Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs

Research Compliance

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Managing Risks in International Collaborations

WWU is committed to expanding research, teaching, and engagement activities, as well as making Western a center for the best faculty, students, and partners across the world. The university is equally committed to comply with all laws and regulations that intersect with international collaborations, including newer requirements from United States federal funding agencies designed to identify and mitigate risks with international collaborations, such as Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment programs (MFTRPs). 

Overview

The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act of 2022 prohibits federal employees, contractors, and awardees—including institutions, individual investigators, and other key personnel —from participating in Malign Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Programs.

Malign foreign talent recruitment programs are programs, positions or activities sponsored by a country of concern (defined as the People's Republic of China including Hong Kong and Macau, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, or any other country determined to be a country of concern by the Secretary of State) or by certain academic institutions. They include one or more of the following indicators:

  • Engagement in the unauthorized transfer of intellectual property or other nonpublic information.
  • Recruiting trainees or researchers to enroll in such program, position, or activity.
  • Establishment of a laboratory, employment or appointment in a foreign country in violation of the terms and conditions of a U.S. federally funded research award.
  • Inability to terminate program contract or agreement.
  • Overcapacity, overlap or duplication.
  • Research funding from the foreign institution’s government.
  • Omission of U.S. home institution and/or funding agency acknowledgement.
  • Nondisclosure of program participation.
  • Conflict of interest and/or conflict of commitment.

It is not illegal to engage in malign foreign talent recruitment programs. However, the CHIPS Act prohibits federal funding agencies from issuing awards to anyone who participates in a malign program. 

If you think you may be in a malign foreign talent recruitment program, please contact us immediately. We can help confirm whether your program is a malign foreign talent recruitment program and discuss a mitigation plan.

Certification

Currently two federal agencies require the Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment program certification: National Science Foundation (NSF) (Biosketch) and Department of Defense (DoD) (SF 424). 

Principal investigators must certify on the proposal’s Biosketch, SF 424, or other form as applicable that they and all other senior/key personnel are not participating in a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment program.

Consequences

Participation in an Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment program is cause for senior/key personnel to be dismissed from all federally-sponsored research proposals or awards and/or face other consequences. 

How Do Senior/Key Personnel Know They are Participating in a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program?

Follow the process below to determine if Senior/Key Personnel are participating in an MFTRP.

Is the foreign entity affiliation or project sponsored by an organization in one of the following countries?

  • China
  • Iran
  • North Korea
  • The Russian Federation

If the answer to Question 1 is YES, continue to Question 2.

If the answer to Question 1 is NO, skip Question 2 and continue to Question 3.

Do one or more of the following nine prohibited practices represent the researcher’s work or involvement with a country of concern?

  1. Engage in the unauthorized transfer of intellectual property, materials, data products, or other nonpublic information;
  2. Require recruitment of trainees or researchers to enroll in a program, position or activity, or accept employment at a foreign entity;
  3. Establish a laboratory or company, or accept a faculty position, or other employment in a foreign country;
  4. Be unable to terminate the foreign talent recruitment program contract or agreement except in extraordinary circumstances;
  5. Be required to engage in work that limits capacity to carry out a research and development award, or has a substantial overlap or duplication of a federal research and development award;
  6. Be required to apply for or receive funding from a foreign government that would be awarded to the foreign institution;
  7. Be required to omit acknowledgement of the foreign institution, or any United States federal research sponsors;
  8. Be required not to disclose affiliation or participation with the foreign institution to WWU or the United States federal government in a program, position, or activity;
  9. Have a conflict of interest or conflict of commitment contrary to the standard terms and conditions of the Federal research and development award.

If the answer to Question 2 is YES to one or more of the prohibited practices, or one is not certain if a foreign party participates in prohibited practices, STOP and contact us for assistance.

If the answer to Question 2 is NO, continue to Question 3.

Does the foreign collaborator appear on one or more United States restricted party screening lists? To answer this question, submit organization names and/or individual points-of-contact names to compliance@wwu.edu.

If there are no intersections with activities defined under Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment programs, and United States restricted party screening lists do not identify any issues, the senior/key personnel may certify as “not participating in a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment program” on the Biosketch, SF 424, other forms as applicable.

Agency Specific Updates

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Effective Jun 7, 2025

MFTRP Annual Certification: Starting on June 7, 2025, Principal Investigators (PIs) and co-Principal Investigators (co-PIs) must certify on an annual basis that they are not party to an MFTRP. NSF will implement the MFTRP annual certification requirement for all other senior/key personnel roles at a future date. PIs and co-PIs named on multiple active NSF awards made on or after May 20, 2024, must complete the MFTRP annual certification once each year to cover all active awards. The certifications are linked to the users registered in Research.gov with a PI or co-PI role and at least one active NSF award made on or after May 20, 2024. When you are required to certify, a pop-up message will display in Research.gov after you sign in to notify you that you must complete your MFTRP annual certification and what steps you need to take in Research.gov to complete the certification. Note that this post-award annual certification is separate from the required pre-award disclosures in the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support proposal sections described in PAPPG Chapter II.B.1 and Chapter II.D.1.e. See NSF MFTRP FAQ for additional information.

