OSTP to Issue Guidance for Minimum Standards for Research

On August 10, Dr. Eric Lander, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), announced that over the next 90 days, OSTP will develop guidance for minimum standards for research. The announcement comes in response to a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-33) that was issued by President Trump during his last week in office. The memorandum directs OSTP to “strengthen protections of United States Government-supported R&D against foreign government interference and exploitation” while “maintaining an open environment to foster research discoveries and innovation that benefit our nation and the world.”

In the announcement made by Dr. Lander, he states that OSTP will work in conjunction with the National Security Council and other agencies to create guidance in three main areas:
 

• Disclosure Policy – ensuring that federally-funded researchers provide their funding agencies and research organizations with appropriate information concerning external involvements that may bear on potential conflicts of interest and commitment;
• Oversight and Enforcement — ensuring that federal agencies have clear and appropriate policies concerning consequences for violations of disclosure requirements and interagency sharing of information about such violations; and,
• Research Security Programs — ensuring that research organizations that receive substantial federal R&D funding (greater than $50 million annually) maintain appropriate research security programs.

Dr. Lander also outlines principles that will steer the development of the guidance:

• Protect America’s Security and Openness
• Be Clear
• Ensure Policies Do Not Fuel Xenophobia or Prejudice

Over the next 90 days, OSTP plans to engage stakeholders in the research community and has invited the public to participate by sending ideas to researchsecurity@ostp.eop.gov.
 
For more information, please visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2021/08/10/clear-rules-for-research-security-and-researcher-responsibility/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=FYI&dm_i=1ZJN,7HYL2,M3WXSL,UHTD1,1/.