Dear Members of the University Community,

UConn is committed to international collaborations, interdisciplinary research, and the global exchange of ideas, students, and scholars. UConn values its international collaborations, and we welcome students and scholars from around the world. Our global collaborations enrich our University and are integral to providing the highest quality education, outreach, research, and patient care.

While such collaborations are primarily positive, concerns have been raised regarding foreign threats to research at U.S. academic and research institutions. These concerns include:

• Diversion of intellectual property
• Disclosure of confidential grant application information by peer reviewers to third parties
• Failure of researchers to disclose research resources and support provided by other organizations, including foreign entities
• Researchers maintaining or operating research labs or programs abroad without the knowledge or approval of their domestic institution
• Involvement in research collaborations and consortiums without home institution’s knowledge
• Research collaborations with restricted entities or individuals

Transparency in our collaborations is critical to addressing these concerns and maintaining research integrity. All faculty, principal investigators, and research staff with sponsored funding must be aware of and follow all sponsor rules and regulations, including being mindful of the following:

Transparency in Disclosure

• Be thorough and complete in disclosing and accounting for all forms of research support, whether or not that funding is passed through the University. Forms of research support include financial support and resources from funding agencies, other institutions, and foreign entities (e.g., active and pending support included in grant applications and prior to award issuance).
• Foreign components of federally funded research must be disclosed and approved in advance by the sponsor.
• Significant financial interests such as equity in a publicly or non-publicly traded entity, salary support outside of UConn, or any remuneration such as income from consulting, honoraria, or paid authorships must be disclosed annually and may require prior approval, regardless of whether it is domestic or foreign.
• Extramural professional activities, whether compensated or uncompensated, should be disclosed through the consulting approval process to determine if there are potential conflicts of interest or commitment, regardless of whether they are domestic or foreign.

Additional guidance is available on several of these topics including active and pending support, foreign components, export controls, disclosure of financial interests, and consulting approval.

UConn is committed to supporting our innovative faculty, students, and staff to promote global exchange and collaboration, while at the same time providing the University community with the necessary information to ensure the integrity of our research. It is critically important that the entire University demonstrate leadership in research and in our shared responsibility to be accountable, compliant, and mitigate risk.

Thank you for your active cooperation in these efforts, and for your continued commitment to UConn’s research enterprise.

Sincerely,

Thomas Katsouleas

President