Undue Foreign Influence

West Virginia University is committed to the production and advancement of innovative, ground-breaking research and scholarship.

The U.S. Government (including federal funding agencies, intelligence agencies and Congress) has expressed increasing concerns about foreign threats to federally funded research activities, including diversion of intellectual property, sharing of confidential information and other breaches of research ethics.

As recipients and stewards of federal funds for research and education, we share a responsibility to acknowledge these threats and ensure that we are protecting the United States' interests by following federal and state laws, as well as University policies, when we engage in international collaboration and research.

While West Virginia University encourages international collaboration, WVU also expects, as directed by WVU Policy (PDF), that faculty be transparent in their professional activities, conducted on behalf of the university and other affiliated entities. When such activities include foreign components or international involvement, West Virginia University requires that faculty appropriately disclose this information to the institution and federal sponsors.

While most international collaborations and other forms of global engagement are acceptable and encouraged, University members are urged to err on the side of transparency and inclusion with respect to disclosure both to the institution and federal sponsors.

As part of its obligations for facilitating and administering federally funded research, WVU must make researchers, including covered individuals or senior/key personnel on federally sponsored projects, aware of these disclosure requirements. The University has implemented practices to achieve complete and accurate individual disclosures in accordance with these requirements. The University and its affiliates rely on both these practices and the individual’s representations when it completes its required institutional certifications for federally-sponsored proposals and awards.

Here are five important best practices to consider in ensuring compliance with your international collaboration and research:

1. Foreign Partnerships in Research Disclosure show/hide

   As of Dec 1, 2023, each WVU research community member engaged in federally sponsored research (either direct or indirect) must maintain an updated and approved Foreign Partnerships in Research disclosure.

   Please see the Foreign Partnerships in Research Disclosure.This disclosure must be completed at least annually and requires your review and revision within five days of any substantive change in the relationships disclosed.

2. Disclosure of Financial Conflicts of Interest and Conflicts of Commitment show/hide

   Individuals are reminded that the University and some federal funding agencies have a requirement to disclose all financial conflicts of interest and other conflicts of commitment, including receipt of resources and appointments at foreign institutions with or without pay.

   A University researcher who has a personal financial interest that may bias or appear to bias their research, could have a research related financial conflict of interest. West Virginia law, federal research rules, and University policy define and regulate these conflicts.

   No distinction is made between domestic and foreign financial interests with regard to these requirements. For more information, visit the conflict of interest page. These disclosures should include (whether foreign or domestic): current and pending support, resources, and all academic, professional, scientific, or institutional appointments, employment, research oversight, teaching courses or student advisory activities.

   The individual researcher assumes ultimate responsibility to ensure that the requirements of disclosure are met, completed, and accurate to the best of their knowledge. Principal Investigators should review all pending federal research proposals and active awards to ensure all proper disclosures have been made.

   In the last two years, the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, Department of Energy and National Science Foundation have each issued new guidance or a directive on the importance of disclosing these types of potential conflicts during the proposal phase and continuously throughout the project. Links to that guidance are provided below. If you have not already done so, it is imperative that you fully disclose any such arrangements to the Conflict of Interest Office immediately.

3. Sponsored Research Disclosures (Hide show info below) show/hide
   1. Current and Pending or Other Support show/hide

      Applicants for external funding are, as part of the proposal package, typically required to disclose all sources of research support in the “Other Support” or “Current and Pending Support” section of their proposals. This includes all financial and non-financial resources, foreign and domestic, available to them to support their individual’s research endeavors.

      Recently federal sponsors have become particularly concerned about participation in foreign government talent recruitment programs or talent development programs. While participation in such programs is not illegal, it is a source of support that must be disclosed. Depending on the sponsor and proposed research, key personnel may be advised or required to terminate their affiliation with the foreign talent program in order to receive an award.

      Other forms of support, e.g., provision of laboratory facilities or support staff at a foreign institutions as part of an affiliate or honorary appointment, are also being scrutinized and must be disclosed.

   2. Foreign Components show/hide

      Under the NIH Grants Policy Statement (PDF), “foreign components” must be disclosed on proposals, progress reports, and final technical reports. Adding a foreign component or transferring substantive programmatic work from a domestic recipient to a foreign component requires prior approval from NIH. A “foreign component” is defined as the performance of 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. Activities that would meet this definition include, but are not limited to,

      1. the involvement of human subjects or animals;
      2. extensive foreign travel by recipient project staff for the purpose of data collection, surveying, sampling, and similar activities;
      3. any activity of the recipient that may have an impact on U.S. foreign policy through involvement in the affairs or environment of a foreign country.

