International Research and Engagement

• Conflict of Commitment (COC): The University of California requires that faculty submit an annual COC report indicating whether or not they have engaged in outside activities during the fiscal year. Disclosure forms are required even if faculty members have nothing to disclose. Deans are responsible for ensuring that faculty members submit an annual disclosure and that the disclosures are accurate. A UC-wide software system called UC OATS is now being used for annual COC disclosures. Read more on the Academic Affairs UC OATS website. 
• Conflict of Interest (COI) policies require all university employees who are conducting research or other research-related activities to disclose certain financial interests, whether domestic or foreign. Financial interests include anything of monetary value held by the employee, a spouse or registered domestic partner, and dependent children. Examples include income or payments for salaries; consulting or honorariums; holding a position such as founder, partner, employee or board member; and having ownership interests such as stocks, bonds or stock options. New financial interests should be disclosed within 30 days of their acquisition. Read more about required COI disclosures here.
• Applicants for federal grants must list all “other support” prior to award as required by the sponsoring agency and are required to identify any changes in “other support” in each annual progress report. For NIH awards, the NIH Grants Policy Statement defines “other support” as all financial resources — whether federal or non-federal, commercial or institutional — in direct support of an individual’s research. This covers research contracts and grants, cooperative agreements and organizational awards, including any from foreign governments or entities. Contact the Office of Contract and Grant Administration for more information about the “other support” requirements of your sponsor.
  
  Click here to read more about “other support” requirements.

It is important to remember that any external support or engagement that would be acknowledged in public presentations or publications is something that should also disclosed in grant applications, annual reports and closeout summaries and in university-related COI and COC disclosure forms (as required).

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

• December 1, 2021:  Risk-Based Measures to Assess Potential Undue Foreign Influence Conflicts of Interests or Conflicts of Commitments
• December 1, 2021:  Countering Foreign Influence Program (CFIP) Frequently Asked Questions

Department of Commerce

• May 21, 2019: DOC's Bureau of Industry and Security adds Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries to the Entity List, subjecting them to Export Administration Regulations.

Department of Defense (DOD)

• June 29, 2023: Countering Unwanted Foreign Influence in Department-Funded Research at Institutions of Higher Education
• October 10, 2019: DOD Under Secretary Michael D. Griffin sends letter to research community "outlining the current rising tensions and fears of potential espionage, intellectual property theft, and threats to academic integrity posed by foreign powers."
• March 20, 2019: DOD Under Secretary Michael D. Griffin issues memo titled "Actions for the Protection of Intellectual Property, Controlled Information, Key Personnel and Critical Technologies." The memo details the DOD requirements for disclosures on the sources of support for principal investigators and other key personnel.

Department of Energy (DOE)

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• September 4, 2020: DOE issues a memo on foreign government sponsored or affiliated activities.
• June 7, 2019: DOE issues a directive that prohibits DOE and DOE contractor personnel from participating in talent recruitment programs operated by certain foreign countries.
• January 31, 2019: DOE issues a memo restricting funded researchers from participating in foreign talent recruitment programs.
• December 14, 2018: DOE issues a memo on collaborating with colleagues from "sensitive" countries on "emerging research areas and technologies."

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

• February 9, 2012: NASA Restrictions on Funding activities with the People’s Republic of China (NASA Grant Information Circular GIC 12-01).

National Defense Authorization Act

• August 2018: Sec.1286 states that “The Secretary of Defense shall, in consultation with other appropriate government organizations, establish an initiative to work with academic institutions who perform defense research and engineering activities . . . to limit undue influence, including through foreign talent programs, by countries to exploit United States.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• May 22, 2023: NIH Foreign Interference: General Principles, Case Studies, Publicly Available Information on Special Cases, and Oversight Reports.
• July 30, 2021: Foreign Interference in National Institutes of Health Funding and Grant Making Processes: A Summary of Findings From 2016 to 2021
• April 28, 2021: NOT-OD-021-110 Implementation of Changes to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support Format Page
• NIH Frequently Asked Questions – Other Support and Foreign Components
• Protecting U.S. Biomedical Intellectual Innovation (includes requirements for disclosure of other support, foreign relationships and activities, and conflicts of interest)
• March 12, 2021: NOT-OD-21-073 Upcoming Changes to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support Format Page for Due Dates on or after May 25, 2021
• July 10, 2019: NIH issues a reminder of "NIH Policies on Other Support and on Policies related to Financial Conflicts of Interest and Foreign Components." 
• August 23, 2018: NIH Director Francis S. Collins issues a statement on protecting U.S. biomedical research and national security interests.
• March 30, 2018: NIH issues a notice reminding the research community of the obligation to disclose foreign financial interests.

• January 30, 2023:  NSF Pre-award and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support 
  Previous versions:
  • April 20, 2022
  • January 10, 2022 
  • September 1, 2021 
  • August 24, 2021
  • June 16, 2021

• April 20, 2022: Frequently Asked Questions on Current and Pending Support

  Previous versions:

  • June 28, 2021
• May 2020: NSF Approved Formats for Biographical Sketch (NEW requirements starting October 5, 2020) 
• October 31, 2022: NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures
• July 11, 2019: NSF Director Frances Cordova issues a letter to the research community on the importance of addressing "emerging risks to the nation's science and engineering enterprise."

National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)

• January 2022:  NSTC Guidance for Implementing National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 (NSPM-33).  

Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)

• This Memo discusses the issue of foreign influences on research and describes steps OSTP is taking to address these threats.

