For grants submitted to NSF after July 31, 2023, the agency requires that all individuals participating in that NSF-funded research complete RCR training. This includes PIs, Co-PIs, senior research personnel, postdocs and graduate and undergraduate students.
For grants submitted to NSF prior to July 31, 2023, the RCR requirement only covers students and trainees who are working on NSF supported research projects.
PIs do not need to include RCR program details in their proposals; NSF only requires certification that a program is in place at the time of submission. The PI is responsible for ensuring that students and postdocs complete the RCR requirement.
PIs should direct the trainees to enroll in one of Brown’s in-person RCR programs or complete the RCR Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training module. While Brown currently accepts completion of the CITI online course as satisfying the NSF RCR training requirement, the institution strongly recommends that all students and postdocs supported by NSF-sponsored projects complete one of Brown's in-person RCR courses. The most relevant to NSF-funded students and trainees is the Brown Ethics And Responsible Conduct Of Research (BEARCORE) program.
Brown also encourages PIs to become familiar with RCR topics, best practices and ethical and compliance standards, and to discuss responsible conduct of research with students and postdocs in the lab or research group.
The NSF RCR training requirement applies to all research awards, with the exclusion of conference, symposium, workshop or travel proposals.
While the Office of Research Integrity will maintain completion records centrally and send informational and reminder notifications regarding NSF RCR training requirements, the PI is responsible for informing students and postdocs on qualifying NSF awards of this important requirement and reminding them to retain their own training completion records.