Training for Research Security
To address the growing concerns around research security, U.S. (United States) federal regulations such as and the security-related provisions under the require specific individuals involved in federally funded research to complete research security training. All Covered Individuals (defined below) must certify that they have completed research security training within the 12 months preceding the application date.
- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) implemented this requirement for new proposal submissions effective May 1, 2025. For more information see and the .
- The National Science Foundation (NSF) will implement this training requirement for new proposal submissions effective October 10, 2025. For more information see .
- On July 8, 2025, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued an internal memo, , indicating this training requirement will appear in all new research and development (R&D) or science and technology (S&T) awards. Absent an agency-wide implementation date from USDA, 91르적 is treating this requirement as currently in effect.
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will implement this training requirement, and individual certification, for applications submitted for due dates on or after May 25, 2026. For more information and the link to the current NIH Grants Policy Statement see . Additionally, effective October 1, 2025, NIH relayed a requirement to train Senior/Key Personnel on Other Support Disclosure requirements per the July 17, 2025 notice .
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will implement this training requirement for new proposal submissions effective August 5, 2026. For more information see .
- Please note that while NASA’s notice includes links to training, Covered Individuals are encouraged to complete the CITI course described below for ease of tracking.
- Other federal혻funding agencies are anticipated to release implementation dates in 2026.
- Specific Requests for Proposals (RFP) may expand the applicability of the training requirement beyond just Covered Individuals. Please review your RFP to confirm applicable requirements to ensure compliance.
Who must take the training?
Unless specified in more detail by a federal sponsor, a Covered Individual means an individual who contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of a Research & Development (R&D) project proposed to be carried out with an award from a federal research agency and is designated as a Covered Individual by the federal research agency. At minimum, any individual designated as key personnel in an application will be considered a Covered Individual.
Where can training be completed?
The course titled “Research Security Training (Combined)” is available in Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). Instructions for CITI Training (Word)
- The training is valid for one year from the date of completion. CITI will send reminders when it is time to retake the training.
- The training takes approximately one hour to complete.
When does the training need to be completed?
Prior to proposal submission or within 30 days of being added to an award with the research security training requirement.
Contact for Questions
For questions related to sponsor-specific training requirements, please contact the Pre-Award staff you are working with or Amy Elliott (amy.elliott@maine.edu) in the Office of Research Administration.
For CITI training related inquiries, please contact umric@maine.edu.