In recent years, there has been increased discussion and even debate about how to
reconcile a commitment to the ethical conduct of research in the social and behavioral
sciences with a regulatory apparatus for the protection of human subjects that seems too
often to fall short of its own aspirations and ideals. The gap between regulations and their
implementation whether at the federal, state, or local levels is typically grist for the
mill in political science. When, however, the issues are more in our own backyard—in our
academic and research institutions—insight, interventions, and even empirical study are
harder to come by. The purpose of this essay is neither to applaud what is right nor to
decry what is wrong with the current system for the protection of human subjects as
practiced. Our goal is to help further catalyze through this PS symposium a
conversation about the need to produce system reform, illustrate some readily doable steps
for doing so, and entice social science colleagues to work at their own institutions and at
a national level for system change.