RSIE Biosketch and Research Support Verification
(formerly Federal Funding Proposal Review)
To meet the federal government’s expectations of institutions that receive federal research funds, UCI must ensure all individuals required by the federal sponsor to submit biographical sketches and other/current & pending support are submitting complete and accurate information about their international engagements in compliance with federal agency disclosure requirements. This expectation applies to federal proposals, including subaward proposals where a federal agency is the prime sponsor (collectively referred to as federal proposals). Meeting this expectation and complying with the federal agency disclosure requirements is essential for ensuring that UCI remains eligible to receive federal research funds.
Kuali Research Proposal Development (KR PD) includes a RSIE Biosketch and Research Support Verification, which are six questions regarding international engagements that all Senior/Key Personnel must answer before federal proposals are routed to Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) for institutional review, approval, and submission. International engagements include, but are not limited to, employment, appointments, consulting activities, participation in foreign talent recruitment programs, and research support/funding from foreign sponsors not received through UCI.
Please note that delays will occur if the questions are not answered. Therefore, principal investigators, their support staff, and department/unit staff should take this into consideration when planning proposal submission timelines.
Questions
Screening Question
If No, click "Certify Answers" the completed questionnaire and click "Save and Exit" to submit.
If Yes, proceed to the next 4 questions.
Additional Country of Concern Engagement Questions
If above is yes, the following questions will display.
Note: If disclosing more than one position, please number your responses to the following additional questions so they correspond with the same position.
If No, proceed to next question.
If Yes, provide:
- Position title(s)
- Foreign entity name(s) and country(ies)
- Brief description(s) of role, responsibilities, and activities
- Does the position(s) involve conducting research?
- If yes, please identify which position(s) involves research and describe the research:
If No, proceed to next question.
If Yes, provide:
- Program name and country
- Brief description of role, responsibilities, and activities
- Start and end dates
- Does your participation involve conducting research?
- If yes, please describe:
Note: If disclosing more than one project, please number your responses to the following additional questions so they correspond with the same project.
If No, proceed to next question.
If Yes, provide:
- Project title(s) and area(s) of research
- Country of Concern sponsor name(s) and country(ies)
- Your role on the project(s)
- Start and end dates
Note: If disclosing more than one source of research support, please number your responses to the following additional questions so they correspond with the same source.
If No, click "Certify Answers" the completed questionnaire and click "Save and Exit" to submit.
If Yes, provide:
- Name(s) of individual(s)/affiliated entity(ies) and country(ies)
- Please describe the research support you are receiving and for what area(s) of research
- Start and end dates
then click "Certify Answers" and then click "Save and Exit" to submit.
Key Definitions
Consultant: For the purposes of these questions, "consultant" broadly refers to an individual that provided or provides a paid or unpaid service to a foreign entity whether or not there is a written agreement for the service performed. Disclose these activities unless specifically excluded by the federal sponsor (see Federal Sponsor Disclosure Requirements).
Country of Concern: A list of countries identified by the federal government that pose significant risks to national security, economic interests, or human rights. The current list can be found here.
Engagement: A professional/academic activity or relationship that involves significant or meaningful interaction, affiliation, collaboration, or exchange with an entity/individual.
Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Program: A foreign government talent recruitment program is an effort organized, managed, or funded by a foreign government or entity to recruit science and technology professionals to promote, advance, and/or increase the prestige and global impact of that country's research enterprise.
Procedures
- Initiators are responsible for ensuring that all Senior/Key Personnel and Investigators are appropriately identified in the Personnel tab of the Kuali Research Development Proposal (KR PD) system. The Key Personnel section in the KR Proposal Development (KR PD) collects information about UCI researchers for two processes: Federal Proposal Review for Research Security & International Engagement (RSIE) and Conflict of Interest in Research for federal sponsors/prime sponsors. It is important to complete this section correctly so that the system can electronically trigger the processes as necessary. Note: Non-UCI researchers should not be included in the KR PD Personnel tab.
| RSIE Biosketch & Research Support Verification Does the Federal sponsor/prime sponsor require a biographical sketch from this individual? | Conflict of Interest Is the individual an “Investigator” (responsible for the design, conduct, or reporting of the project)? | KR PD Personnel Role(s) Which KR PD Personnel Role should be used for that individual? |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | Principal Investigator, PI/Contact, PI/Multiple, Co-PI, or Key Person |
| Yes | No | Other Significant Contrib. (Contributor) (available 2/28/24) |
| No | Yes | Federal sponsor/prime sponsor with COI Policy (PHS, DOE, USDA, NSF, and NASA): Investigator |
| No | Yes | Federal sponsor/prime sponsor without a COI Policy: Do not include the individual in the KR PD Personnel tab |
| No | No | Do not include the individual in the KR PD Personnel tab |
- Initiators are responsible for clicking the "Notify All" button to send an auto-generated email notification to all Senior/Key Personnel and Other Significant Contributors with a direct personalized link to complete their RSIE Biosketch and Research Support Verification. This feature can be used multiple times for follow-up emails.
- Senior/Key Personnel and Other Significant Contributors are responsible for completing the RSIE Biosketch and Research Support Verification in a timely manner.
- Senior/Key Personnel, Other Significant Contributors, and Initiators are responsible for knowing what information must be disclosed in a federal proposal and ensuring that the proposal in KR PD (either as an attachment or a Cayuse link) includes all required disclosures. Please see the federal agency disclosure requirements webpage for additional information.
