Updated December 2023
University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university serving Colorado, the nation, and the world through leadership in high-quality education, public service, and groundbreaking research. The CU Boulder research enterprise considers all collaborations (both domestic and international) and academic freedom as the foundation of innovative basic and applied research. The university remains open to the exchange of ideas, to collaborations across the world, and to attracting and retaining a vibrant community of scholars.
A central mission of the University of Colorado is to develop new knowledge and disseminate it openly and freely. This open process is fundamental to academic freedom, a core and defining principle of the University. The ability of researchers and scholars to conduct their research, scholarship, and creative works is often dependent on financial and infrastructure support from outside entities, which include (but are not limited to) federal, state, and private sector sponsors.
While sponsored research is often critical in fulfilling the University’s mission to create and openly share new knowledge, there are circumstances when conditions of sponsorship potentially impose restrictions on academic freedom. In an increasingly complex research funding environment, at times it may be difficult to strike a balance between the interests of sponsor and University.
In order to safeguard academic freedom, the University has developed policies and procedures pertaining to the acceptance of outside support that imposes any type of restriction on publication or information dissemination (e.g. publication delays, prohibitions, other restrictions on disclosure, etc.) While currently undergoing an update, the Academic Affairs Policy on Openness in Research provides definitions and general practices under which restricted research can be accepted and establishes the Faculty Committee for Restricted, Proprietary, and Classified Research (FCRPCR). FCRPCR oversees University of Colorado Boulder’s process to conduct restricted research and serves as independent review for any unique cases for which further guidance is required. FCRPCR may also provide oversight and guidance, wherever necessary, for emerging restricted research projects which the Request must be altered or expanded to adequately protect faculty and staff. FCRPCR has established the process of faculty members requesting approval from their Chair/Appointed Academic Unit Designated Representative to perform restricted research. These changed have been approved by the Chancellor.
The acceptance of research sponsorship that imposes publication restrictions must be managed by the Research and Innovation Office and may not be handled independently.
On the CU Boulder campus, all requests for restricted research must incorporate a completed and signed Request to Perform Restricted and/or Proprietary Research. In addition, Faculty and staff should not sign their own NDAs but rather work with their OCG representative to ensure that that these agreements are appropriately reviewed and considered prior to commencing discussions with external parties. More information regarding NDAs may be found here.
What to do if you apply for research funding from a sponsor that wishes to impose publication restrictions.
- Work closely with the Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) on your proposal and awards. OCG personnel will try to negotiate with the sponsor to remove publication restrictions. If that negotiation is not successful, and you still wish to seek funding from the sponsor, you must formally complete a Request (see #2 below).
- Complete, sign and submit the Request to Perform Restricted and/or Proprietary Research to your department/institute Chair/Appointed Academic Unit Designated Representative. A clear and compelling justification for why this waiver is being requested must be provided along with a plan for incorporating the necessary protections to protect any students, post-docs, and/or non-tenured faculty members on the project.
- The waiver request should be submitted to your OCG Proposal Analyst at the proposal stage.