NSF, NIH, and USDA Training Requirement
Before submitting a proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), or the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA), PIs must provide OSP with a copy of their Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training plan. See the quotes at the bottom of this page for the NSF, NIH, and USDA official statements.
In partial fulfillment of this requirement, all students and post-doctoral fellows supported by NSF, NIH, and USDA-NIFA funding MUST complete the appropriate Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) RCR training course(s). In addition, supervisors are required to provide additional training specific to the discipline(s) that relate to the project. Professional societies frequently provide materials that are an excellent resource for developing a training plan and links to several of them are provided in the training courses. The Office of Research Integrity also has extensive information about this requirement. For projects involving human subjects or animal research, PIs are also required to submit research and participant training plans to the Committee on Human Subjects Research or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) before applying for funding.
The CITI training courses that Bradley University employees and students have access to through our institutional subscription, which are most applicable to the NIH, NSF, and USDA requirements are Responsible Conduct of Research for NSF, NIH, and USDA Awards: Student Participants and Responsible Conduct of Research for NSF, NIH, and USDA Awards: Investigators and Postdocs.
Statement from Federal Register (8/20/2009)
“Effective January 4, 2010, NSF will require that, at the time of proposal submission to NSF, a proposing institution's Authorized Organizational Representative certify that the institution has a plan to provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research to undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers who will be supported by NSF to conduct research. While training plans are not required to be included in proposals submitted to NSF, institutions are advised that they are subject to review upon request.”
ReferenceStatement from Notice Number: NOT-OD-10-019
“NIH requires that all trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any NIH training, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, and dissertation research grant must receive instruction in responsible conduct of research. This policy will take effect with all new and renewal applications submitted on or after January 25, 2010, and for all continuation (Type 5) applications with deadlines on or after January 1, 2011. This Notice applies to the following programs: D43, D71, F05, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F37, F38, K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2, R25, R36, T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2, and U2R. This policy also applies to any other NIH-funded programs supporting research training, career development, or research education that require instruction in responsible conduct of research as stated in the relevant funding opportunity announcements.”
ReferenceUSDA-NIFA Statement
“In accordance with sections 2, 3, and 8 of 2 CFR Part 422, institutions that conduct USDA-funded extramural research must foster an atmosphere conducive to research integrity, bear primary responsibility for prevention and detection of research misconduct, and maintain and effectively communicate and train their staff regarding policies and procedures. In the event an application to NIFA results in an award, the Authorized Representative (AR) assures, through acceptance of the award that the institution will comply with the above requirements. Award recipients shall, upon request, make available to NIFA the policies, procedures, and documentation to support the conduct of the training… The general content of the ethics training will, at a minimum, emphasize three key areas of research ethics: authorship and plagiarism, data and research integration, and reporting misconduct. Each institution will be responsible for developing its own training system, as schools will need flexibility to develop training tailored to their specific student needs.”
Reference