Office of Sponsored Programs

Pre-Award Research Security Compliance

Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program Sponsor Requirements
  • Mason has implemented a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program certification for ALL federal proposals that includes a review of key personnel Biosketches, Current and Pending and COI disclosures.
  • OSP Authorized Organizational Representation will also have to certify that George Mason has performed due diligence in ensuring that no key personnel are involved in Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment programs.
    • ALL federal proposals, including proposals where Mason is a subrecipient, are now required to undergo an ORIA review of key personnel current and pending biosketch forms.
    • For LOIs, if they are required to come through OSP, per the Mason policy, then they will complete a MFTRP review. LOIs submitted by PI, with no OSP involvement, do not require MFTP review until they are invited to submit a full proposal.
    • Current and pending and biosketch documents must be prepared as early as possible to facilitate this review. Late documents may result in proposals not being submitted.
  • Federal agencies will require all senior/key personnel on potential awards to submit updated Current and Pending (Other) Support information before making a funding recommendation. 
  • Federal agencies have also implemented annual MFTRP certification requirements.

Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs (MFTRP) Information Sheet

MFTRP and NASA Research Security Review Process

Biosketch/Current and Pending Sponsor Requirements

Pre-Award Research Security Training and Compliance

Background

  • Section 10634 of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (42 U.S.C. § 19234) requires Federal agencies to implement research security training requirement at the time of PROPSAL submission.
  • On July 10, 2025, NSF released guidance to the Presidents of Universities and Colleges and Heads of other NSF awardee organizations related to research security training.  Effective October 10, 2025, NSF will require research security training certifications from proposers and individuals identified as senior/key personnel by the proposer. Below are the two key Research Security training compliance requirements:
    • each individual identified as a senior/key person must certify that they have completed the requisite research security training within 12 months prior to proposal submission.  
    • the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must certify that all individuals identified as senior/key personnel have completed the requisite research security training that meets the requirements within 12 months prior to proposal submission.  
  • Senior/key personnel include the individuals designated by the proposer/recipient organization and approved by the Sponsor, who contribute in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of a research and development project proposed to be carried out with a research and development award.  There are two categories of senior/key personnel: PI and CoPI and faculty associate (faculty member) or equivalent. 

Mason Policy – Coming Soon!

Applicability

  • Applies to current NSF and Dept of Energy proposals
  • NIH will be requiring in 2026
  • DOD and USDA will be requiring in the near future
  • OSP and ORIA recommend that PIs planning to submit in NSF, NIH, or Dept of Energy complete this training as soon as possible so as not to delay future proposals. 

Training Course

  • The National Science Foundation’s NSF, in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Defense (DOD), have provided four online research security training (RST) modules as a resource to awardee organizations. Subsequently, the NSF’s Safeguarding the Entire Community in the U.S. Research Ecosystem (SECURE) Center developed an updated and condensed version of the four modules. The condensed RST module is designed to meet the government-wide RST requirement in Section 10634 of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (42 U.S.C. § 19234).
  • George Mason University has adopted the SECURE Center’s condensed version of NSF’s RST module and placed it in MasonLeaps.
    • This module takes approximately 60 minutes to complete. 
    • NSF, NIH, DOE, DOD, and USDA all recognize completion of the SECURE Center’s condensed module as compliant with their RST requirements
  • Mason Research Security Training (Condensed) Module
    • To meet the federal requirement, George Mason University has adopted the SECURE Center’s condensed version of NSF’s RST module. This module takes approximately 60 minutes to complete.  NSF, NIH, DOE, DOD, and USDA all recognize completion of the SECURE Center’s condensed module as compliant with their RST requirements.The training is available in MasonLeaps
    • The Course can be found by logging into MasonLeaps and searching for the title.
      • Title: Research Security Training (Condensed); Provider: ORIA  
  • Once you log into MasonLeaps, you can click this direct link: Direct link – Research Security Training (Condensed). NOTE: you MUST be logged into MasonLeaps in order for this direct link to work.

OSP/ORIA Business Process