Research Security Training

Introduction

Research security training is one of four elements of a Research Security Program required by National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 to safeguard our research ecosystem. The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (“CHIPS Act”) codifies this requirement for research security training for federal research award personnel into law. 

Columbia has adopted the NSF SECURE Center's one-hour Consolidated Training Module (CTM 1.0) for use by the Columbia community and has included Columbia-specific resources and information at the end of the training. CTM 1.0 was designed to meet all of the Research Security Training requirements of the CHIPS and Science Act. As per NSF's Important Notice No. 149, "NSF, NIH, DOE, NASA and DOD all recognize completion of the condensed module as compliant with their respective Research Security Training requirements." Each agency has its own timeline for implementation; however, as of October 2025, NIH, NSF, and DOE have already adopted this training requirement. NASA will require training by August 5, 2026.

This training provides information about risks and threats to the global research ecosystem and the knowledge and tools necessary to protect against these risks. More information about the training is available below. The training is available in RASCAL: Course Number TC7550 - Research Security Training. To begin the training, click the button to launch the course (UNI login required). 

The course, Research Security Training (TC7550), is available in RASCAL. You can access it by clicking the button below or searching for it in the RASCAL Training Center. RASCAL will automatically record the date of completion once you hit submit on the last page of the course.

Per the CHIPS Act, “Covered Individuals” are required to take the training within one year of a research and development (R&D) application. Completing this training will satisfy the research security training requirement for covered individuals on federally funded research projects.

Per the CHIPS Act, Covered Individual is defined as “an individual who:

  • 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
  • Is designated as a Covered Individual by the Federal research agency concerned.”

Covered Individuals include key/senior personnel, but may also include post-doctoral fellows and graduate students depending on their roles. If you have questions as to whether someone is a “covered individual” with respect to a specific federal agency, please contact your SPA Project Officer.

  1. Research Security Introduction – learn the definition of research security, key federal regulations, core values of academic research, and your responsibilities in managing research security.
  2. The Importance of Disclosure – learn key definitions, the benefits of disclosure, how to disclosure, and the consequences of non-disclosure.
  3. Risk Mitigation and Management – learn how to navigate common scenarios that arise, and how to manage and mitigate research security risks.
  4. International Collaboration – learn about transparency and reciprocity in international scientific collaborations, how to assess potential risks associated with international collaborations, and explore hypothetical scenarios that could arise when collaborating with international partners.
  5. Columbia – Specific Resources and Information – provides links to important Research Security resources and information at Columbia.

Please note that Columbia has numerous resources on research security available to you. These include information about:

and many other topics.

Access TC7550 - Research Security Training