Research Security

The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Research Security Subcommittee updated NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance Pre- and Post-award on May 20, 2024.  In addition to the foreign components that must be disclosed, the CHIPS & Science Act of 2022 prohibited covered individuals from participating in any malign foreign talent recruitment program (MFTRP).  An early adopter of the NSTC guidance, the National Science Foundation (NSF) on May 20, 2024, began requiring covered individuals to certify they are not participating in an MFTRP.  As of August 9, 2024, other federal agencies also began prohibiting participation in such defined programs. 

NSPM-33 also directed heads of U.S. research funding agencies to begin requiring persons involved in federally funded programs to provide information using standardized disclosure forms and to require, at minimum, annual updates.  Disclosures were to include the following: 

  • Organizational affiliations and employment; 
  • Other support, contractual or otherwise, direct and indirect, including current and pending private and public sources of funding or income, both foreign and domestic; 
  • Current or pending participation in, or applications to, programs sponsored by foreign governments, instrumentalities, or entities, including foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs; and 
  • Positions and appointments, both domestic and foreign, including affiliations with foreign entities or governments. 

 

What does this mean for you (PIs and senior/key persons of proposals and/or receiving awards from federal sponsors)?

  • You’re now having to certify that you have provided accurate, current, and complete information in your Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support documents; 
  • You’re now certifying that you are not party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program; and 
  • False representations may subject you to prosecution and liability with potentially severe consequences. 

 

What should you do?

If you have not done so already, 

  • Familiarize yourself with the various NSPM-33 implementation guidance definitions.
  • Ensure that your Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support accurately reflect all foreign components. Each funding agency is implementing NSPM-33 requirements on various timelines, so pay special attention to opportunity guidelines and proposal preparation instructions so that you report all required information.
  • For proposals being submitted to the NSF, all senior/key personnel must build their Biosketch and Current and Pending documents in SciENcv, and these forms include the relevant certifications.  A potentially helpful video is available here.
  • The National Institutes of Health will formally adopt the use of SciENcv for these documents in May 2025.  You are encouraged to start early in SciENcv ahead of your next submission.
  • Ensure you know how to identify if any international collaboration or other foreign involvement meets the definition of a malign foreign talent recruitment program (MFTRP) so that you are appropriately certifying.

 

Identifying MFTRPs:

(Current as of August 13, 2024)

An MFTRP is any program, position, or activity sponsored by either: 

  • A foreign country of concern or an entity in a foreign country of concern (currently “the People’s Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran”), OR
  • An academic institution or foreign talent program that appears on this list.

And for which you are offered any of these types of compensation: 

  • Cash
  • In-kind compensation, including research funding
  • Promise of future compensation
  • Complimentary foreign travel
  • Things of non de minimis value
  • Honorific titles
  • Career advancement opportunities
  • Other types of remuneration or consideration

For performing any one or more of these problematic obligations or activities: 

  • Unauthorized transfer of intellectual property, materials, data, or other nonpublic information.
  • Recruitment of trainees or researchers to enroll in such program, position, or activity.
  • Establishing a lab or forming a company in a foreign country in violation of terms and conditions of a federal research award.
  • Accepting a faculty position or undertaking any other employment or appointment in violation of the terms and conditions of a federal research award.
  • Signing a contract or agreement which you are unable to terminate except in extraordinary circumstances.
  • Committing a specified amount of time to work for the foreign institution.
  • Engaging in work that overlaps or duplicates a federal research award.
  • Applying for or receiving research funding from the foreign government that would be awarded to the foreign institution.
  • Requirement to omit acknowledgement of the foreign institution, or any U.S. federal research sponsors.
  • Requirement to not disclose participation in the program, position, or activity to ECU or the U.S. federal government.
  • Having a conflict of interest or commitment contrary to a federal research award.

Note that Congress identified in the CHIPS & Science Act of 2022 which countries are considered a “foreign country of concern” and the Secretary of State may update the list at any time; the list of institutions and programs is to be updated annually.  

If you have additional questions regarding Research Security, please contact the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance at oric@ecu.edu. 

Federal Agency Research Security Training Requirements