International collaborations and support are a growing area of concern and interest for agencies who fund research.
Sponsors generally want to know about:
- Visiting scholars/students, especially when funding is from a foreign institution/government
- International collaborations in sponsored projects, even when no money is exchanged (in-kind support)
- Outside appointments: domestic or foreign, paid or unpaid, full/part-time/voluntary (including adjunct, visiting or honorary)
- Foreign travel
- Other sources of support though Cornell, an outside entity, or a personal venture.
Note: Check this page frequently due to changing sponsor requirements.
What do I need to do?
| # | Category | Description | Actions to Take | Relevant Policy/Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Screen and Monitor Visitors | Working with foreign collaborators on Cornell University grounds is often vital and productive to the research enterprise. If you are bringing a visitor to campus, whether a fellow scientist, student, or funder, make sure that you have properly vetted them and provide adequate supervision. | Email academicvisitors@cornell.edu with details.
For sponsors: Disclose in Current, Pending, and Other Support forms as necessary. | Export Controls in Research and Education |
| 2 | Foreign Collaborations in Sponsored Projects | Collaboration with a foreign entity (including but not limited to subawards, consultants, funded or unfunded collaborations with investigators located at a foreign site, etc.) in a project must be disclosed in funding applications and project reports. Additionally, adding a foreign collaboration and/or component to an existing award may require prior approval from the sponsor. | For sponsors: Review and follow sponsor requirements listed in funding opportunities and award documents. Report to Cornell: Use a checkbox to record foreign activities related to the project in RASS. This checkbox will alert Global Operations and/or Export Controls, who will reach out with further guidance. | Foreign activities may include foreign collaborators, foreign consultants, foreign components, publications with foreign collaborators, procurements, subcontracts to foreign entities, overseas shipments, or travel to foreign countries. |
| 3 | Disclosing All Sources of Support | All current and pending support of your research endeavors, whether this effort is though Cornell, through an outside entity, or a personal venture, must be disclosed to external research sponsors as required by their guidelines and regulations. This includes both foreign and domestic sources of support and both funded and in-kind sources of support. | Report to Cornell: Add to Conflicts of Interest (COI) in RASS.
| Researchers cannot rely solely on research administrators to complete their current and pending support reports. Research administrators will not have access to all information required to be disclosed to sponsors through Cornell systems. |
| 4 | Disclosing All Appointments and Affiliations | All academic professional, or institutional appointments held by researchers must be disclosed. This includes those that are domestic or foreign, paid or unpaid, or full/part-time/voluntary (including adjunct, visiting or honorary). | Report to Cornell: Add to Conflicts of Interest (COI) in RASS. | RASS COI Guide |
| 5 | Consulting Activity | All time spent working for or consulting with any entities or institutions, foreign or domestic, must be reported to Cornell, regardless of whether such activity is conducted in your professional or personal capacity, and whether such effort is paid or unpaid. | Report to Cornell: Add to Conflicts of Interest (COI) in RASS. | Disclose to sponsors on Biosketch forms and Current, Pending, and Other Support forms per sponsor requirements. |
| 6 | Foreign Travel | Observe the appropriate security precautions when traveling. Register your travel in the Cornell travel registry and follow the international travel guidelines from Cornell’s IT Security Office. | Federal regulations require researchers to disclose:
Report to Cornell: Add to Conflicts of Interest (COI) in RASS. | Travel and International Activities and Export Controls and International Travel |
| 7 | Negotiating Unfunded Research Collaborations with Foreign Entities | All unfunded collaboration agreements and non-sponsored revenue-generating agreements must be initiated by your unit's contract administrator and include standard language to protect academic freedom, intellectual property, and non-discrimination. | Contact your unit's contract administrator. | Exploring an Academic Collaboration |
| 8 | Malign Foreign Talent Programs | Participation in a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP) by any Cornell employee or researcher is strictly prohibited. | Report to Cornell: All Cornell faculty and researchers must complete an annual MFTRP certification in Conflicts of Interest (COI) in RASS.
| Malign Foreign Talent Government Recruitment Programs |
Who can answer my questions?
| Category | Including | Contact |
|---|---|---|
Bringing international researchers and faculty to the U.S. | Advice and assistance | International Services in the Office of Global Learning |
Conflict of Interest (COI) disclosures | Financial and Conflict of Commitment (COC) | Conflicts of Interest or contact coi@cornell.edu |
Export controls | Shipping, imports | Export Controls webpage or email exportcontrols@cornell.edu |
Restricted party screening | New hire screening, visitor screening | Export Controls webpage or email exportcontrols@cornell.edu |
Disclosures to external sponsors | International collaborations and funding | Find my GCO to contact your assigned Grant & Contract Officer |
Guidance regarding work with China |
| |
Other international contracts | Formalization of collaborations with foreign institutions | |
| Malign Foreign Talent Programs | Advice and assistance | Contact researchsecurity@cornell.edu. |