International Appointments and Affiliations

Overview

University researchers with paid and unpaid appointments or affiliations at foreign institutions, including those occurring during a period of academic leave, have raised research security concerns with the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government has expressed concerns that:

appointments or affiliations at a foreign institution may indicate that a researcher is participating in a maligned foreign talent recruitment program;
the researcher may be conducting portions of their U.S. Government funded research outside of the United States without appropriate approval;
the researcher may have a conflict of interest or conflict or commitment with respect to the U.S. Government funded research;
the arrangement may lead to violations of export control laws; and
the program may lead to acquisition of prepublication research data, or that intellectual property developed through funding by the U.S. Government will be misappropriated by a foreign institution or government.

The types of appointments and affiliations that the U.S. Government may be concerned with include any type of appointment or affiliation with a foreign institution, including academic appointments, professional appointments, or institutional appointments (including honorary appointments) whether or not renumeration or monetary award is received, and whether or not the position is full-time, part-time or voluntary.

Concerns may exist whether the University researcher holds a part-time or full-time appointment with the University and may apply even when a researcher accepts the appointment or affiliation in connection with an academic leave. Note that the University’s policies and procedures regarding the acceptance of an appointment or affiliation are dealt with separately from the University’s policies regarding faculty consulting activity.

Steps to take before accepting international appointment or affiliation

Researchers should understand that even if an appointment or affiliation is technically permitted by current U.S. Government regulation or University policy, accepting an appointment or affiliation may still pose risk to the researcher’s ability to receive federal funding in the future.

Before accepting an appointment or affiliation with a foreign institution, all University researchers should follow the steps outlined on this page.

1. Contact your dean

Researchers are welcome to discuss their initial plans for an appointment or affiliation at a foreign institution with their school dean or research dean, who can provide feedback and advice to researchers as their plans progress.

2. Review University policies

Researchers should review applicable University policies, including:

The requirements set forth in the “Simultaneous Appointments at Other Institutions” policy found in the University Faculty Handbook, including any requirements to receive prior approval of the appointment.
The requirements set forth in the University’s “Faculty Conflict of Interest and Commitment” policy, including reporting requirements.

3. Request prior screening and understand export controls

Researchers should contact the University’s Export Control Officer (export@rochester.edu) to conduct restricted party screening on a foreign institution with which an appointment or affiliation is being pursued.

Restricted party screening refers to the process of checking if an institution or individual is named in one or more of U.S Government restricted party lists. If a person or entity appears on a restricted party list, there may be limitations imposed on the University’s intended activity or the University may be prohibited from proceeding with a transaction or collaboration with such party.

The U.S. Government also maintains comprehensive sanctions against certain countries, and has expressed particular concerns that the activities of certain countries pose threats to U.S. economic or national security. For the purposes of this Guidance, countries of concern include: those countries that are subject to comprehensive OFAC sanctions – Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, certain regions of Ukraine: Crimea, Donetsk or Luhansk; and those countries identified by the CHIPS and Science Act as “foreign countries of concern” – Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.

If your appointment or affiliation is with an institution located in a comprehensively sanctioned country, involves a restricted party or is with an entity located in a country of concern, the arrangement may be prohibited by law or bring significant risks. Those risks include that federal agencies may raise concerns regarding the appointment or affiliation for the reasons stated above, which could impair your ability to receive federal funding.

For example, the Department of Defense (DoD) has issued a “Decision Matrix” that outlines how it will assess factors associated with a researcher’s collaborations in making decisions regarding fundamental research proposals submitted to DoD’s various components. Appointments or affiliations with certain restricted parties are indicated as “discouraged” by DoD policy, and require “mitigation measures” to be implemented. Mitigation measures could potentially include replacing individuals from projects that are deemed a research security risk or requiring that individuals resign from positions deemed problematic.

The University’s Export Control Officer (export@rochester.edu) and Research Security Officer (joe.doyle@rochester.edu), in collaboration with the School Dean and Research Dean, are available to provide guidance to researchers regarding appointments or affiliations that may be prohibited or bring significant risks.

Engagement with a foreign institution through an appointment or affiliation may also present other export control law concerns. Any proposed transfer of items (including technology and software) from the University to a foreign institution in connection with the appointment or affiliation must be reviewed by the University’s Export Control Officer, and possibly with UR Ventures.

