The Research & Innovation Office at the University of Colorado Boulder is focused on creating global impact by cultivating and supporting collaboration, transformation and leadership. At the heart of this focus are the diverse contributions of a wide range of world-class experts, working together to accelerate ideas throughout the entire innovation lifecycle. While our commitment to this mission depends on and encourages international and external collaboration in research and scholarship, the integrity of the institution and its research hinges on maintaining a culture of transparency regarding relationships with outside entities.
Most sponsors require disclosure of all resources (including both financial and in-kind) made available to a researcher in support of and/or related to all of their research endeavors. The addition of a foreign component to an ongoing project often requires prior approval. Additionally, many sponsors now require disclosure of any appointment or consultant arrangement made with an external (domestic or foreign) entity, whether the affiliation to that entity is paid or unpaid.
Specifically, U.S. federal sponsors (NIH and NSF, in particular) have clarified, and arguably expanded, the scope of direct-to-sponsor reporting requirements. Thus, even if an individual’s DEPA does not trigger COIC conflict management requirements, the document may reveal or imply the receipt of “other support” or engagement in external activities that should be directly disclosed to the sponsor to avoid future allegations of wrongdoing or breach of contract. Depending upon the relevant federal agency, reportable activities and benefits include monetary resources as well as non-monetary support such as:
- laboratory or office access
- equipment access
- supplies
- a title or affiliation (whether full-time, part-time, seasonal, voluntary, adjunct, visiting or honorary)
- no cost or low cost employee, staff or research services
- invitation to consult or participate in a talent recruitment program
"The United States Government provides significant support to R&D across a broad spectrum of research institutions and programs conducted both within and outside of the United States and its territories. This R&D, including both basic and applied research, is a key contributor to American science and technology (S&T) innovation and is essential to United States economic and national security.
Much of United States Government-supported R&D is broadly shared and includes fundamental research as defined in National Security Decision Directive (NSDD)-189 as well as scientific research using publicly available data. The open and collaborative nature of the United States R&D enterprise underpins America’s innovation, S&T leadership, economic competitiveness, and national security.
Unfortunately, some foreign governments, including the People’s Republic of China, have not demonstrated a reciprocal dedication to open scientific exchange, and seek to exploit open United States and international research environments to circumvent the costs and risks of conducting research, thereby increasing their economic and military competitiveness at the expense of the United States, its allies, and its partners. While maintaining an open environment to foster research discoveries and innovation that benefit our Nation and the world, the United States will also take steps to protect intellectual capital, discourage research misappropriation, and ensure responsible management of United States taxpayer dollars. This includes steps to ensure that participants with significant influence on the United States R&D enterprise fully disclose information that can reveal potential conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment."
"...an effort directly or indirectly organized, managed, or funded by a foreign government or institution to recruit S&T professionals or students (regardless of citizenship or national origin, and whether having a full-time or part-time position). Some foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs operate with the intent to import or otherwise acquire from abroad, sometimes through illicit means, proprietary technology or software, unpublished data and methods, and intellectual property to further the military modernization goals and/or economic goals of a foreign government. Many, but not all, programs aim to incentivize the targeted individual to relocate physically to the foreign state for the above purpose. Some programs allow for or encourage continued employment at United States research facilities or receipt of Federal research funds while concurrently working at and/or receiving compensation from a foreign institution, and some direct participants not to disclose their participation to United States entities. Compensation could take many forms including cash, research funding, complimentary foreign travel, honorific titles, career advancement opportunities, promised future compensation, or other types of remuneration or consideration, including in-kind compensation."
*Note that, generally, an invitation by a foreign state to simply attend or present work at an international conference would not constitute recruitment.
Identification of External Activities in the DEPA Form
External activities and participation in Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs disclosed by CU faculty and staff in their DEPA Form may be subject to reporting requirements set by federal sponsors. Below is OCG's current process for ensuring these external activities are disclosed to our sponsors:
- The Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) will review submitted DEPA forms for all individuals who have indicated they have active sponsored project funding from a federal institution AND have disclosed external activities and/or participation in a Foreign Talent Recruitment Program.
- Once the OCG DEPA review is conducted, the individual will be contacted with next steps and/or follow-up questions to determine if additional disclosures need to be made on existing federal sponsor proposals and/or awards.
Federal Sponsor Guidance on External Activity Disclosures
Many federal agencies are currently in the process of developing, or have already developed, new reporting requirements, restrictions, and supplemental guidance related to external activities disclosure for project personnel who receive federal funding. The sponsors listed below have already published specific guidance regarding external activities disclosure. Refer to the leftside tabs to learn about each sponsor's response to this topic.
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Department of Energy (DOE)
- Department of Defense (DOD)
Examples include: Visiting scholar/research/academic appointments with an external entity, in-kind contributions that have an associated time commitment, consulting activities for external entities that qualify for the 1/6 consulting rule, travel supported by an external entity to perform activities with an associated time commitment, participation in talent recruitment programs
If a new reportable activity begins during the period of performance of your NSF award, the PI is expected to disclose it in their upcoming NSF progress report.
Current and Pending
Current and pending support includes all resources made available to an individual in support of and/or related to all of his/her research efforts, regardless of whether or not they have monetary value. Current and pending support also includes in-kind contributions from external entities(such as office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, employees, students). All in-kind contributions not intended for use on the project/proposal being proposed must be reported.
