Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs

FOREIGN TALENT RECRUITMENT PROGRAMS (FTRP) AND MALIGN FOREIGN TALENT RECRUITMENT PROGRAMS (MFTRP)

Requirements and Prohibitions Impacting Federal Funding Support

The CHIPS and Science Act (Public Law 117-167) directs federal research sponsors to maintain policies that–

• require covered individuals to disclose all participation in FTRPs, and
• prohibit recipients of federal support from participating in any malign FTRPs (MFTRPs).

Participation in a talent program of any kind must be disclosed to the university and to federal sponsors in Biosketches and Current & Pending/Other Support, as applicable.  Federal government funding agencies consider this disclosure in determining funding.  Failure to disclose participation in an FTRP has resulted in legal action by the U.S. government against researchers who are engaged in federally-sponsored research. 

Section 10631 of the Act prohibits “covered individuals” from participating in a federally funded research and development project if they are currently participating in a “malign foreign talent recruitment program.” 

Sections 10631 and 10632 of the Act provide for covered individuals to disclose if they are a party to any foreign talent recruitment program, and to certify that they are not a party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program. 

Section 10633 provides that federal research agencies may request supporting documentation from applicants, and take a range of funding-related actions if warranted. To the extent practicable, recipient institutions are required to prohibit covered individuals participating in malign foreign talent recruitment programs from working on projects supported by research and development awards. 

Section 10638 of the Act defines “covered individual” as “an individual who (A) contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of a research and development project proposed to be carried out with a research and development award from a Federal research agency; and (B) is designated as a covered individual by the Federal research agency concerned.” Agencies may also define other individuals as covered persons as appropriate and consistent with their mission.  This Section also defines "foreign country of concern" as the People's Republic of China, 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.

NSF

The 2024 NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) prohibits participation of senior personnel in MFTRPs. All senior personnel will be required to certify prior to proposal submission that they are not party to an MFTRP. In addition, the Authorized Organization Representative (i.e., the person who submits your proposals) will need to certify that all senior personnel associated with the proposal have been made aware of and have complied with their responsibility under that section to certify that they are not a party to a MFTRP.

DOD

Beginning August 9, 2024, the Department of Defense is prohibited from providing funding to or making an award of a fundamental research project proposal in which a covered individual is participating in a malign foreign talent recruitment program or to a proposing institution that does not have a policy addressing malign foreign talent programs pursuant to Section 10632 of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.

DOE

The Department of Energy issued Order DOE-O 486.1, which prohibits DOE employees and contractors, including university researchers, from participating in foreign talent recruitment programs of countries designated by DOE as a foreign country of risk.  There are special certifications required of the university by the order and, if a researcher who is a participant in such a program, is discovered on a DOE contract, the university must remove the researcher from the contract or the researcher must terminate the talent recruitment program participation. The university must flow down this provision to its subcontractors.

NIH

On November 14, 2023, NIH issued NOT-OD-24-029 to provide clarification regarding findings of foreign involvement with countries of concern related to grants and cooperative agreements. The risk mitigation sections of NOT-OD-23-139 were modified to clarify revised guidance.  [All other portions of NOT-OD-23-139 remain applicable.] In NOT-OD-24-029, applicants and recipients are encouraged to consider whether their entity’s relationships with foreign countries of concern will pose a security risk. Prior to issuing an award, NIH, CDC, and FDA will determine whether the SBC submitting the application meets one of three criteria resulting in a finding of foreign involvement with countries of concern.  The three criteria include whether the SBC submitting the application: 1) has an owner or covered individual that is party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program; 2) has a business entity, parent company, or subsidiary located in the People’s Republic of China or another foreign country of concern; or 3) has an owner or covered individual that has a foreign affiliation with a research institution located in the People’s Republic of China or another foreign country of concern. This finding is then evaluated against risk criteria, enumerated in the Note, in final award determinations.  Generally, for competing applications submitted for funding under the NIH, CDC, and FDA SBIR and STTR programs for due dates on or after September 5, 2023, NIH, CDC, and FDA will not mitigate security risks identified as part of the due diligence program. Generally, NIH, CDC, and FDA will not provide SBC applicants the opportunity to address any identified security risks prior to award.  NIH, CDC, and FDA will not issue an award under the SBIR/STTR program if the covered relationship with a foreign country of concern identified in this guidance is determined to fall under any of the identified criteria.

NOTE:  Other federal funding agencies who do not already have such restrictions are anticipated to implement similar prohibitions and requirements.  

If you have questions about whether a program in which you participated, are participating, or are considering might be a MFTRP, please contact the Research Security Office to discuss.  

Definitions and Characteristics of Programs

The general definition of a Foreign Talent Recruitment Program is provided in the 2024 OSTP Guidelines and the general definition of a Foreign Government-Sponsored Talent Recruitment Program is provided in NSPM-33. 

The more specific characteristics of Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs are found in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-167), the NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance Appendix, and the 2024 NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG).

Foreign Talent Recruitment Program 

The CHIPS Act did not include a definition of a FTRP, instead directing the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to develop a definition. In February 2024, the OSTP published Guidelines for Federal Research Agencies Regarding Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs which defines a Foreign Talent Recruitment Program as:

...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 an individual, whether directly or indirectly stated in the arrangement, contract, or other documentation at issue. 

