Federal Requirements & Prohibitions

There are a variety of activities that, for national security reasons, may require approval from sponsoring agencies or may be outright prohibited by federal sponsoring agencies.

These are generally flowed to Purdue through terms and conditions of federal awards or are embedded in RFPs, BAAs, etc. Additionally, federal agencies may use publications to assess whether federally funded research complies with award requirements, so it is critical to ensure that information reported in publications is accurate and that author affiliation represents the institution(s) where the research was conducted, supported, and/or approved, rather than the institution where the author is employed at the time of publication.

International Collaborations

• Entering into bilateral collaborations with Chinese government entities or Chinese-owned organizations using NASA funds is prohibited without NASA approval. This requirement, stemming from the Wolf Amendment, is flowed to Purdue on all NASA awards.
• Establishing collaborations with individuals or organizations on U.S. restricted party lists is prohibited by Purdue policy. DoW, USDA, and NSF also prohibit us from engaging in collaborations involving their research. More agencies are likely to adopt similar restrictions.
• Involving collaborators outside of the United States in NIH-funded research is likely considered a Foreign Component for which prior approval must be granted by NIH. Individual terms and conditions of awards from other federal agencies may also prohibit involving collaborators who are not in the United States.

Conducting Research

• Performing a significant portion of funded research outside the United States may require sponsor approval.
• Allowing foreign institutions to perform work may need to be disclosed to or approved by the sponsor.
• Sharing controlled research data, software, materials, or technology with foreign persons (even when the foreign person is physically located inside the United States) may require an export license from the appropriate federal agency. These items and this type of data are generally governed by a Technology Control Plan (TCP), and consultation with RSEC is required prior to sharing such data.

Foreign Relationships & Commitment

• Participation in Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs funded through or organized by Foreign Adversary Nations is prohibited for all Purdue employees as a result of Indiana Executive Order 25-64.

Equipment & Technology

• Purchasing or using covered telecommunications equipment or services (e.g., manufactured by Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua, Hytera, and any of their subsidiaries) is generally prohibited under federal procurement rules and sponsor requirements.
• Using Kaspersky Lab cybersecurity products on systems used for federal research is generally prohibited on all federal awards.
• Purchasing or operating covered unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or components from certain restricted parties for use on federal research is generally prohibited on federal research as a result of the America Security Drone Act.
• Utilizing equipment in federal research labs that was manufactured by certain restricted parties is prohibited by some federal agencies.

Authorship & Publications

Before engaging in a collaboration that may result in co-authorship, ask these questions:

• Have all collaborators and institutions been properly disclosed to the sponsor?
• Will resulting publications reveal a “Foreign Component” that requires sponsor approval (e.g., NIH)?
• Does the collaboration implicate agency-specific requirements (e.g., prohibition on bilateral collaborations with entities in China for NASA awards, or other agency-specific or contract-specific requirements)?
• Have the collaborators been screened for restricted party or entity concerns?
• Does the funding acknowledgement accurately reflect federally sponsored projects?
• Are authors reflecting the appropriate affiliation and contribution on the publication in alignment with Purdue’s Authorship of Scholarly Works (S-24) standard?

Federal agencies increasingly review publications alongside proposals, disclosures, and award documentation when evaluating research security compliance. All collaborations with entities in Foreign Adversary Nations must be disclosed to and approved by Purdue through the COI/COC Module in PERA in alignment with Purdue’s Conflicts of Commitment and Reportable Outside Activities (III.B.1) policy.