Federal funding agencies have recently started to review the information researchers provide in their disclosure documents for research security purposes. They have also developed powerful new tools to help identify any omissions in these documents. It is absolutely essential that all other funding and support (including in-kind support), collaborations, and affiliations are disclosed to both federal sponsors and to Vanderbilt. When in doubt, disclose; federal funding agencies have repeatedly noted that over-disclosure is not penalized.
Best Practices
- Sign up for an聽聽and keep it updated with your most recent publications. You can link your ORCID ID to SciENcv to generate complete and accurate biosketches and other support documents. You can find some more information on setting up and maintaining an ORCID ID at the聽.
- Actively review your disclosure documents before submitting any proposal to external funders. Do not wait until the last minute to update these documents!
- Be especially mindful to disclose all sources of support or collaborations involving countries of concern (China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia).
- Submit proposals to the Sponsored Programs Administration at least 3 days before the sponsor deadline so they can be fully reviewed.
The Common Forms and What to Disclose
To reduce administrative burden, the federal government has harmonized disclosure requirements and created standardized Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support forms that can be used across funding agencies. These new forms are known as the 鈥淐ommon Forms鈥� and have been adopted by several funding agencies. Please note that there are differences in how federal agencies utilize and collect the forms. For more information on agency specific requirements, please see below.
NSF has agreed to serve as the steward for the Common Forms and the standardized disclosure requirements. For general guidance on what to disclose when using the Common Forms, please see . For downloadable copies of the Common Forms, please see .听
Disclosing to Vanderbilt
- Discuss with your Dean and disclose any external affiliations, such as a visiting appointment or an affiliation with a foreign talent program.
- Disclose conflicts of interest via the聽Vanderbilt Conflict Disclosure System so they can be reviewed by the Office of Conflict of Interest and Commitment Management. Be sure to disclose the following:
- Professional appointments and affiliations, such as faculty appointments at other institutions, board member positions, industry partnerships, and positions with government agencies.
- Formal agreements with other organizations, including those for consulting or recruiting students.
- Honorariums or reimbursements from international entities.
- Learn more from the relevant university policies
- Faculty Manual section entitled聽Policy Guidelines for Sponsored Research.