Federal funding agencies review the information researchers provide in their disclosure documents for research security purposes. It is essential that all other funding and support (including in-kind support), collaborations, and affiliations are disclosed to federal sponsors, in applicable publications, and to Vanderbilt. When in doubt, disclose; federal funding agencies have repeatedly noted that over-disclosure is not penalized.
The Common Forms and Disclosing to Sponsors
The federal government has harmonized disclosure requirements via standardized Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support 鈥淐ommon Forms鈥� that 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.
Please note that NIH has recently clarified that co-authorship is typically considered a foreign component and must be disclosed. For more information, please see and .
Disclosing on Publications and Other Public Facing Materials
Remember to acknowledge all sources of support for a project, as required by the Stevens Amendment.聽
The Stevens Amendment () requires that researchers funded by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education acknowledge Federal support in public facing documents like publications, press releases, conference presentations, webpages, etc. Specifically, researchers must disclose:
- The percentage of the total costs of the program or project financed with Federal money
- The dollar amount of Federal funds for the project or program
- The percentage and dollar amount of the total costs of the project or program that will be financed by non-governmental sources.
As a division of HHS, NIH-funded researchers are required comply with the Stevens Amendment. NIH-funded researchers are likewise required to issue a disclaimer that the content of the public-facing material does not reflect the official views of the agency. NIH has provided the following suggested language when making this disclosure:
"Research reported in this [publication, release] was supported by [name of the Institute, Center, or other funding component] of the National Institutes of Health under grant number [specific NIH grant number in this format: R01GM012345]." A total of $[amount], or [percentage] percent of [research/project/program] [is/was] financed with federal funds. A total of $[amount], or [percentage] percent of [research/project/program] [is/was] financed with non-governmental funds (if applicable).
The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health."
For more information, please see NIH鈥檚 飞别产辫补驳别.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. Direct any questions to coi@vanderbilt.edu.
- Learn more from the relevant university policies:
- Faculty Manual section entitled聽Policy Guidelines for Sponsored Research.