UW Research

Federal Research Security by Design

The University of Washington aims to provide a research security focused culture while maintaining an open-research environment.

Our collaborative approach is one of our principal values, but it can expose us to security risks, foreign influence, and to those who would seek to exploit the open nature of U.S. academic institutions.

Information and guidance provided here are designed as a quick reference guide about your role as senior and key personnel in research security protections for federally funded research. This material complements, but does not replace any required training on these topics.

We also touch on how you can build research security protections into your research team and lab environment as a matter of routine. This means knowing the requirements, engaging in advance assessment, and planning with the requirements in mind.

Topics covered:

Disclosures

Review or print the accompanying Action Items Checklists found within the video.

Launch or share the Disclosures video.

What is federal disclosure?

Some activities that you must disclose to a sponsor also require University approval before you engage in the activities.

For example:

When we are talking about disclosure in this context, we are referring to how you provide our federal sponsors with the required information about the support you have access to. This includes providing that information in biographical sketches, current and pending or other support. A sponsor may also require such information in a different location in your proposal, upon request, or in progress reports.

Who discloses? What do they disclose?

All senior and key personnel who seek federal funding or who work on a federally funded project, including the PI, must disclose information about all of their current and other external support that each of them have access to.

What does “Support” mean?

Support is not just other sponsored program funding. Support includes funding from other sources as well as donated, or in-kind, resources such as lab space, equipment, research materials, or personnel received from a non-UW source.

The federal government also considers support to be your appointments and affiliations at other institutions, including those with foreign entities.

Support also includes when you receive something personally as an individual, even if the resource is not documented in a contract with the UW. An example would be a consulting agreement or arrangement you have, where the consulting involves research as part of the consulting or is related to your research, or could even impact your effort commitments.

Review NSTC Pre-Award & Post-Award Disclosures Resource

We strongly recommend that you review the National Science & Technology Council’s  NSPM Pre-Award & Post Award Disclosures table for details. This table, hosted on the National Science Foundation website, includes guidance on the types of activities to report, where to report them, as well as when updates are required. It also identifies activities that don’t need to be reported.

Note that any and all support must be disclosed to federal sponsors, even if the support will not directly benefit the specific federally-sponsored research for which disclosure is being made.

When in doubt, disclose!

In other words, over-disclosure is better than under-disclosure.

  • Do you work for a lab not affiliated with UW?
  • Are costs for a graduate student in your lab covered by an outside source?
  • Do you have an appointment at a foreign university for the summer months?
  • Do you receive lab space for your use when you travel to a location on a regular basis?

Disclose it!

Here is a useful step to take: Do a literature search for yourself & your work!

  • Are you listed as an author or a co-author on a publication, abstract or poster? Would your contribution to that work indicate that you had foreign affiliation or support?
  • Was the work funded or otherwise supported by a foreign university or foreign government?

Disclose it!

Where do I disclose this information?

Each agency has specific requirements on where to disclose your support; many will use the Common Disclosure forms for the biographical sketch or current and pending (or other) support. Make sure you follow sponsor directions.

Review more guidance on Current and Pending, or Other Support

Get a Persistent Digital Identifier & Use SciENcv

Another step you will want to take is to get a persistent digital identifier or PDI. A PDI associates your portfolio with an identifier that is unique to you as a researcher. An Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier, or ORCID is the UW’s recommended PDI. It stores automatic links to all your research, and links all your research to you.

Some agencies require a PDI, others do not. It’s probably just a matter of time before all agencies require this, so get ahead of the game and obtain an ORCID now.

Use SciENcv & Link with your ORCID ID

SciENcv is a tool to create and manage your biographical profile for federal research applications and awards.

Linking your ORCID account to your SciENcv profile can help you more easily populate your Biosketch in the format agencies require, and for NSF, your Current and Pending Support.

SciENcv along with ORCID are useful tools to keep track of your support and biosketch information.

International Collaborations

Review or print the accompanying Action Items Checklists found within the video.

Launch or share the International Collaboration video.

Do you want to collaborate with entities outside the United States? Great!

The University of Washington is committed to international collaborative research, with partnerships and projects in over 130 countries. We value and encourage international collaborations.

There are a variety of guidelines and laws in place resulting from the U.S. government’s concern regarding both economic and military competitiveness. As a recipient of federal funding, the University needs to follow these when collaborating internationally. As a PI, it’s important for you to understand sponsor requirements or restrictions as well as Export Control requirements.

Review more information on:

Countries of Concern

There are strict guidelines and additional steps that must be taken for proposed collaborations that involve entities from or associated with the government of countries of concern.

If your project includes a country of concern, someone from the Office of Research will reach out to you.

Currently, these are considered the People’s Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, or any other country deemed to be a country of concern as determined by the Department of State.

Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment

While we value international collaborations, at the same time, you should be cautious of “malign foreign talent recruitment programs”. There are many foreign entities who want to take advantage of our researchers and your research for the benefit of their own economic and/or military growth.

In exchange for a position or appointment, funding, lab space, or other economic enticements, the foreign talent program may ask you to:

  • Provide intellectual property, data, or materials owned by the University or developed with a federal research award.
  • Transfer confidential information to the foreign entity.
  • Recruit students or other researchers to enroll in those malign foreign talent programs.
  • Accept terms contrary to a federal award or University policy when taking a position or appointment with that foreign entity violate what you have agreed to in your other sponsored programs

These malign foreign talent recruitment programs must be avoided.

Remember, the UW and most federal sponsors expressly prohibit your participation in these types of programs.

Routinely Confirm Eligibility

Most international collaborations are not malign. However, it’s important to routinely confirm the eligibility of your international collaborators to work with you on your sponsored programs.

Even though you may have a past or ongoing relationship with your collaborators, you’ll need to confirm none are debarred/suspended in the open access federal database, SAM.gov.

Next, for international collaborators, you must check the International Trade Administration Consolidated Screening List (ITA). If they do appear on the list you will want to have a consultation with the UW’s Export Control office before including these collaborators on your proposal.

Sponsor Specific Restrictions

Now that we’ve discussed broad federal restrictions related to international involvement, let’s review some specific sponsor guidelines and restrictions.

All Department of Energy awards require prior approval to allow foreign nationals to work on DOE projects. This includes U.S. Permanent Residents.

NIH requires prior approval when you want to add a foreign component. A foreign component includes any performance of a significant element of the project outside of the U.S.

International Subrecipients funded by an NIH award must provide you with access to all data that supports research findings during the course of the project and no less than annually. NIH also requires the subrecipient to recognize and agree to this requirement at the time of proposal in their Letter of Support. We have some sample Letter of Support language that we encourage you to share with them.

Other federal sponsors may have similar requirements around international collaboration. Make sure you follow sponsor guidance.