Foreign Engagement and Influence

UM has formed the Foreign Influence Initiative Taskforce and continues to engage with federal agencies, research sponsors and national organizations.

The FBI and other federal government agencies have expressed concern that some foreign actors, particularly foreign state adversaries, are seeking to acquire U.S. academic research and information illicitly or illegitimately in order to advance their scientific, economic, and military development goals through the exploitation of the culture of collaboration and openness on university campuses.

More specifically, NIH has identified three areas of concern:  diversion of intellectual property; peer reviewers inappropriately sharing confidential information on grant applications; and failure of researchers at NIH-funded U.S. institutions to disclose foreign affiliations and collaborations, and/or substantial resources received from other organizations, including foreign governments and universities.

No. The Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Department of Energy have also issued statements regarding this issue. Given the current U.S. Government focus on this issue, we anticipate similar guidance, statements, or requirements will be forthcoming from other funding agencies.

The federal government is concerned that foreign talent recruitment programs may be used by foreign governments to acquire, legally and illegally, U.S. government-funded scientific research in order to dominate high technology sectors currently led by U.S. entities. As described by the FBI, these programs target individuals who are working in technological fields of interest to the foreign government, offering competitive salaries, state-of-the-art research facilities and/or honorific titles in an effort to encourage the transfer of ideas and intellectual property.  The Department of Energy defines a  foreign talent recruitment program as an effort directly or indirectly organized, managed, or funded by a foreign government to recruit science and technology professionals or students (regardless of citizenship or national origin, and whether having a full-time or part-time position).

At present, there is no generally applicable U.S. legal or regulatory prohibition on participation in a foreign recruitment program. However, the Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued an that prohibits DOE employees and contractor employees from participating in certain foreign talent recruitment programs to ensure protection of U.S. competitive and national security interests as well as DOE program objectives.  Similarly, NSF announced a policy prohibiting NSF personnel and Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) detailees to NSF from participating in foreign government talent recruitment programs due to risk concerns. While there is no legal prohibition on participating in these programs, it is important to fully disclose participation in any foreign talent recruitment program to the University as well as any governmental agency, if asked.

Adhere to the guidance issued by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research And Scholarship. Make your sponsors aware of your collaborations and interactions with foreign entities that support or contribute to your research program; federal agencies are expecting a thorough account of touchpoints between your research program and any foreign entity. Be familiar with the terms and conditions of your award. Prior approval by the sponsor may be required prior to foreign travel or the addition of a foreign component to the project.

• If you are NIH funded: In July 2019 the NIH published FAQs regarding “Other Support and Foreign Components,” which provide more detail on NIH’s expectations regarding what qualifies as “other support” and when a project includes a “foreign component.” These clarifications address how to account appropriately for visiting scholars, start-up and other internal funds, and foreign collaborations, even if no grant funds are expended on the collaboration. Additionally, Michael Lauer, NIH’s Deputy Director for Extramural Research, has blogged on the topic of “other support,” providing examples of what should be disclosed. Additional information can be found on the NIH website Protecting U.S. Biomedical Intellectual Innovation.
• If you are NSF funded: The Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) issued in June 2020 clarifies the type of support that must be disclosed in the current and pending support. In July 2020, the NSF also issued FAQs about what and how to disclosure current and pending support.

The University of Miami has always and will continue to encourage and support foreign collaborations.  However, consistent with federal agency guidance you must obtain prior approval prior to foreign travel or adding a foreign component if required by the terms and conditions of the award and you should provide information to your research sponsors about all foreign collaborations and ensure that all foreign Research Visitors are screened through the Export Controls Compliance, confirming that there are no restrictions upon hosting such visitors.   That said, there remains considerable concern with foreign talent programs. If you are involved in or are invited to participate in such a program, you should disclose this involvement and obtain guidance from your school/college or departmental research administration staff, or UM’s Research Administration

In most cases, there is no reason to disclose participation of foreign students or postdocs on sponsored research, especially if all such work will be performed in the U.S. However, classified and export controlled projects will be subject to foreign national restrictions. It may be possible to employ certain foreign persons on controlled projects after appropriate licenses and/or exemptions are secured. Please contact Export Controls Compliance for more information on such cases. There are no foreign national restrictions on “Fundamental Research” projects. However, there may be cases where working with a student or postdoc might be considered a “foreign component,” if that student or postdoc is performing effort in a foreign country. NIH defines a foreign component as “any significant scientific element or segment of a project outside of the United States, either by the recipient or by a researcher employed by a foreign organization, whether or not grant funds are expended."

We do not have specific guidance from all sponsors on this topic, however, per NIH guidelines, this person’s work on the project should be documented as follows:

1. As “Other Support” because the externally funded individual is a “resource available in direct support of [your] research endeavors.” The NIH recently clarified that “all research resources including, but not limited to, foreign financial support, research or laboratory personnel, lab space, scientific materials, … must be reported.”
2. As a “Participant” in the progress report if the person worked on a project for more than a month in any given year (see 4 Section D – Participants). Additionally, the person’s “primary affiliation” is determined by where the work was done for the project: if the individual is affiliated with a foreign organization but worked on the award solely in the U.S., the “primary affiliation” is not foreign; if work was performed while outside of the U.S., the primary affiliation should be noted as foreign.
3. As a “Foreign Component” if the individual performed part of the work while in your UM lab, but also made a significant contribution to the project a from his/her home institution, or any other foreign location (e.g. collecting data at a foreign site, running samples on instrumentation there, and/or will be a co-author on publications arising from the grant). In accordance with NIH policy, the addition of a foreign component requires NIH prior approval.

No. Note, however, that if you travel internationally with your work laptop or other device, you should be mindful of any sensitive data that the device may contain and take steps to ensure the security of those data.  Please refer to Export Controls Compliance on travel with laptops and guidance from UMIT on device security. Additional information is available from the University of Miami Travel Management Department.

The federal government maintains lists of entities that are higher risk, information that changes frequently. UM uses software called Amber Road to screen proposed partners of UM against these lists, including sponsors of research, proposed vendors or subcontractors, and others. One well-publicized example of a company that has received federal government attention is Huawei, which the federal government recently placed on a restricted list. Please contact the Export Controls Compliance if you have any questions about engaging with foreign entities – including accepting gifts.

In general, one-time travel to present at a conference would not require disclosure to sponsors.  If, however, that travel establishes a relationship with a foreign university, government, or other entity (e.g., results in an honorary or visiting appointment or an offer to set up laboratory space at that institution), then that may need to be disclosed, depending on the sponsor and their specific guidelines. 

Yes, you should disclose the relationship with the foreign institutuion to UM through the UDisclose System. Simply enter the name of the institution and indicate “Sponsored or reimbursed travel” as the type of relationship. Provide as many details as possible in the disclosure form.

Please reach out to your NIH/NSF Program Officer to confirm whether or not these individiuals consititute a foreign component. When required, disclosure of foreign co-authors to the NIH should occur prior to working with the foreign co-author(s). Other sponsors have not specifically commented on this; should you have questions, please consult your sponsor point of contact.