• Export Control
  • Overview
  • Restricted Party Screenings 
  • Researcher Guidance on Export Control 
  • International Shipping Regulations 
• Cybersecurity 
• Accurately reporting international activities in grant applications and university disclosures:
  • University of California policy on Conflict of Commitment and Outside Activities of Faculty Members for general campus faculty. Academic Personnel Manual (APM), Section 025.
  • Conflict of Commitment and Outside Activities of Health Sciences Compensation Plan Participants for faculty participating in the Health Sciences Compensation Plan. Academic Personnel Manual (APM),Section 671.
    • APM 671 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
  • Health Sciences Sponsored Project Pre-Award Office 
  • Office of Contract and Grants International Research Collaboration
  • University of California Office of the President (UCOP) Foreign Influence Guide
• Signing unfunded agreements (e.g., MOUs) with foreign institutions or organizations
• Sponsoring visiting scholars and researchers
• Visa sponsorship and invitations to UC San Diego for students and scholars
• Travel Abroad
  • What to know before traveling outside the U.S. (PDF) 
  • International shipments and hand-carrying equipment or materials abroad 
  • International travel cybersecurity 
  • UC San Diego Travel 
  • If you need to obtain a visa to travel to a foreign country, please contact that country’s consulate office. You can also find information on the U.S. State Department’s travel website. 
  • Travel to sanctioned or embargoed countries may have restrictions or require a license from the U.S. government. Some other destinations are considered high-risk, and we recommend you follow guidance from the U.S. State Department.
  • University faculty and staff routinely host international colleagues for short-term visits to campus. In rare cases, visiting scholars may be pressured by their home countries to inappropriately access information or research facilities and equipment. If you are asked by a visiting scholar to facilitate the visit of a foreign delegation or asked to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with a foreign institution, please contact the Office of Postdoctoral and Research Scholars Affairs.

Foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs, typically referred to as “foreign talent programs,” include any foreign government-run or -funded programs that target individuals including but not limited to scientists, engineers, academics, researchers and entrepreneurs of all nationalities working or educated in the U.S. in an attempt to acquire U.S.-funded research and/or technology in exchange for financial and other types of support. There is a heightened concern that certain foreign governments may seek to influence U.S. research through recruitment of U.S. researchers which includes providing appointments and resources at foreign universities.

Concerns About Foreign Government-Sponsored Talent Programs

Foreign talent programs often create a one-way transfer of technology and expertise. This July 16, 2020 FBI Public Service Announcement summarizes the government’s concerns related to foreign talent programs. Such programs often seek to obtain proprietary technology or software, unpublished data and methods, and intellectual property from abroad. 

By agreeing to participate in a program, researchers may be subject to the laws of the foreign country, which may prohibit the researchers from advancing their research with their U.S. employer or funding agency without special authorization from the foreign government, undermining reciprocity of research.  

Ways to Recognize Foreign Talent Programs

Foreign talent programs have varying names depending on the country initiating the program. Features of foreign talent programs may include¹:

• Compensation in exchange for knowledge, expertise or other intellectual asset transfer to the foreign state. The compensation can take several forms such as cash, research facilities, other in-kind support, honorific titles, career advancement opportunities, promised future compensation, or other types of remuneration or consideration.
• The foreign talent program’s active engagement in attracting the targeted individual to join the foreign talent program and transfer their knowledge and expertise to the foreign state. Recruitment may or may not include an invitation to attend or present work at an international conference.
• Incentives to physically relocate to the foreign state. Of particular concern are some foreign talent programs that allow for continued employment at U.S. institutions and/or receipt of U.S. federal research funds while receiving compensation from the foreign talent program at the same time. 

Disclosure

While participation in a foreign government-sponsored talent program is not in itself prohibited, provisions in such programs may conflict with the federal agencies and/or the university’s policies, especially if the individual does not appropriately disclose the foreign talent program affiliation. Disclosing foreign relationships and activities protects the interests of everyone involved, (e.g., the individual researcher, their international collaborators, UC San Diego and the U.S. government). Disclosures may need to occur for Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment, as well as in the researcher’s Other Support and Biosketch.

Resources

The Office of Research Affairs International Research and Engagement page includes the best practices, contacts at UC San Diego, and links to guidance, regulations, policies, and procedures.  The UC Office of the President also has a comprehensive resource on Foreign Influence with more background information and links to the relevant UC system policies.  There may be additional guidance in the future as foreign talent programs evolve. 

For additional information or assistance, please contact the Research Compliance and Integrity Office at rci@ucsd.edu or (858) 822-4939.

¹ Information from the U.S. Department of Energy Order 486.1

The UC Office of the President has a comprehensive resource on foreign influence with more background information and links to the relevant UC system policies. There may be additional guidance in the future as foreign talent programs evolve. 

If you have questions about the disclosure requirements of a specific agency, please read Foreign Involvement Disclosure Requirements by Agency at Every Stage of the Research Lifecycle

The Council on Government Relations issued NIH Other Support Guidance that provides insight into the NIH Other Support requirements. 

For additional information or assistance, please contact the Research Compliance and Integrity Office at rci@ucsd.edu or (858) 822-4939.

References

Department of Energy Directive O 486.1A, Foreign Government Sponsored or Affiliated Activities

Federal Bureau of Investigation Public Service Announcement

National Science Foundation 19-200 Dear Colleague Letter: Research Protection

Research Security Video Series

PowerPoint presentation (PDF) and one-sheet handouts from May 2019 international research town halls.

• Export Control
• Graduate Division
• International Travel
• Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment
• Conflict of Interest--PHS-Funded Researchers
• Office of Contract and Grant Administration
• Office of Innovation and Commercialization
• Office of International Affairs
• Office of Postdocs and Research Scholars