Biosketch
Appointments: a list must be provided, in reverse chronological order by start date of all the individual's academic, professional, or institutional appointments beginning with the current appointment. Appointments include any titled academic, professional, or institutional position whether or not remuneration is received, and whether full-time, part-time, or voluntary (including adjunct, visiting, or honorary).
Other Resources
Proposers should include an aggregated description of the internal and external resources (both physical and personnel) that the organization and its collaborators will provide to the project, should it be funded. Such information must be provided in this section, in lieu of other parts of the proposal (e.g., Budget Justification, Project Description). The description should be narrative in nature and must not include any quantifiable financial information.
*For NSF Personnel (NSF employees, VSEE Program employees, fellows, students and intermittent experts) & IPA assignees, participation in a foreign talent recruitment program is prohibited.
**In addition to providing information at the proposal stage, faculty are required to provide updated information regarding changes of Current and Pending Support throughout the project.
- NSF Pre-award and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support
- NSF releases JASON report on reserach security
- Dear Colleague Letter: Research Protection
- NSF definition of a foreign government talent recruitment program
- NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedure Guide (PAPPG)
Examples include: Visiting scholar/research/academic appointments with an external entity, in-kind contributions that have an associated time commitment, consulting activities for external entities that qualify for the 1/6 consulting rule, travel supported by an external entity to perform activities with an associated time commitment, participation in talent recruitment programs.
Support is reported as either Foreign Components or Other Support, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement (see definitions below).
Other Support
- Includes all resources made available to researcher or senior key personnel in support of and/or related to all of their research endeavors, regardless of whether or not they have monetary value and regardless of whether they are based at the institution the researcher identifies for the current grant. Other support does not include training awards, prizes, gifts* or start-up support from the US based institution. An item or service given with the expectation of an associated time commitment is not a gift and is instead an in-kind contribution and must be reported as Other Support. *Gifts are resources provided where there is no expectation of anything (e.g. time, services, specific research activities, money, etc.) in return.
Foreign Component
- The performance of any significant scientific element or segment of a project outside of the United States, either by the recipient or by a researcher employed by a foreign organization, whether or not grant funds are expended. Activities that would meet this definition include, but are not limited to:
- the involvement of human subjects or animals,
- extensive foreign travel by recipient project staff for the purpose of data collection, surveying, sampling, and similar activities, or
- any activity of the recipient that may have an impact on U.S. foreign policy through involvement in the affairs or environment of a foreign country.
- Examples of other grant-related activities that may be significant are:
- collaborations with investigators at a foreign site anticipated to result in co-authorship;
- use of facilities or instrumentation at a foreign site; or
- receipt of financial support or resources from a foreign entity.
*Foreign travel for consultation is not considered a foreign component.
See NIH Notice Number: NOT-OD-19-114 - Reminders of NIH Policies on Other Support and on Policies related to Financial Conflicts of Interest and Foreign Components
When a recipient organization discovers that a PI or other Senior/Key personnel on an active NIH grant failed to disclose Other Support information outside of Just-in-Time or the RPPR, as applicable, the recipient must submit updated Other Support to the NIH Grants Management Specialist named in the Notice of Award as soon as it becomes known.
Just-In-Time Other Support Form
Provide supporting documentation, which includes copies of contracts, grants or any other agreement specific to senior/key personnel foreign appointments and/or employment with a foreign institution, for all foreign activities and resources that are reported in Other Support. If the contracts, grants or other agreements are not in English, recipients must provide translated copies.
- NOT-OD-19-114 - Reminders of NIH Policies on Other Support and on Policies Related to Financial Conflicts of Interest and Foreign Components
- NOT-OD-21-073 - Upcoming Changes to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support Format Page for Due Dates on or after May 25, 2021
- NIH Other Support webpage
- NIH FAQs - Other Support and Foreign Components
- NIH Disclosures Table (June 2022)
The PI and each senior/key person at the prime applicant and any proposed subaward must provide a list of all sponsored activities, awards, and appointments, whether paid or unpaid; provided as a gift with terms or conditions or provided as a gift without terms or conditions; full-time, part-time, or voluntary; faculty, visiting, adjunct, or honorary; cash or in-kind; foreign or domestic; governmental or private-sector; directly supporting the individual’s research or indirectly supporting the individual by supporting students, research staff, space, equipment, or other research expenses. All foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs must be identified in current and pending support.
*DOE project personnel are prohibited from participating in certain foreign government talent recruitment programs.
**Any CU researcher who is contracted to work in a DOE national lab and is part of an unallowable foreign talent program must remove their association with the talent program before receiving DOE funding.
Foreign national access to DOE sites, information, equipment, etc. must be approved by DOE prior to access.
- DOE Financial Assistance Letter - June 1, 2022 - DOE Current and Pending Support Disclosure Requirements for Financial Assistance
- DOE Order 486.1A - Department of Energy Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Programs
- DOE Order 142.3B Unclassified Foreign National Access Program
- FY 2022 Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program: DE-FOA-0002562
We encourage PIs to be transparent in their disclosures to DOD, and include all projects funded by gifts, grants or contracts, participation in Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs, as well as any unfunded projects or collaborations that require disclosure in your DEPA form.
Other U.S. government agencies have suggested they will issue guidance and/or requirements in the future. Currently, NSF, NIH, DOE and DOD are the only federal sponsors who have provided institutions with expanded guidance on external activities disclosure.
Note that any new requirements or guidance on external activities disclosure will be added to this webpage and communicated to the Office of Contracts and Grants staff.