Building Capacity to Manage RISC: Investing in Research Integrity, Security, and Compliance at UMBC through Practices, Processes, and Partnerships

This project develops a sustainable model for building and supporting the capacity of mid-sized and smaller research universities to implement new and emerging Federal research security policies. Research integrity, security, and compliance are critical components of the research enterprise. These areas are also highly complex and rapidly evolving, in response to dynamic world events that drive Federal policies, guidelines, and other regulatory requirements.

Mid-sized and smaller institutions are expected to keep pace as new policies and guidance emerge, but they do not have the same ability as larger and more highly resourced institutions to immediately respond to new regulations by adapting or building needed systems and processes. This project will help mid-sized and smaller research universities build capacity in these key areas, in ways that help ensure equitable access to and implementation of research guidance for all types of U.S. research institutions.

The project will create, test, and implement a significant and meaningful blueprint for how mid-sized and smaller research universities can implement and adhere to new and emerging research security policies. In Phase One, a Research Integrity, Security, and Compliance (RISC) program model will be developed and evaluated in a partnership among four Minority Serving Institutions in Maryland and Delaware.

In Phase Two, the program model and materials developed from it will be translated into a RISC Roadmap: a publicly accessible information pipeline and compendium of adaptable resources, including online learning modules and trainings, which will be shared with other institutions and organizations on a regional and national scale. The RISC Roadmap will help other institutions overcome the barrier of creating such programs from scratch and assist them in responding to research integrity, security, and compliance guidance and meeting institutional needs.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.