      Examples of other grant-related activities that may be significant are:

      • collaborations with investigators at a foreign site anticipated to result in co-authorship;
      • use of facilities or instrumentation at a foreign site; or
      • receipt of financial support or resources (e.g., research materials, data sets, cell lines, etc.) from a foreign entity.

      Other federal and non-federal sponsors may have similar requirements. Faculty should review current sponsor-specific guidance and instructions and work with their school or departmental research administration staff or the Office of Sponsored Programs to assure compliance with current sponsor disclosure requirements.

4. Export Controls, Sanction Compliance and Restricted Party Screening show/hide
   1. Export Controls show/hide

      It is the policy of West Virginia University that all WVU Personnel, including faculty, staff, visiting scholars, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students, volunteers, and all other persons retained by or working at or for the University, fully comply with all U.S. laws and regulations while teaching, conducting research, or providing service activities at or on behalf of the University, wherever located. Therefore, all WVU personnel are required to fully comply with the U.S. export control laws and regulations that govern the transfer of information, technology, hardware, software, and funds to institutions, commercial entities, and persons outside of the U.S., as well as to non-U.S. Persons within the U.S.

      While universities sometimes engage in traditional export activities, i.e., physical transport of tangible items, their primary form of export is the transfer of technology. These exports may occur through international research collaborations, presentations at international technical conferences, or even technical conversations outside the country. More routinely, universities engage in "deemed exports" - releasing or otherwise transferring “technology” or source code to a foreign person in the United States. Fortunately, much of the research conducted at universities like WVU is considered "fundamental research" and not subject to export controls. Nevertheless, it is still imperative to maintain a robust export control compliance program, since not all research at WVU falls within the category of fundamental research.

      For more information on Export Control, email exportcontrol@mail.wvu.edu.

   2. Sanction Compliance show/hide

      The U.S. Federal Government maintains several country-based and list-based trade sanctions programs. Comprehensive country-based sanction programs have very broad prohibitions including prohibitions on the import and export of commodities, financial transactions, and the provision of services, including those related to research and education. At this time, Iran, Cuba, and North Korea are subject to comprehensive country-based sanctions, and a license is often required to engage with individuals and entities from or situated in those countries.

      General licenses are available, authorizing certain activities and services related to research and teaching, but they are narrow and sanction program specific. When practicable and necessary to support University activities, the University will pursue specific licenses for activities subject to sanction program prohibitions. The granting of such license requests cannot be guaranteed, nor can the processing timeline be predicted.

   3. Restricted Party Screening show/hide

      Restricted party screening is performed as part of normal business processes whenever an international party or foreign person is involved. Upon receipt of the name(s) of the relevant parties or persons, the ECO will conduct a restricted party screening and provide a written response, usually within two business days. This may take longer depending on the technology involved and the parties’ responsiveness. The response will either indicate that the screening revealed no matches, and the proposed activity may move forward as planned, or identify any match revealed by the screening and explain the next steps to be taken to ensure compliance and manage risk.

      WVU has expanded our screening processes to include certain other entities of concern to the institution, state, or federal government. The notes provided to the individual conducting the screening include specific instructions related to these entities.

      Contact exportcontrol@mail.wvu.edu with any requests for restricted party screening.

5. Personal Agreements with International Entities show/hide

   If you are signing a personal agreement with an international party, be aware that the terms must comply with the West Virginia State Ethics Act and WVU Board of Governors Intellectual Property and Conflict of Interest Rules. You should work with your Supervisor and/or Dean to ensure that any conflict is disclosed and approved prior to signing such agreement. If you have not already fully disclosed such arrangements to your Supervisor/Dean, please use the Outside Consulting Arrangement Approval Form to do so.

   Please be aware that issues with undue foreign interference are serious and prevalent at universities across the nation right now. Federal agencies, including the DoJ, FBI and the HHS Inspector General, have identified more than 100 instances of undue foreign interference in extramural research. West Virginia University is committed to continuing our international collaborations with transparency and disclosure.

If you have questions or concerns about your international collaborations, we encourage you to contact Abigail Wolfe as soon as possible.