The purpose of the IRB is to assure that appropriate steps are taken to protect the rights and welfare of humans participating as subjects in a research study. To accomplish this purpose, the contractor shall on an as needed basis review research protocols and subject facing materials (e.g., informed consent documents, recruitment materials, surveys, etc.) to assess the ethics of the research and its methods, evaluate potential investigator’s biases, and evaluate all research activities are in compliance with federal regulations designed to protect human subjects. The IRB shall serve as an oversight committee to ensure study participants are not harmed (or that harms are minimal and outweighed by research benefits). The review process conducted will help promote fully informed and voluntary participation and seeks to maximize the safety of participants. The overall scope of the work for the contractor will be to review and provide continuing oversight of human research subjects conducted through the County on an as needed basis. For any research activity that falls under its purview as defined by institutional policy and federal regulations, the IRBs shall be tasked to monitor, approve, reject, exempt, and request revisions to research protocols and other related documents.
