Office of Research Security and Ethics

Open scientific and scholarly collaboration between scholars from all over the world is one of the cornerstones of innovation and technological advancement, and University of Cincinnati remains committed to fostering such collaboration. While the vast majority of international affiliations do not present a security risk, the Federal government has increased its attention to research in foreign countries. UC Office of Research Security and Ethics is committed to assisting researchers and faculty in navigating sponsor requirements and regulations.

All Forms, Policies and Procedures are now located within Research How 2, where faculty and staff will find a centralized location for all their transactional needs.

The University of Cincinnati partnerships and collaborations are critically important to our research and teaching. Our research security program supports our core values of integrity, collaboration, and innovation while protecting against improper foreign interference, conflicts of commitment, and other security issues.

Federal requirements vary by agency, so it is essential to review award terms and guidance and to ask questions. Research Funding Sponsors, US Government, and University of Cincinnati Policies and Guidance Related to Research Security

The University of Cincinnati has several policies related to Research Security. Additionally, various Research Funding Sponsors and United States Government agencies have guidance, regulations, and legislation related to Research Security.

RESEARCH SECURITY TRAINING (9/17/2025): Federal research sponsors are expanding the requirement for covered individuals (i.e. PI, Co-I, and senior/key personnel) to complete training in research security and transparency of outside activities. The following Research Security Training (Combined) course developed by the NSF SECURE Center is a ~45 minute condensed version of the NSF’s full 4-hour training course that meets federal agency standards. If you have questions about the Research Security Training, please contact research_security@uc.edu.Required Research Security Training is now on CITI. Follow the CITI Instructions here to access CITI and the training.

ATTENTION: The National Science Foundation has made updates to their Research Security Policies. found HERE specifically impacting researchers. The updated policies include the following:
1. Effective October 1, 2025. Research Security Assessment and Required Recipient Documentation:  NSF reserves the right to perform risk assessments of proposals and awards submitted to the Foundation using analytical tools to assess nondisclosures of required information from senior/key personnel, and establish other policies and procedures for identifying, communicating, and addressing security risks that may threaten the integrity of Foundation-supported research and development.
2. Effective October 1, 2025. Research Security Training: NSF requires research security training certifications from proposers and individuals identified as senior/key personnel by the proposer.
3. In Effect Now.  Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program Prohibition:  Individuals who are a current party to a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP) are not eligible to serve as a senior/key person on an NSF proposal or on any NSF award made after May 20, 2024
4. In Effect Now.  Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program Certification:  NSF requires MFTRP certifications from proposers and individuals identified as senior/key personnel.

What is Research Security?

Research security is a broad term that refers primarily to national security concerns surrounding research involving certain types of sensitive data, intellectual property, export-controlled information, and other risks. An area which the federal government has focused on as critical to protecting the security of U.S. research is the disclosure of conflicts of interest and commitment, including relationships or affiliations with foreign entities, and research support provided by those entities.

What does it involve?

Outside Activity Reporting

Keep your Outside Activity Report (OAR) current. Ensure that includes all personal compensation, financial interests and outside activities, including stipends, living expenses, and travel paid for or reimbursed by a foreign entity, and any involvement in any foreign recruitment or "talent" programs in accordance with the university's disclosure requirements and conflict of interest and conflict of commitment policies.

International Travel Security

Follow UC's affiliated travel guidance outlined on the UC International's page for University-related travel.

Visiting Scholars

UC brings international visitors to campus and engages with virtual international visitors to teach, conduct research, give lectures and performances, and form collaborations. Please see the UC International website and the Visiting Scholars website for further guidance.

Cybersecurity/Restricted Research

Cybersecurity is an expansive and complex area, and its scope extends well beyond research. The Restricted Research team is dedicated to supporting researchers and staff meet their research cybersecurity obligations through the University of Cincinnati’s Information Security Office. Research contracts may be subject to additional cybersecurity and data protection conrtrols. For assistance with any cybersecurity or data security/protection requirements related to research, please reach out to restricted_research@uc.edu.

Export Controls

Comply with US export controls regulations. These regulations impact traveling internationally; attending conferences; participating in international collaborations; working with international faculty, staff, students, and visitors even while in the US; shipping or hand carrying materials internationally, or engaging in any international transactions. Compliance with these regulations also require that UC will not host visitors, enter into contracts, do business, or engage in any activity with entities listed on a Restricted Party List without prior approval of the Export Controls Office.

Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs

The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act of 2022 prohibits federal employees, contractors, and awardees—including institutions, individual investigators, and other key personnel —from participating in Malign Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Program. Please see the International Collaboration page for more information. Researchers, investigators and other key personnel are encouraged to complete the 8 minute Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program Training found HERE on the Continuous Professional Development website.

International Collaborations

UC welcomes and encourages international collaborations. International Collaborations benefit the whole research enterprise at UC. It is important to ensure collaborations are compliant to evolving regulations. The Office of Research Security and Ethics can provide guidance to protect you, the researcher, your research, your reputation, and UC’s reputation by keeping current with new sponsor and government regulation and reporting requirements.

Digital Persistent Identifiers

DPIs/PIDs are Persistent Identifiers and act as a long-lasting reference to digital resources. Many entities in the research lifecycle have PIDs such as research institutions (ROR), equipment (DOIs), research output like articles and datasets (DOIs), and even researchers (ORCIDs).

ORCID is a 16 digit PID that researchers from any discipline can use to build an online profile of scholarship and distinguish themselves as unique authors. ORCID is integrated into many research systems including UC's instance of Elements. Many publishers require researchers to have an ORCID as their author identifier. Funders such as NIH and NSF now require ORCID which can be integrated in ScienCV to generate the biosketch. More information can be found on the eRA commons page.

Visit the ORCID webiste to register for your ORCID.
Visit the library guide for more information and email askdata@uc.edu if you need assistance to set up or enrich your ORCID profile.