Consistent with Section 10632(d) of the Act, a foreign talent recruitment program does not include the following international collaboration activities, so long as the activity is not funded, organized, or managed by an academic institution or a foreign talent recruitment program on the lists developed under paragraphs (8) and (9) of Section 1286(c) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (10 U.S.C. 4001 note; Public Law 115-232): 

1. Making scholarly presentations and publishing written materials regarding scientific information not otherwise controlled under current law;
2. Participating in international conferences or other international exchanges, research projects or programs that involve open and reciprocal exchange of scientific information, and which are aimed at advancing international scientific understanding and not otherwise controlled under current law;
3. Advising a foreign student enrolled at an institution of higher education or writing a recommendation for such a student, at such student's request; and
4. Engaging in the following international activities: 
   1. Activities that are partly sponsored or otherwise supported by the United States such as serving as a government appointee to the board of a joint scientific fund (e.g., the U.S.- Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation); providing advice to or otherwise participating in international technical organizations, multilateral scientific organizations, and standards setting bodies (e.g., the International Telecommunications Union, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, etc.); participating in a Fulbright Commission program funded in whole or in part by a host country government; or other routine international scientific exchanges and interactions such as providing invited lectures or participating in international peer review panels.
   2. Involvement in national or international academies or professional societies that produce publications in the open scientific literature that are not in conflict with the interests of the federal research agency (e.g., membership in the Pontifical Academy of Sciences or The Royal Society).
   3. Taking a sabbatical, serving as a visiting scholar, or engaging in continuing education activities such as receiving a doctorate or professional certification at an institution of higher education (e.g., the University of Oxford, McGill University) that are not in conflict with the interests of the federal research agency.
   4. Receiving awards for research and development which serve to enhance the prestige of the federal research agency (e.g., the Nobel Prize)
   5. Other international activities determined appropriate by the federal research agency head or designee.

The NSPM-33 definition of a Foreign Government-Sponsored Talent Recruitment Program is:

An effort organized, managed, or funded by a foreign government, or a foreign government instrumentality or entity, to recruit science and technology professionals or students (regardless of citizenship or national origin, or whether having a full-time or part-time position). Some foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs operate with the intent to import or otherwise acquire from abroad, sometimes through illicit means, proprietary technology or software, unpublished data and methods, and intellectual property to further the military modernization goals and/or economic goals of a foreign government. Many, but not all, programs aim to incentivize the targeted individual to relocate physically to the foreign state for the above purpose. Some programs allow for or encourage continued employment at United States research facilities or receipt of Federal research funds while concurrently working at and/or receiving compensation from a foreign institution, and some direct participants not to disclose their participation to United States entities. Compensation could take many forms including cash, research funding, complimentary foreign travel, honorific titles, career advancement opportunities, promised future compensation, or other types of remuneration or consideration, including in-kind compensation.

Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs

Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs (MFTRP) are defined in the CHIPS and Science Act (Public Law 117-167), in the 2024 NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (effective 24 May 2024) and in the NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance Appendix.  The definitions are the same with the exception of three exclusions included in the PAPPG and NSPM-33 which are not included in the CHIPS Act.  

The definition provided in Section 10638 of the CHIPS Act, which is largely the same as that in the 2024 PAPPG, is as follows:

(A) 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— 

(i) 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; 

(ii) being required to recruit trainees or researchers to enroll in such program, position, or activity; 

(iii) 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; 

(iv) being unable to terminate the foreign talent recruitment program contract or agreement except in extraordinary circumstances; 

(v) 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; 

(vi) 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; 

(vii) 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;

(viii) 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

(ix) having a conflict of interest or conflict of commitment contrary to the standard terms and conditions of the Federal research and development award; and

(B) a program that is sponsored by 

(i) 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; 

(ii) 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 

(iii) 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).

The lists referred to in (B) (ii) and (iii) can be found here on pages 17 – 21:  https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jun/29/2003251160/-1/-1/1/COUNTERING-UNWANTED-INFLUENCE-IN-DEPARTMENT-FUNDED-RESEARCH-AT-INSTITUTIONS-OF-HIGHER-EDUCATION.PDF

Please note:  The lists of specific talent programs is not comprehensive.  In addition to the named programs, the list also includes a provision that ANY program that meets one of the criteria in Section 10638 (4)(A) and either Section 10638 (4)(B)(i) or (ii) in the CHIPS and Science Act would be included.

Notable Exceptions to the MFTRP Definition in the PAPPG and NSPM-33 Guidance:

The definition of MFTRP is the same in the PAPPG and NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance as in the CHIPS Act with three exceptions.  The PAPPG notes:

The following are not considered malign foreign talent recruitment programs:

(i) making scholarly presentations and publishing written materials regarding scientific information not otherwise controlled under current law;

(ii) participation in international conferences or other inter- national exchanges, research projects or programs that involve open and reciprocal exchange of scientific information, and which are aimed at advancing international scientific understanding and not otherwise controlled under current law; and

(iii) advising a foreign student enrolled at an institution of higher education or writing a recommendation for such a student, at such student’s request.

Examples of M/FTRPs can be found by clicking the below buttons.  Please note, these lists are not comprehensive but provide samples of identified programs.