Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs

The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) was founded in 2001 in response to calls to strengthen protections for research participants. As of September 2017, AAHRPP has accredited 247 organizations, including 46 that are located outside the United States. To earn accreditation, organizations must demonstrate that they have a high-quality, comprehensive human research protection program (HRPP) and that their commitment to research participants permeates the entire organization. This emphasis on a comprehensive, systematic approach to research protections has played a key role in the fundamental shift to organization-wide responsibility for research ethics and oversight. A 2015 AAHRPP survey of accredited organizations found that AAHRPP is having a positive impact on HRPPs, with 91% of respondents reporting that their overall HRPP has improved as a result of having achieved AAHRPP accreditation.