IRBs have multiple roles to play within their institutions some which have huge financial implications e.g staffing, infrastructure, equipment and others. In the current times of economic stress, fulfilling these roles requires innovative strategies regarding financial considerations in order for them to function effectively and efficiently within the limited budgets available to most IRBs. The IRB for example might need to authorize an external IRB to do some of their reviews, allowing internal IRB reviews on behalf of other sites, overseeing multiple oversight IRBs, resort to use electronic data capture systems.