Research Security Background Screening

Research Security Background Screening

UNC Charlotte is committed to fostering global collaborations that advance the University’s faculty, students, and research objectives, recognizing that scientific inquiry naturally extends beyond U.S. borders.

While acknowledging the immense value of international partnerships, the University remains cognizant of associated risks, including national security threats, unauthorized access to sensitive data, and intellectual property theft. Furthermore, undisclosed international engagements can create conflicts of interest and commitment, potentially diverting researchers from their primary institutional responsibilities.

To mitigate these vulnerabilities, UNC Charlotte has established research security screening protocols for research and research-support personnel. These proactive measures help ensure compliance with national security requirements, protect proprietary intellectual property, and safeguard the integrity of the University’s research enterprise.

Compliance is important because a restricted collaboration may affect not only an individual researcher’s eligibility for federal funding but also the University’s ability to receive federal research support more broadly.

Why

The screening process aims to identify and address potential research security concerns before they affect a candidate’s or the University’s eligibility for federal funding

Who Is Screened

Screening applies to final candidates for full-time faculty positions and research-support staff roles, regardless of national origin or citizenship.

Screened roles include:

  • Full-time faculty
  • All postdoctoral scholars*
  • Staff positions involved in or supporting research*

Screening is not required for:

  • Part-time faculty
  • Staff positions that are not research-related

* Screening of applicants for postdoctoral and staff positions will begin at a later date.

What Hiring Candidates Need to Know

Applicants must disclose all current and past appointments or affiliations with foreign institutions or organizations, foreign research support, and ongoing research collaborations with foreign entities or their personnel.

Before candidates advance to an on-campus interview, the University will review this information, along with other publicly available information, for relationships involving institutions on current U.S. restricted-party lists. A disclosed or identified relationship does not automatically disqualify a candidate. However, as a condition of employment, a selected candidate may be required to disengage from any relationship that the University determines would violate applicable laws or sponsor requirements, or materially impair the candidate’s or the University’s eligibility for federal funding.

If a selected candidate is required to disengage from a relationship, the candidate must execute a written Disengagement Agreement plan upon receiving a conditional offer and before employment begins.

What Hiring Managers Need to Know

  1. Search Committees will conduct the initial interviews and identify candidates for campus interviews.
  2. A designated individual will submit a request for a research security screening to ORPI through an electronic form available here: Research Security Screening Request Form for Job Candidates. The submitter should include:
    1. One candidate per submitted form.
    2. All documents submitted by the candidate during the application process.
    3. The position number for reference.
  3. Research Security staff will screen candidates using various tools, including, but not limited to, Visual Compliance and Dimensions software.
  4. Screening results and recommendations will be shared with the following institutional officials:
    1. Dean
    2. Provost
    3. Vice Chancellor for Research

Definitions

Collaborator: In the context of research security (particularly under US federal standards such as NSPM-33 and guidelines from agencies like the NSF, NIH, and DoD), a collaborator is broadly defined as any internal or external individual or entity that contributes directly or indirectly to the conceptualization, execution, design, or deliverables of a research project. NIH considers any co-author in a research publication a collaborator.

Disengagement Agreement is a formal, binding agreement between a researcher and an institution that documents the complete severance of an external relationship or foreign affiliation that poses a security, compliance, or conflict-of-interest risk. A Disengagement Agreement is a risk-mitigation strategy an institution or a federal sponsor uses to safeguard research and ensure compliance with federal requirements. The agreement establishes clear boundaries to ensure that foreign engagements, such as participation in Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs, foreign university faculty appointments, foreign funding arrangements, and foreign intellectual property interests, are fully terminated before the researcher begins the appointment.

Research-Related Position: Full-time employee roles that directly support research activities.

Resources

Research Security Screening Request Form for Job Candidates

U.S. Prohibited Entity Lists

FAQ

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