Stay Informed with Conflicts of Interest and Export Control Updates

PIs and senior/key personnel are required to complete financial conflict of interest training every three years. Currently, the UO uses CITI to deliver the training.

Effective January 1, 2026, PIs and senior/key personnel will instead complete training in MyTrack Learning. Links to the new training will be available on our website and shared in upcoming issues of Frontline. 

The new training uses examples relevant to UO research and includes information on federal regulations, UO policy, and UO procedures. The training takes approximately one hour to complete. 

Existing training completion in CITI will continue to be valid. Those whose training expires after January 1, 2026, will need to complete the new MyTrack training. 

Please email coi@uoregon.edu with any questions about the training requirement. 

PIs and senior/key personnel are required to complete financial conflict of interest training every three years. Currently, the UO uses CITI to deliver the training. 

However, a new MyTrack training is coming this fall. The training uses examples relevant to UO research and includes information on federal regulations, UO policy, and UO procedures. The training takes approximately one hour to complete. 

Existing training completion in CITI will continue to be valid. Beginning this fall, those whose training will expire soon will need to complete the new MyTrack training. 

Please email coi@uoregon.edu with any questions about the training requirement. 

Effective October 1, 2025, ALL PIs and senior/key personnel, regardless of sponsor, must annually complete Research Security Training.

The training must be completed prior to submitting a proposal and must be completed annually thereafter. The Research Security Training is available in MyTrack Learning (DuckID required to log in). It takes approximately one hour to complete. More details can be found on the Research Security Training webpage. 

The National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Department of Energy (DOE), and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) require PIs and senior/key personnel to certify at the time of proposal that they have completed Research Security Training in the previous 12 months and to re-certify annually for the duration of the award. 

PIs should carefully read all certifications. If you have questions or concerns, contact your SPS post-award team. 

Effective January 25, 2026, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (See NOT-OD-25-154) requires all principal investigators (PIs) and senior/key personnel to certify at the time of proposal and annually thereafter that they are not party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program (MFTRP). A MFTRP is a program organized or managed by a foreign government that can lead to conflicts of interest, conflicts of commitment, intellectual property theft, and the transfer of federally funded research to foreign governments. 

• At the time of the application: PIs and senior/key personnel must certify on their Biographical Sketch Common Form, attached on the R&R Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Form, that they are not a party to a MFTRP.
• Annual Certification at the time of the RPPR: As part of the Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs), PIs and senior/key personnel must upload a certification statement in Section G.1, Special Notice of Award and Funding Opportunity Announcement Reporting Requirements as a flattened PDF file. The file for each senior/key person must be named ResearchSecurities_[Name].pdf, where [Name] is the name of the senior/key person. 

PIs should carefully read all certifications. If you have questions or concerns, contact your SPS post-award team. 

Effective October 1, 2025, ALL principal investigators (PIs) and senior/key personnel, regardless of sponsor, must annually complete Research Security Training.  

The training must be completed prior to submitting a proposal and must be completed annually thereafter. The Research Security Training is available in MyTrack Learning (DuckID required to log in). It takes approximately one hour to complete. More details can be found on the Research Security Training webpage. 

The National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Department of Energy (DOE), and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will require PIs and senior/key personnel to certify they have completed Research Security Training in the previous 12 months and to re-certify annually for the duration of the award. 

This new certification for NSF and USDA researchers is in addition to the annual certification in research.gov for PIs and co-PIs to indicate they are not party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program.  

PIs should carefully read all certifications. If you have questions or concerns, contact your SPS post-award team. 

The National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have all recently updated their research security requirements. 

As a result, effective October 1, 2025 (and effective August 7, 2025, for USDA researchers), ALL principal investigators (PIs) and senior/key personnel, regardless of sponsor, must annually complete Research Security Training. 

The training must be completed prior to submitting a proposal and must be completed annually thereafter. The Research Security Training is available in MyTrack Learning (DuckID required to log in). It takes approximately one hour to complete. More details can be found on the research security training webpage. 

