At the UNM Health Sciences Center, we know that free and open exchange of information and ideas improves the work that our faculty, staff and students do to advance discovery, creativity and innovation. This openness includes international collaboration, which extends our reach in research and educational opportunities to a global community, and brings the knowledge and talents of the world to New Mexico.
Over the last decade, and with growing frequency, federal agencies that support research, as well as federal intelligence and security agencies, have expressed concern about systematic programs mounted by some foreign governments to unduly influence and capitalize on U.S. taxpayer funded research to obtain a competitive advantage in critical areas of research and innovation. These concerns include some foreign talent programs run by countries seeking to exploit U.S. technology by recruiting faculty from U.S. institutions to share appointments with institutions abroad. To protect US interests, many agencies, including NIH, have issued revised requirements and guidance for disclosing potential conflicts of commitment and conflicts of interest related to support from foreign governments or other foreign entities. Failure to observe these regulations can have, and in some high-profile cases has had, significant legal consequences for individual researchers and for the university.
We want to remind all UNM faculty, staff and students involved in research of their responsibility to follow all funding agency disclosure requirements. Disclosure requirements are not new, and federal agencies are updating regulations and policies to support protection of critical technologies, controlled information and intellectual property, and to limit undue influence. In many cases, agencies have revised disclosure and reporting requirements for documents that list professional appointments and affiliations (e.g., biosketches and CVs) as well as documents that list current and pending support, including non-monetary support (e.g, in-kind support).
Each agency has disclosure requirement(s) information on their websites and the requirements should be reviewed regularly to ensure compliance. The National Institutes of Health issued NOT-OD-19-114 which outlines the policies related to Financial Conflicts of Interest and Foreign Components.
The University of New Mexico is committed to complying with all applicable Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP) laws and regulations. MFTRPs are defined in detail by the CHIPS Act (CHIPS and Science Act of 2022), but are distinguished from foreign talent recruitment programs with legitimate purposes in that they maintain a focus on encouraging or directing unethical and criminal behaviors in pursuit of acquiring U.S. scientific-funded research or technology. The threat of foreign influence has become increasingly prevalent in the modern research community, resulting in the need for appropriate institutional compliance and oversight. These regulations apply to covered individuals who contribute in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of a research and development project proposed to be carried out with a research and development award from a federal research agency.
Covered individuals (individuals who contribute in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of a research and development project proposed to be carried out with a research and development award from a Federal research agency) are prohibited from participation in a malign foreign talent recruitment program meeting any of the criteria in Sec. 10638(4)(A)(i)-(ix) of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. Specifically:
Fraudulent statements or claims, including intentional omissions, in violation of this policy may result in criminal, civil, administrative or university penalties. For additional assistance or information regarding this policy, contact James MacFarlane, Executive Director, at Jmacfarlane@salud.unm.edu.
In short, please ensure that you are transparent, thorough and complete when disclosing to NIH and other granting agencies. Disclosing all of your other sources of funding and professional affiliations is the best path. Principal Investigators are personally responsible for the completeness and accuracy of their documents, even if others have provided assistance in preparing those documents.
For NIH’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding Other Support and Foreign Components, please use this link: FAQs. It is recommended that you bookmark this page and watch for updates.
Reporting requirements for foreign components are tied to a specific grant or contract. Foreign components should be reported when there is the existence of any “significant scientific element or segment of a project” outside of the United States. The PI should report the foreign component to UNM and request PRIOR approval to include the activity as part of the grant or contract. UNMs institutional agent in the Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) should then make the same request to NIH. The study team should not engage the foreign component PRIOR to receiving NIH approval.
Award recipients must determine whether activities it supports include a foreign component, defined as: The existence of any “significant scientific element or segment of a project” outside of the United States, in other words –
If a recipient determines that a portion of the project will be conducted outside of the U.S., the recipient then will need to determine if the activities are considered significant. If both criteria are met, then there is a foreign component. To aide with what may be considered significant, click on FAQs. The addition of a foreign component to an ongoing NIH grant continues to require NIH PRIOR approval, as outlined in the NIHGPS, Section 8.1.2, PRIOR Approval Requirements.
If an activity does not meet the definition of foreign component because all research is being conducted within the United States, but there is a non-U.S. resource that supports the research of an investigator and/or researcher, it must be reported as other support.A Covered Individual is a researcher who contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of a research and development project proposed to be carried out with a research and development award. This includes Senior and Key Personnel. Federal funding agencies have latitude in identifying other research participants as “Covered Individuals,” so it is important to check sponsor requirements carefully.
Resources and/or financial support from all entities, including foreign entities, that are available to the researcher for all research endeavors. Other Support is not study, grant, or project specific. All other support must be disclosed for each grant, contract, or study. This includes but is not limited to, financial support for laboratory personnel, and provision of high-value materials that are not freely available (e.g., biologics, chemical, model systems, technology, etc.). This also includes in-kind contributions, e.g., office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, or employees or students supported by a foreign source. If the time commitment or dollar value of the in-kind contribution is not readily ascertainable, the recipient must provide reasonable estimates.
The federal government has carved out many activities that federally-funded researchers conduct with international colleagues. These activities typically do not present a research security risk:
PIs and key personnel who have the foreign relationship must report and request PRIOR approval to include foreign components for the specific grant for which there is a foreign component. This request must be made by the PI to the institutional agent in SPO. The institutional agent then interacts directly with NIH. Key personnel who do not have the relationship do not have to report.
If a collaborator is considered a senior/key personnel on a proposal then they should provide their certification as do all other “Covered Individuals” on the proposal.
No. PIs and Key Personnel only disclose any foreign support they personally receive as "Other Support" for all grants they are associated with.
No. PIs and Key Personnel only disclose any foreign support they personally receive as "Other Support" for all grants they are associated with.
All PIs or key personnel who receives foreign support must always declare in "Other Support" for all grant with foreign support. However, reporting of a foreign component is only reported for that specific grant by the PI that receives the foreign support.
The NIH recently released a summary of findings regarding foreign interference in health funding and grant making processes. To read this report, please click here.