Ethics in Research and Evaluation in the Education Sector

USAID staff in the Education sector and our implementers are regularly involved in conducting research and evaluation to better understand what’s working and what’s not in education programs. In most cases, this work involves work with human subjects, which naturally comes with ethical implications. USAID’s Scientific Research Policy and ADS standards were developed to comply with federal regulations around the protection of human subjects. This Policy Brief aims to clarify the roles and responsibilities of USAID education staff, including oversight of implementing partners, in complying with these existing rules.