- After all Senior/Key Personnel and Other Significant Contributors complete the verification questions and the proposal is otherwise ready, it may be routed to Sponsored Projects Administration, where Contracts & Grants Officers (CGOs) will review the KR PD responses and the proposal to identify any discrepancies. If a discrepancy is found, the CGO will notify the KR Initiator/department administrator (or other unit personnel, as appropriate) to resolve the discrepancy. After all discrepancies are resolved and the CGO has completed the institutional review, the CGO will submit the proposal to the sponsor.
As part of UCI’s research security due diligence process, when a verification question response is “yes”, the RSIE team will review the submitted verification as part of a risk analysis to determine if the foreign engagement is high risk and requires further review. If so, RSIE will collect additional information to develop recommendations on next steps for the REC Director's consideration. As part of its review, if RSIE finds any new discrepancies, they will notify the researcher and work with them to resolve it, which may include submitting corrected information to the federal sponsor.
KR PD Personnel Tab Roles
Senior/Key Personnel
Roles: Principal Investigator, PI/Contact, PI/Multiple, Co-PI, Key Person
This UCI individual will be sent an email with a custom link to the RSIE Biosketch and Research Support Verification they need to complete prior to the proposal being submitted to workflow. In addition, if the federal sponsor/prime sponsor has a conflict of interest policy (PHS/NSF/DOE/NASA/USDA), they also must have a current KR Federal Disclosure and Certification on file prior to proposal submission.
Other Significant Contrib. (Contributor)
Role: Other Significant Contrib. (Contributor)
Use this KR PD Personnel role when an UCI individual is required by the federal sponsor to submit a biographical sketch and other/current & pending support but does not meet the COI definition of an Investigator. This individual will be sent an email with a custom link to the RSIE Biosketch and Research Support Verification they need to complete prior to the proposal being submitted to workflow. No COI disclosure requirements.
Investigator
Roles: Investigator
This UCI individual is responsible for the design, conduct, or reporting of a research project with a federal sponsor or prime sponsor with a conflict of interest policy (PHS/NSF/DOE/NASA/USDA) but was not required by the federal sponsor to submit a biographical sketch or other/current & pending support. These UCI individuals must have a current KR Federal Disclosure and Certification on file prior to proposal submission. No RSIE Biosketch and Research Support Verification required.
Helpful Tips
- Initiators should input Senior/Key Personnel and Other Significant Contributors in the KR PD proposal as early as possible, then click the “Notify All” button to send the verification questions. Sending the Senior/Key Personnel and Other Significant Contributors a reminder that they will receive an email from kr-admin@uci.edu with a link to the RSIE Biosketch and Research Support Verification from the Initiator’s email may also be helpful.
- Also, make sure the KR PD list of Senior/Key Personnel and Other Significant Contributors matches the list in the proposal application.
- If the Senior/Key Personnel and Other Significant Contributors are having trouble accessing the RSIE Biosketch and Research Support Verification off-campus or on the UCIMC network, we recommend to log into the VPN and then trying to access the verification questionnaire again through the email notification.
- If Senior/Key Personnel and Other Significant Contributors respond "yes" to the Additional Country of Concern Engagement questions, they should check to make sure their responses match their biographical sketches and current & pending (other) support to avoid delays and additional work.
- Please note that any discrepancies between the proposal and the responses to the verification questions must be resolved before the CGO can submit the proposal to the federal sponsor.
- Please remember to include the locations and names of entities/organizations affiliated with each relationship/position/affiliation.
- Department/unit staff who support Senior/Key Personnel and Other Significant Contributors should encourage them to maintain an up-to date list of all foreign affiliations, relationships, activities as a personal reference, as well as encouraging them (and/or assisting them) to regularly update their biographical sketches and current & pending (other) support information.
- If Senior/Key Personnel and Other Significant Contributors are unsure whether to disclose an international engagement, it is best to disclose. The federal sponsor will either include it or exclude it in their review as appropriate and consistent with their established procedure.
Frequently Asked Questions
To meet the federal government’s expectations of institutions that receive federal research funds, UCI must ensure all individuals required by the federal sponsor to submit biographical sketches and other/current & pending support are submitting complete and accurate information about their international engagements in compliance with federal agency disclosure requirements. Meeting this expectation and ensuring that proposals are accurate and complete is important to maintaining UCI’s ability to continue receiving federal research funding.
This verification process reflects the Office of Research's efforts to help researchers disclose properly.
No, if the RSIE Biosketch and Research Support Verification is not complete or there is an unresolved discrepancy, the proposal will not be submitted to the sponsor.
This is a requirement, so all researchers should submit their verification responses early in the process. ERA does not have superuser access to bypass these questions.
If there are any concerns with meeting the federal deadline for a specific proposal application, share that information with your Contracts & Grants Officer for guidance.
Yes. The main purpose of this new review process is to improve the accuracy and completeness of all of our researchers' disclosures to the federal sponsors.
No. Our expectation is that those other institutions will be taking appropriate steps to ensure the accuracy of their researchers' disclosures.
Only include the disclosures required by the federal agency at the time of proposal submission. Please refer to Federal Sponsored Projects and sponsor's proposal instructions.
Note: If a draft proposal will be submitted for institutional proposal review, all required disclosures (biosketches and if applicable, current & pending support) must be in final form.
No. When a proposal is copied, the system generates a new link to the RSIE Biosketch and Research Support Verification for each Senior/Key Person to complete.
This will be requested by the Contracts & Grants Officer as part of the Institutional Proposal Review process. If edits need to be made, the proposal will be returned for revisions.
Yes, by navigating to KR PD for that proposal and click "Summary/Submit," "Personnel," the "(view)" links under Proposal Person Certification for those who have "complete" statuses.
Yes, Initiators who send the notification through KR PD will be copied on that email.