**Please share with your research faculty and departmental personnel the following information regarding disclosing “other support” in proposals for US federal sponsored research**
Dear Colleagues,
Recently representatives from the Export Control and International Compliance Committee have conducted training and outreach sessions on the transparency requirements for researchers participating in US-funded research. As many of you are aware, US funding agencies have been expanding their policies and enforcement activities associated with disclosing outside activities and foreign relationships.
At UMD we have the internal Outside Professional Activity (OPA) reporting requirement to help identify potential conflicts of interest as early as possible. The information disclosed in the OPA report is for internal use and is not disclosed by the University to funding agencies. However, many research funding agencies also require these types of activities to be disclosed during the proposal process and, in some cases, after the project is awarded. The funding agencies use these disclosures to identify possible Conflicts of Interest, Conflicts of Commitment, and also ties with foreign entities. Disclosing accurate and complete information is required by US law. Additionally, when you certify your proposal in the UMD Kuali Research system, you are certifying that you have provided all of the required information.
The policies on exactly what needs to be disclosed and how the disclosures are made vary by funding agency. We have provided an overview of the current policies outlined by agency, but note that federal policies and requirements in this link are frequently changing. Please refer to source documentation provided by your funding agency to ensure you have the most current and accurate information.
We thank the research community for its continued care and diligence in ensuring that the University is transparent and compliant. Should you have questions about what needs to be reported, please contact your contract administrator in ORA (proposal/award processes), Adam Grant (Export Compliance Office), or your unit head (Outside Professional Activity).
Thank you