There has been recent press and activities around national security with higher education and research organizations. To ensure correspondence and guidance that has been shared by NIH and NSF please follow these guidelines.

NIH

NIH has voiced serious concern about threats to the integrity of U. S. biomedical research and announced they are working with other government agencies and U.S. universities to mitigate these concerns, primarily:

  • Sharing of confidential information on grant applications by NIH peer reviewers with others, including foreign entities, or otherwise attempting to influence funding decisions; and

NIH has reminded the research community to disclose all forms of support and financial interests via other and pending support in proposals and Significant Financial Interest (SFI) disclosure process.

NSF

In addition, NSF shares the above serious concerns with respect to NSF supported basic and applied research. NSF expects that PIs and senior personnel will list any activity that provides funding to their work and/or a commitment of time by the individual in the same manner as listed above for NIH.

What does this mean for proposals, progress reports, and SFI disclosure at Chapman?

  • Update their other support documentation.
  • Keep biosketches current and thorough.
  • Indicate any changes in support that occurred over the last budget year as well as anticipated changes in upcoming budget period for all progress reports.
  • Update SFI disclosures prior to each proposal being submitted, as well as new SFI arise.
  • Take reasonable efforts to protect the University’s interest.

Individuals serving on NIH, NSF or other federal agency scientific peer review panels should note and comply with all requirements to maintain the confidentiality of the information in research grant applications.

We expect further guidance on inclusion of appropriate sources of support and affiliations will be provided by NIH and NSF but, in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact the Research of Integrity Office at (714) 628-2805 or visit our website at  https://www.chapman.edu/research/integrity/index.aspx .

Thank you.