Effective May 20, 2024 

Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), Chapter II.D.1.e(ii), Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs (FTRPs)

  • NSF proposals cannot be submitted unless either all covered individuals (individuals listed as PI, Senior/Key Personnel, and/or Investigator on Research Team) have completed their attestations or any covered individuals with pending attestations are removed from the proposal. Individuals who are party to a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program are not eligible to serve as a senior/key person on an NSF proposal.
  • Re-certification is required annually thereafter for the duration of the award. Updated Current and Pending (Other) Support must be disclosed to NSF when annual and final progress reports are submitted.
  • NSF continuation amendments and/or no-cost extensions cannot be processed unless either all covered individuals have completed their attestations or any covered individuals with pending attestations have been removed from the project.
    • Effective as of May 20, 2024, new NSF awards cannot be processed unless the same conditions have been met.
  • No new covered individuals can be added to an existing award unless/until they have completed the attestation.

All other sponsors (federal and non-federal)

  • No proposals can be submitted unless either all covered individuals (individuals listed as PI, Senior/Key Personnel, and/or Investigator on Research Team) have completed their attestations or any individuals with pending attestations are removed from the proposal.
  • Department of Defense (DoD) and/or Department of Education (DoE) awards cannot be processed unless either all covered individuals have completed the attestation or any covered individuals with pending attestations have been removed from the project.  No new covered individuals can be added to these awards unless/until they have completed the attestation.
  • For all other sponsors, awards which have the attestation requirement as part of their terms and conditions cannot be processed unless either all covered individuals have completed the attestation or any covered individuals with pending attestations have been removed from the project.  No new covered individuals can be added to these awards unless/until they have completed the attestation. 

Frequently Asked Questions

The CHIPS Act prohibits federal funding agencies from issuing awards to anyone who participates in a malign program.   

Definitions

From the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022:

The term ‘‘malign foreign talent recruitment program’’ means:

  1. any program, position, or activity that includes compensation in the form of cash, in-kind compensation, including research funding, promised future compensation, complimentary foreign travel, things of non de minimis value, honorific titles, career advancement opportunities, or other types of remuneration or consideration directly provided by a foreign country at any level (national, provincial, or local) or their designee, or an entity based in, funded by, or affiliated with a foreign country, whether or not directly sponsored by the foreign country, to the targeted individual, whether directly or indirectly stated in the arrangement, contract, or other documentation at issue, in exchange for the individual
    1. engaging in the unauthorized transfer of intellectual property, materials, data products, or other nonpublic information owned by a United States entity or developed with a Federal research and development award to the government of a foreign country or an entity based in, funded by, or affiliated with a foreign country regardless of whether that government or entity provided support for the development of the intellectual property, materials, or data products;
    2. being required to recruit trainees or researchers to enroll in such program, position, or activity;
    3. establishing a laboratory or company, accepting a faculty position, or undertaking any other employment or appointment in a foreign country or with an entity based in, funded by, or affiliated with a foreign country if such activities are in violation of the standard terms and conditions of a Federal research and development award;
    4. being unable to terminate the foreign talent recruitment program contract or agreement except in extraordinary circumstances;
    5. through funding or effort related to the foreign talent recruitment program, being limited in the capacity to carry out a research and development award or required to engage in work that would result in substantial overlap or duplication with a Federal research and development award;
    6. being required to apply for and successfully receive funding from the sponsoring foreign government’s funding agencies with the sponsoring foreign organization as the recipient;
    7. being required to omit acknowledgment of the recipient institution with which the individual is affiliated, or the federal research agency sponsoring the research and development award, contrary to the institutional policies or standard terms and conditions of the federal research and development award;
    8. being required to not disclose to the Federal research agency or employing institution the participation of such individual in such program, position, or activity; or
    9. having a conflict of interest or conflict of commitment contrary to the standard terms and conditions of the Federal research and development award; and
  2. a program that is sponsored by
    1. a foreign country of concern or an entity based in a foreign country of concern, whether or not directly sponsored by the foreign country of concern;
    2. an academic institution on the list developed under section 1286(c)(8) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (10 U.S.C. 2358 note; Public Law 115-232); or
    3. a foreign talent recruitment program on the list developed under section 1286(c)(9) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (10 U.S.C. 2358 note; Public Law 115-232).

A foreign affiliation is a funded or unfunded academic, professional, or institutional appointment or position with a foreign government or government-owned entity, whether full-time, part-time, or voluntary (including adjunct, visiting, or honorary). This includes appointments or positions deemed adjunct, visiting, or honorary with research institutions located in a foreign country of concern. (See 15 U.S.C. § 638(e)(16)).