Research Security Training

• Researchers submitting grants to some federal agencies will soon be required to take a research security training.
• To help our researchers meet these requirements, UI is providing a new training program.
  • The training is available now.
  • The training will be available through the CITI course – Research Security Training (Combined).
  • The course will take approximately 45-60 minutes to complete.

What are the federally required research security trainings?

Four federal agencies require research security training for researchers submitting funding proposals: 

• The Department of Energy (DoE) requires key/senior personnel to certify that they have completed research security training prior to submission of funding applications.
  • DoE requirement start date: May of 25, 2025.
• The National Science Foundation (NSF) requires key/senior personnel to certify that they have completed research security training prior to submission of funding applications.
  • NSF requirement start date: Oct. 8, 2025.
• The National Institute of Health (NIH) requires that key/senior personnel complete training on the requirement for disclosures in the “other support” section of funding applications.
  • NIH requirement start date: Oct.1, 2025.
  • We anticipate that the NIH will require full research security training in the near future.
• The National Institute of Health (NIH) requires key/senior personnel to certify that they have completed research security training prior to submission of funding applications.
  • NIH requirement start date: Jan. 25, 2026
  • Must complete annual refresher training
  • Must certify that key/senior personnel are not participants in a malign foreign talent recruitment program
• The Department of Defense (DoD) may require research security training as part of their mitigation actions when reviewing potentially moderate to high-risk funding proposals. They determine the level of risk using a risk decision matrix they developed. 

How is the UI responding to these requirements? 

• The UI’s Research Security Program Committee (RSPC), the Division of Sponsored Programs (DSP) and the Research Integrity & Security Office (RISO) have identified a CITI course, Research Security Training (Combined), that is approved by these federal funding agencies to meet the requirement for training.
  • The CITI course takes approximately 45-60 minutes to complete.
• RISO and DSP will track compliance with the training requirement.

How often are researchers required to take these trainings? 

• The DoD: once.
• DoE: once.
• NSF: requires certification that training has been completed within a 12-month period prior to submission. Therefore, researchers must take the training no more than once a year
• NIH: once, but future guidance/information could change that.