The Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Science Foundation require that certain individuals as defined by the agency (e.g., “key/senior personnel” or “covered individuals”) complete Research Security Training within the previous 12 months prior to proposal submission.
Moving forward, the principal investigator on these proposals will need to ensure and certify as part of submission of their funding proposal that the respective personnel have completed such training.
It is expected that other funding agencies will adopt Research Security Training requirements throughout the next year, as well as implement other research security programmatic requirements like cybersecurity standards and foreign travel training.
Principal investigators and other senior personnel are encouraged to enroll and take the “Research Security Training (Combined)” in CITI as soon as possible.
Find directions on how to access and complete the training.
Once training is completed and your funding proposal is ready for submission to OSP, as you hit “Submit for Department Review” in WRAP, the principal investigator will be asked to certify a number of statements related to your proposal. The required Research Security Training certification will be done at that time. We are required to audit this attestation against CITI training records, so please be aware that your project may be audited.
Alternative trainings
The NSF and other funding agencies provide Research Security Training on their website. If an individual previously took that training and can provide a certificate from that training dated within 12 months, the training requirement is satisfied. If you have questions about whether such training meets the requirement, please contact Melanie Page, Research Security Officer, at Melanie.Page@mail.wvu.edu.
Alternative certification
If we are a subrecipient, our sponsor may require that we document our compliance with this requirement (See e.g. Penn State Form C). You should upload any forms or attestations received from a sponsor with the funding proposal, completing as much information as possible.
Why it matters
In accordance with Section 10634 of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (42 U.S.C. § 19234) and National Security Presidential Memorandum-33 (NSPM-33), the WVU Research Office is requiring this new research security training program consistent with agency guidance and programmatic requirements.
What’s ahead
The NIH, NASA and other federal funding agencies are in the process of implementing similar Research Security Training requirements that apply to “Covered Individuals” (e.g., PIs, Co-PIs, project directors, senior/key personnel, and others identified as Covered Individuals by a federal funding agency). It is expected that agencies will adopt Research Security Training requirements throughout the next year, as well as implement other research security programmatic requirements like cybersecurity standards and foreign travel training. Find information on these initiatives.
For questions about your compliance obligations, submit a ticket with the OSP Customer Care Team or email them at OSP_Help@mail.wvu.edu.