How to Analyze and Address Your Potential Undue Foreign Influence Risks

Preventing undue foreign influence largely depends on the campus developing a clear understanding of the potential risks and vulnerabilities and implementing reasonable actions to mitigate them to protect their work, reputations, and the national interests.

  • Develop your awareness of potential risks

    • Determine what might make you a person of interest to foreign entities,
      • Research and work in these areas due to national security and economic competitiveness concerns
      • Expertise and research, or political endeavors
      • Privileged access to locations, items, data, and/or people
      • Knowledge of research activities, security protocols, networks, and/or sensitive personnel information

  • Prevent yourself from becoming a target for undue foreign influence

    • Be mindful of requests for information or quickly developed relationships that seem a little "off"
    • Be discreet with information shared, even if it seems trivial
    • Avoid posting information that could be compromising or sensitive
    • Limit social media access to those you know
    • Vet individuals soliciting connections into professional networking sites- do not accept individuals who have not contacted you otherwise, do not have shared expertise, or otherwise invitations seem "different"
    • Carefully consider motives for gifts, honors, or unique opportunities
    • Be mindful of requests from an entity to keep your relationship/affiliation with that entity confidential
    • Use strong passphrases/complex passwords for accounts or devices

     

     

  • Protect yourself while traveling abroad

    UCI Information Security has a helpful website on International Travel- Information Security Guidance with tips and resources to help keep your information safe while traveling internationally.

    The most important guidance is to travel only with the data and devices that you need.

     

     

  • Share your concerns or questions with the appropriate UCI office as soon as possible

     

     

     

     

Man Typing on Laptop

General Disclosure Requirements

As a researcher, there are a number of general disclosure requirements depending on your role and the types of activities you are involved in at UCI.  The following table highlights some of the key disclosure requirements that the federal government is looking at related to undue foreign influence.

Who Needs to DiscloseWhat Needs to be DisclosedWhen to DiscloseWho to Disclose toContact/Resources
Researchers (varies by federal agency)Biographical sketches: positions, affiliations, etc.- see Federal Sponsored ProjectsIn federal grant/contract applicationsFederal AgencySponsored Projects Departmental Assignment
Researchers (varies by federal agency)Other Support/Current & Pending Support: research related resources, collaborations, etc.-see Federal Sponsored ProjectsAt just-in-time/with application and updated with federal project’s annual progress reportsFederal AgencySponsored Projects Departmental Assignment
Researchers (varies based on applicable Conflict of Interest policy(ies)- see COI Disclosure RequirementsConflict of Interest: personal outside financial interests

Public Health Service, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy: KR COI Annual Disclosure

Other policies have different disclosure procedures		With certain research project based transactions (such as proposal, award, continuing award, etc.)UCI Conflict of InterestConflict of Interest (Office of Research) at coioc@research.uci.edu
UCI FacultyConflict of Commitment: outside professional activities in UC OATSAnnually based on the fiscal calendar; Prior Approval for Category 1 Activities, involving students, or exceeding days limitUCI Academic PersonnelAcademic Personnel Directory
UCI EmployeesIntellectual Property - Record of InventionSubmitted after invention’s discoveryUCI Beall Applied Innovation Research Translation GroupResearch Translation Group at cove@uci.edu