Research security guidelines could unify reporting requirements

Abstract

Long-awaited US guidelines designed to make reporting collaborations and funding more straightforward and transparent were released by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in a Jan. 4 report. The guidelines tell federal agencies that fund scientific research how to implement National Security Presidential Memorandum 33, a research security directive issued by former president Donald J. Trump in response to fears that China is trying to unlawfully appropriate US academic research. Agencies have been working together to come up with consistent requirements. The results could have a big impact on universities and individual researchers as they try to navigate grant applications and conflict-of-interest disclosures at a time when academic research—especially international collaborations and funding—has come under increased scrutiny. Only one part of the OSTP guidance is mandatory: agencies must create rules that do not discriminate. Many scientists have said that the current response to fears that China