some projects may be suitable for assessment through an expedited SERAP process (for example, projects in formal partnership with, or commissioned by, the department). While most SERAP applications will not be considered for the expedited process, assessment will be determined on a case-by-case basis through the EOI process and following discussion between the department and the researcher.

Contact us

To minimise delays during processing and assessment, we encourage all researchers to contact the Research and Partnerships team during the initial planning stages of a project. 

For further information, please contact the Research and Partnerships team, research.partnerships@det.nsw.edu.au