Research security

At this time, the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships will only apply to the Project Grant competition. No other funding opportunities are currently in scope. The Guidelines will be implemented as a requirement starting with the Fall 2024 Project Grant competition.

The Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern will apply to all CIHR grant programs launched on or after May 1, 2024, except for those focused solely on knowledge mobilization or individual awards (including, but not limited to, the Institute Community Support program, café scientifique, travel grants, planning & dissemination grants, capacity building workshops and prizes).

Please contact CIHR to inquire about specific funding opportunities.

These requirements will not apply retroactively to previously funded grants.

These measures do not apply to any awards competitions (e.g., travel, Canada Graduate Scholarships, Canada Doctoral Scholarships, Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships, Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships and the CIHR Fellowship program).

Applicants should start by familiarizing themselves with the new research security measures: The National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships and the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern, including the list of sensitive technology research areas and the list of named research organizations.

This will prepare applicants for when it comes time to answer new "yes/no" screening questions in ResearchNet when applying for funding. If they answer "yes" to either question, applicants will need to complete and upload a form:

• In the case of the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships, the Nominated Principal Applicant will need to complete a risk assessment form. The form is a tool to identify and mitigate potential risks associated with the nature of the research and the proposed private sector partner organizations.
• In the case of the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern, if the research being proposed aims to advance a sensitive technology research area, all researchers with named roles in the grant application will need to complete an attestation form that declares that they are not affiliated with, or in receipt of funding or in-kind support from an institution on the list of Named Research Organizations, and that they will comply with the policy for the duration of the grant.

If the answers to the screening questions are "no," then no further steps will be required, and the task will be marked as completed in ResearchNet.

Private sector organizations are those that are not owned or operated by any order of government and include all for-profit organizations.

CIHR will review the Risk Assessment Form as part of an internal administrative process. This risk assessment review process includes ensuring completeness of the form as well as an administrative risk validation using open-source intelligence methods. Any application with possible or identified risks will be examined further, where risks are considered against the mitigation plan provided, to determine if further national security assessment and advice is required.

In regards to the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern, grant applications will be periodically selected for a process to validate compliance with the policy.

No. The forms will not be sent to peer review committee members, Chairs or Scientific Officers. Research security is not considered during the peer review process. The forms are for CIHR use only and can be shared with other departments and agencies for the purpose of national security assessment, when required.

The Policy on Sensitive Technology and Research Areas of Concern and the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships apply for the duration of the grant. All research team members are required to comply with these measures.

Where the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships apply, grant recipients must implement any risk mitigation measures identified in their completed Risk Assessment Form.

Where the Policy on Sensitive Technology and Research Areas of Concern applies, all research team members involved in the activities funded by the grant are individually responsible for ensuring that they do not hold an active affiliation or receive funding or in-kind support from any of the listed Named Research Organizations, following the version of the list that was publicly available on the date that the grant application was submitted. No additional requirements apply for grant applications that do not aim to advance any of the listed sensitive technology research areas.

Grant recipients must inform CIHR and their institutional officials of any changes to the set of researchers with a named roles in the grant; any changes in the nature of the research that may require the submission of attestation forms certifying the research team's compliance; or any new private sector partnerships.

At CIHR, these named roles include the Nominated Principal Applicant, Principal Applicants, Co-Applicants, Principal Knowledge Users, and Knowledge Users. It does not include Collaborators as their role differs significantly for CIHR compared with the other funding agencies. Other members of the research team not playing one of the applicant roles above (including, for example, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, research staff, etc.) are not required to complete an attestation form but must be considered in terms of ongoing policy compliance.

Regardless of whether an attestation form was required at the time of application, additional requirements apply to all research team members — including all collaborators and students — involved in the activities funded by a grant that was identified as aiming to advance a sensitive technology research area. For the duration of their involvement in the activities supported by the grant, all research team members are individually responsible for ensuring that they do not hold an active affiliation or receive funding or in-kind support from a Named Research Organization, following the versions of the lists that were publicly available on the date that the grant application was submitted.

A grant application can be said to advance a sensitive technology research area if it aims to support the generation or discovery of knowledge that contributes to progress in the development of a technology described in the sub-categories in the list of Sensitive Technology Research Areas. Research that merely uses, but does not advance, an existing technology is not within the scope of this policy.

Here are two options that CIHR recommends:

1. scanning the document before uploading it; or
2. using the print functionality.

Instructions to proceed with the "Print" option:

• On a PC (using Adobe Acrobat Reader):
  1. In the secure PDF, select "Print"
  2. In the print window:
     1. choose "Microsoft Print to PDF" from the dropdown list where you would select a printer.
     2. Select "Print"
  3. A Save As window will open and allow the user to save the document.
  4. Once it is saved as a new document, it will be unsecure and ResearchNet will allow it to be uploaded.
• On a Mac (using Preview):
  1. In the secure PDF, select "Print"
  2. At the bottom of the print window, select the down arrow next to "PDF" and select "Save as PDF"  
  3. A Save As window will open and allow the user to save the document.
  4. Once it is saved as a new document, it will be unsecure and ResearchNet will allow it to be uploaded.