Dear Faculty:

On behalf of the Division of Research and Economic Development, we would like to make you aware of an opportunity to hear from NSF regarding new U.S. Government research security initiatives and to ask NSF policymakers questions you might have regarding the new requirements that the federal government is implementing to protect U.S. research and technology.

On Thursday, October 10 from 12:00-1:00, Dr. Rebecca Keiser, Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy, at NSF will be hosting a lunch and learn webinar for faculty from ODU, UVA, Virginia Tech, and George Mason. A link to the webinar is below. If you have any questions that you would like our moderators to ask Dr. Keiser regarding how these new mandates will impact you, your disclosures, or your research, please send them to David Flanagan at dflanaga@odu.edu by October 7, 2024.

Research security has become a top priority of the Federal government. The government is establishing a national security policy for U.S. Government-supported R&D to strengthen protections for U.S. technology against foreign government interference and misappropriation.

The U.S. government is focused on preventing certain foreign governments that they have designated as “foreign countries of concern” (specifically, China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea) from illicitly acquiring U.S. technology, especially from U.S. universities. The government considers this a shared responsibility that requires commitment and transparency from research organizations and individual researchers. U.S. Government sponsors will be relying on and expecting universities to establish robust research security programs and are mandating this for R1 universities.

NSF and other federal agencies are implementing guidelines for universities that will address cybersecurity, research security training, foreign travel, export compliance, and federal agencies are establishing more stringent guidance related to foreign affiliations, outside activities, and participation in foreign talent plans. For more information, you can review the July 9, 2024 memo from the Office of Science and Technology Policy:  OSTP-RSP-Guidelines-Memo.pdf (whitehouse.gov)[MRP1]

We hope that you can join us for this webinar on October 10th.

https://virginia.zoom.us/j/99547995484?pwd=h8HgolRQMFyYJ9I09OMDpWBO5AHSxV.1