AmeriCorps research must now follow federal rules for human subject protection

AmeriCorps has adopted the Common Rule, a set of federal ethical guidelines for research involving people. This means all AmeriCorps-funded or conducted research must now get approval from an institutional review board and obtain informed consent from participants.

Before this, AmeriCorps could fund or conduct research on human subjects without adhering to the same ethical standards as most other federal agencies. Now, researchers working with AmeriCorps must follow the same rules as those funded by the National Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation. This change ensures that vulnerable populations involved in AmeriCorps-supported studies receive the same protections as those in other federally funded research.