BRANY Announces 5-Year Accreditation

BRANY has successfully continued its Full Accreditation by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP). The five-year accreditation reflects BRANY’s continuing commitment to protecting the rights and welfare of research participants. AAHRPP’s accreditation process help organizations consistently meet ethical principles and standards for protecting research participants. 

“We are pleased to have earned this ‘gold seal’ for the 3rd consecutive time,” says Raffaella Hart, CIP, Vice President of BRANY IRB and IBC Services. “For over 15 years, BRANY has strived to meet and exceed regulatory compliance standards while focusing on strengthening protections for study participants.”

To prepare for the reaccreditation process, BRANY completed a detailed self-assessment that included a thorough review of the policies and procedures of its Human Research Protection program, which includes BRANY’s Institutional Review Board (BRANY IRB). The effort is designed to ensure regulatory compliance as well as compliance with AAHRPP’s standards, and is followed by an extensive site visit by AAHRPP representatives to evaluate the records and confirm processes are aligned with policies and procedures.

Once an organization achieves accreditation, subsequent programmatic changes must account for both regulatory standards and how the accreditation standards will be maintained. Accreditation requires an ongoing commitment to protection of human subjects and maintenance of best practices.

 BRANY’s expert consultants have played an instrumental role with clients in the successful realization of full AAHRPP accreditation. The team starts with an initial readiness assessment and gap analysis. Clients then go through a systematic process-from the initial application to preparation of written materials, through mock site visits and interviews. BRANY experts guide clients through each step. The team will also help clients respond to site visit reports that result from the evaluation.

AAHRPP is a non-profit accrediting body that promotes ethical research through processes that help organizations to evaluate and strengthen their human research protection programs. BRANY is one of approximately 200 national and international organizations that have earned full accreditation status from AAHRPP.