The University of Texas at San Antonio recognizes the importance of international collaborations to solving complex research problems and achieving innovative discoveries. Working with and welcoming students and scholars from around the globe are essential to UTSA’s success in fulfilling our mission. International collaboration benefits individual researchers, their teams and students, resulting in broader perspectives, new approaches to problems, and expanded professional networks. These outcomes, in turn, increase competiveness and global reputation.
The national attention to research security requires us to take a balanced approach to collaborations with our international colleagues and entities. Several revisions in requirements by our funding agencies require careful attention on your part. In order to support your navigation of these requirements, notable changes are listed below. Please be aware and prepare accordingly as you submit your grant proposals, accept awards, finalize research contracts, and conduct university business.
1. Disclose financial interests
– Reminder: disclosures of financial interests are required for payments from foreign academic or research institutions and federal, state or local foreign governments. This includes grant/contract funding and travel payments paid on your behalf and those reimbursed directly to you.
– The UTSA disclosure form is located here: https://oric.utsa.edu.
– Update disclosures within 30 days of receiving any new payments.
2. Disclose relationships and activities with foreign institutions and funding agencies in grant proposals
– Note additional disclosure requirements in current and pending support and professional appointments (NSF) and in “other support,” to include active, current, and pending support and professional appointments (NIH)
– A new NSF biosketch submission portal is expected in January 2020 (NSF)
– All key personnel must provide details about current and pending support in the Senior Key Person Profile form (DoD) which will be used to “limit undue influence, including foreign talent programs, by countries that desire to exploit United States’ technology within the DoD research, science and technology, and innovation enterprise.”
3. Use of federal funds are restricted (DOE only unless otherwise specified in the award announcement or terms and conditions)
– DOE funds cannot be used for international research collaborations or support sensitive country foreign nationals in specific areas identified by the DOE Deputy Secretary Working Group on Economic and National Security Issues.
4. Participation in foreign talent recruitment programs is prohibited (DOE)
– Department of Energy grantees or contractors are prohibited from any involvement in foreign talent recruitment programs operated by certain foreign countries (currently specified as China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia)
5. Follow requirements for international travel
– When taking any UTSA assets abroad, contact the Research Security Manager for a Certification of Temporary Exports to ensure you can reenter the U.S. with your device(s) or assets; (Robert Mitchell, export@utsa.edu)
– When traveling to a restricted region, submit a request for approval of the travel to your academic dean;
6. Follow the Visiting Scholars policy when inviting and hosting a visitor
>> See “Visiting Scholars and Researchers“.
These actions will reflect our commitment to federal requirements while maintaining our strong collaborations with foreign partners that advance UTSA’s research and innovation. Our knowledge enterprise depends on our ability to engage the broadest perspectives to solve the most difficult problems. Ensuring trust from both our international and federal partners is essential as we advance as a research institution.
UTSA’s commitment includes the creation of a unified disclosure portal for faculty and our research community to report these relationships and activities. The unified portal will be available in the spring of 2020.
For any questions or additional guidance, please contact the following offices:
Office of Research Integrity, 458-4531, michelle.stevenson@utsa.edu || Office of Global Initiatives, 458-7211, lisa.montoya@utsa.edu
References for More Information
- Department of Energy (See December 14, 2018 letter, January 31, 2019 memo)
- Department of Defense (See March 20, 2019 letter)
- National Science Foundation (See July 11, 2019 Dear Colleague Letter). Comments are welcome at research-protection@nsf.gov
- National Institutes of Health (See August 23, 2019 Statement, Advisory Committee Report)
- Office of Science and Technology Policy (See September 16, 2019 Letter)
- See the indictment of the University of Kansas researcher for failing to disclose payments.
- See NIH requirements to address threats to MD Anderson Cancer Center, which is one of 61 known institutions to date
- See Emory University’s actions against faculty who did not disclose research funding from foreign sources
Kimberly Andrews Espy
Peter T. Flawn Distinguished Professor
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Bernard Arulanandam
Jane and Roland Blumberg Professor in Biology
Vice President for Research, Economic Development, and Knowledge Enterprise
