Summary excerpt from the Statement of the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc: Incorporated in April 2001, the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP), is a nonprofit organization that offers accreditation to institutions engaged in research involving human participants. The AAHRPP accreditation program uses a voluntary, peer-driven education model. Responding to increased public and political scrutiny, AAHRPP seeks not only to ensure compliance, but to raise the bar in human research protection by helping institutions reach performance standards that surpass the threshold of state and federal requirements. By establishing a "gold seal" signifying adherence to a rigorous set of human protection standards, accreditation by AAHRPP will help ensure consistency and uniformity among all institutions conducting biomedical, behavioral and social sciences research.