NSF, NIH, DOE, and USDA will require PIs and senior/key personnel to certify they completed research security training in the previous 12 months and to re-certify annually for the duration of the award. 

This new certification for NSF and USDA researchers is in addition to the annual certification in research.gov for PIs and co-PIs to indicate they are not party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program.  

PIs should carefully read all certifications. If you have questions or concerns, contact your SPS post-award team. 

Effective October 10, 2025, National Science Foundation (NSF) principal investigators (PIs), co-PIs, project directors, co-project directors, senior/key personnel, or any other position specified in a funding opportunity announcement must annually complete Research Security Training. 

The training must be completed prior to submitting a proposal and must be completed annually thereafter. The Research Security Training is available in MyTrack Learning. It takes approximately one hour to complete (DuckID required to log in). More details can be found on the research security training webpage. 

Please note that PIs and senior/key personnel who submit proposals to the US Department of Energy have the same Research Security Training requirement. 

Beginning June 7, 2025, the National Science Foundation (NSF) requires all PIs and co-PIs to annually certify in research.gov that they are not party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program (MFTRP). 

NSF is expected to expand the annual certification to all senior/key personnel on NSF-funded projects at a future date. 

PIs should carefully read the certification and ensure that the language in the attestation applies only to MFTRPs. If they have questions or concerns, they should contact their SPS post-award team. 

Those who are party to a MFTRP are ineligible to serve as PI on an NSF-funded project. 

What you need to know about completing the required MFTRP certification in Research.gov: 

There is no organizational certification requirement; the certification requirement is for PIs and co-PIs. Impacted PIs and co-PIs will be prompted to complete the MFTRP certification after signing into Research.gov using the Sign In link at the top of the website.  

PIs and co-PIs with more than one active award made on or after May 20, 2024, are only required to certify once annually. Once completed, PIs and co-PIs can view their MFTRP certification response under the Academic/Professional Information section of their profile. 

NSF is working to expand the MFTRP annual certification requirement for all senior/key personnel roles at a future date. Additionally, NSF is working to provide organizations with access to the annual certifications. 

For more information, please visit OVPRI’s Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs webpage.  

Effective December 22, 2025, drones manufactured by companies located in a foreign country of concern are prohibited from being purchased with or used in federally sponsored research. 

This prohibition includes drones made by DJI or Autel, among others, and the prohibition stems from national security concerns of foreign adversaries gaining access to sensitive data or infrastructure.

If your research team currently has any drones manufactured by a company in a foreign country of concern (such as DJI or Autel) or if your research team is unsure about the manufacturer's country of origin, please contact exportcontrols@uoregon.edu for further guidance. 

Departments shipping materials internationally (excluding immigration, marketing, or admissions materials and published research materials such as journal articles) must submit an International Shipment Form before sending through UO Mail Services or external carriers, such as the US Postal Service, UPS, FedEx, or DHL.   

Once submitted, the International Shipment Form provides the shipper with concrete next steps in the shipment process. If the shipper plans to use UO Mail Services, the form will provide a pre-populated document to print and affix to the package.   

Forms are reviewed within one business day, but additional compliance steps may be required based on shipment contents.     

Unauthorized shipment of export-controlled items may lead to significant federal, civil, or criminal penalties, including but not limited to temporary prohibitions on international transactions. Departments are responsible for ensuring they have proper approvals.    

Learn more on the Export Controls website. 

The UO is required to report incoming contracts with, and gifts received from, foreign persons and entities to the US Department of Education and NSF. 

If your department receives: 

• Contracts for incoming funds that are not routed through SPS or Purchasing and Contracting Services, or
• Gifts from foreign donors that do not come through UO Foundation or Advancement, 

please email foreigngiftreports@uoregon.edu to be added to our biannual reporting requests. 

Most transactions only require basic information for internal reporting. However, full reporting is required if the UO, as a whole, receives $250,000 or more from the same foreign source or $50,000 or more from a source located in a country of concern.  

Your cooperation helps ensure the UO remains compliant with federal requirements.