4. Obtain documentation

Prior to accepting a position, University researchers should obtain clear documentation (translated into English if necessary) outlining the terms and expectations for the potential appointment or affiliation.

Researchers should proceed with caution before signing any contract or agreement with a foreign institution regarding the appointment or affiliation, as the contract could include terms that are indicative of a “maligned foreign talent recruitment program” or are otherwise problematic.

This documentation may also need to be disclosed in connection with the University’s approval processes outlined in the Faculty Handbook and to federal funding agencies, and should be retained by the University researcher for record-keeping purposes. Some federal agencies (including NIH) require that researchers provide copies of contracts or agreements that they have involving foreign appointments or affiliations.

Researchers can reach out to the Office of Counsel to seek review of any proposed agreements associated with a potential appointment or affiliation.

5. Follow federal and University disclosure requirements

In the event that a researcher accepts an appointment or affiliation with a foreign institution, researchers must disclose their arrangement with U.S. funding agencies that support their research. The University has provided guidance on key disclosure requirements that include appointments or affiliations.

In the event that the appointment or affiliation does not fall within a specific agency disclosure requirement, researchers should nevertheless disclose their appointment or affiliation in writing to their relevant program officer(s) or other federal officials with responsibility for administering their award(s).

If the appointment or arrangement involves a “significant financial interest”, it must be disclosed in accordance with the University’s Faculty Conflict of Interest and Commitment Policy. In addition, the appointment or affiliation should be disclosed in applicable Faculty Activity Reports.

6. Understand foreign components and unapproved overlap with federally funded research

Federal funding agencies prohibit researchers from performing any significant element of their funded research at foreign institutions or labs, unless the funding agency has provided prior approval.

For example, if a researcher has a collaboration with investigators at a foreign institution that is anticipated to result in co-authorship, if the researcher uses the facilities or instrumentation of a foreign institution for grant related activities, or if the researcher receives financial support or resources from a foreign institution for grant related activities, this may require prior approval from NIH as a “foreign component” of the research.

NSF requires that applicants list planned “international activities” (defined as “research, training, and/or education carried out in cooperation with foreign counterparts either overseas or in the U.S. using virtual technologies”) for proposed projects. For more information, ORPA has issued guidance regarding foreign component disclosure matters.

In addition, if work performed at a foreign institution through an appointment or affiliation is not substantially different from the researcher’s federally funded work performed at the University, funding agencies may consider that work an impermissible “shadow lab”. NSF requires that senior personnel list their Current & Pending Support in part to help NSF identify potential overlap or duplication with proposed projects. Similar information is required in Department of Defense (DoD) applications.

Researchers should take all steps necessary to avoid the appearance that they are performing work at a foreign institution that overlaps with their University or federally funded research. Prior to accepting an appointment or affiliation with a foreign institution, School Deans and researchers may benefit from setting forth certain conditions or restrictions regarding the appointment or affiliation in the Dean’s letter approving the position.

Unique circumstances may arise where a researcher wishes to accept an appointment or affiliation at a foreign institution (including during an academic leave), and wishes to supervise their federally funded research that will continue to be conducted at the University during their time at the foreign institution. In these cases, researchers should first discuss the proposed arrangement with both their School Dean and with their ORPA research administrator to help determine any disclosure or approval requirements.

If you believe that you may have engaged in activity where there has been overlap between University or federally funded research and work performed at a foreign institution without prior approval or disclosure, contact your School Dean, Research Dean or ORPA to discuss your disclosure requirements.

7. Understand international travel resources

If your appointment involves travel to another country, review the Travel and Security resources offered by the Office for Global Engagement. Global Engagement works to support the University’s travelers abroad and provides a variety of pre-departure checklists and resources for faculty and staff.

Registering travel (individually or completed by department) in the University’s travel registry is strongly recommended; doing so ensures that the University can assist individuals and their family in the event of an emergency abroad. As the requirements of NSPM-33 are implemented by federal agencies, researchers may also be required to pre-register international travel that supports a federal research award.

Researchers should also consult the Information Security Guidelines for International Travel provided by University IT. Also, researchers should consult with the University’s Export Control Officer who can help determine if any items (including technology and software) that you plan on sending or carrying with you may require an export license.

If you have questions about a potential appointment or affiliation, please first contact your School Dean to discuss the arrangement. The Export Control Officer and Research Security Officer also welcome any questions and are available for consultation.