Kansas State University

Research security and integrity update

Submitted by David Rosowsky and Gary Pratt

Dear Kansas State University research community,

As most of you are already aware, faculty and staff members from multiple units at K-State have been working to implement federally mandated guidelines for research security and integrity as directed by the National Security Presidential Memorandum–33, or NSPM-33, and the corresponding report by the National Science and Technology Council, Joint Committee on the Research Environment, or JCORE. This effort has been led by the Research Security and Integrity Working Group, or RSIWG. One of the RSIWG's observations and obligations from this past year has been that there remains major work for the federal agencies to complete in order to avoid adding excessive administrative burdens upon researchers. 

Earlier this month, JCORE released additional guidance that cleared up some of the RSIWG's concerns. Most importantly, all of the federal agencies that fund research are directed to harmonize their processes and standardize their requirements and disclosure forms. Also, we should receive more specific guidance regarding disclosure obligations.

As new information becomes available from JCORE and funding agencies, the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of the Chief Information Officer will be providing it in concise form through training modules and guidance documents. 

The new JCORE report added guidance for Digital Persistent Identifiers and network security, and the RSIWG will be spending the upcoming months interpreting and implementing this guidance. One final point from this document is that the deadline for implementation has been pushed back at least four to six months.

K-State and the federal government take these topics seriously, while also wanting to maintain a collegial, effective research environment. The original NSPM-33 and the 2021 and 2022 JCORE reports are posted on the Research Security webpage. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact the RSIWG chair, Jonathan Snowden, at jonathansnowden@k-state.edu, 785-532-3261. 

Thank you. 

David Rosowsky
Vice President for Research

Gary Pratt
Vice President for Information Technology / Chief Information Officer