Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs

Research Security

Defining Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs

The National Science Foundation defines a foreign talent recruitment program (FTRP) as an entity that facilitates "compensation provided by [a] foreign state to the targeted individual in exchange for the individual transferring knowledge and expertise to the foreign country.”

A malign foreign talent recruitment program (MFTRP) is defined by an effort to use U.S. scientists and students to unethically or unlawfully acquire U.S. proprietary technology or software, unpublished data and methods, and intellectual property, often for military and/or economic gain.

Impact on USU Researchers

All USU researchers are prohibited from participating in MFTRPs under University Policy 2301: Individual Conflicts of Interest.

The CHIPS & Science Act of 2022 prohibits federal dollars from being awarded to researchers actively associated with any MFTRP.

As a result of federal law and policy prohibiting involvement with MFTRPs, participation in such programs has led lead to criminal charges and/or loss of employment.

Required Disclosures by USU Researchers

Researchers must fully disclose their participation in any foreign talent recruitment program, including those that may be malign, in their annual Conflict of Interest disclosure by following the instructions on how to create and update a Conflict of Interest disclosure.

USU researchers must also disclose their participation in any foreign talent recruitment program in any proposals or applications for research funding, including when submitting to a federal agency.

How Federal Agencies Assess MFTRP Involvement

In 2024, the Office of Security and Technology Policy released guidelines instructing agencies on how to implement the CHIPS & Science Act of 2022’s prohibition on researcher involvement with MFTRPs.

Agency-specific guidelines and reporting requirements regarding MFTRP involvement include:

For National Science Foundation (NSF) awardees: Under NSF’s Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 24-1), starting June 7, 2025, Principal Investigators (PIs) or Co-PIs on an NSF award made on or after May 20, 2024 must complete an annual certification that they are not party to a MFTRP.

As early as June 2025, NSF may contact PIs and Co-PIs directly in order to complete their annual MFTRP certification. PIs and Co-PIs may also be prompted to complete the certification when they log into Research.gov. PIs and Co-PIs must complete the certification before submitting an Annual Project Report or conducting any other Research.gov activity. USU cannot perform the certification on behalf of PIs and Co-PIs.

If you are a PI or Co-PI on an NSF award made on or after May 20, 2024, and have not been prompted to complete your annual certification, contact your assigned grant & contract officer from Sponsored Programs.

For Department of Energy (DOE) awardees: DOE Order 486.1A, Foreign Government Sponsored or Affiliated Activities (2020) prohibits awardees from participating in any MFTRP. DOE awardees should also review Order 486.1A to understand further DOE restrictions on participation in other foreign government sponsored or affiliated activities.

For Department of Defense (DoD) awardees: DoD’s Component Decision Matrix (2025) outlines how the agency assesses possible MFTRP involvement by researchers seeking awards for fundamental/basic research. In addition to its prohibition on active MFTRP association, DoD assesses a researcher’s past involvement with any MFTRP when considering research proposals.

For National Institutes of Health (NIH) awardees: NIH’s Decision Matrix for Assessing Potential Foreign Interference (2024) outlining how the agency assesses MFTRP involvement by researchers seeking awards. USU researchers interested in NIH funding should also review NIH’s Foreign Interference resources to understand how to protect against inappropriate foreign interference in their research.

Frequenly Asked Questions

How do I identify a malign foreign talent recruitment program (MFTRP)?

The CHIPS & Science Act of 2022 (CHIPS Act) regards any foreign talent recruitment program sponsored by or based in China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia to be an MFTRP.

The CHIPS Act also considers any program sponsored by institutions listed under Sections 1286(c)(8) and (9) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 to be an MFTRP.

In addition to the above country- and entity-specific MFTRP designations, the CHIPS Act defines an MFTRP as any program, regardless of sponsoring country, that does at least one of the following:

• Requires unauthorized transfer of intellectual property, materials, data products or other nonpublic information to a foreign government or entity
• Requires the researcher to recruit trainees or researchers to enroll in the program
• Requires the researcher to establish a lab or company, or accept a faculty position or other appointment, in the foreign country
• Prevents the researcher from terminating the talent program contract or agreement except in extraordinary circumstances
• Requires the researcher to have commitments that their capacity to carry out a U.S. federal award or that would result in substantial overlap or duplication of their activities on the U.S. federal award
• Requires the researcher to apply for funding from the foreign government with the sponsoring foreign organization as the recipient
• Prevents the researcher from acknowledging the recipient institution (i.e., USU) or the U.S. federal research agency sponsoring the research and development award
• Prevents the researcher from disclosing their participation in the program to the U.S. funding agency or their institution (i.e., USU)
• Requires the individual to maintain conflict of interest or commitment contrary to the terms and conditions of a U.S. federal award

Other features of an MFTRP may include:

• Incentives to physically relocate to the foreign state.
• Permission to continue employment at U.S. research facilities or receive U.S. federal research funds while concurrently receiving compensation from the foreign government
• Focus on individual researcher instead of project/subject matter
• Remuneration (salary, stipend, research funding, etc.) significantly above “market” for expected activities
• Foreign entity title for researcher implies greater connection than underlying facts
• Foreign residency application encouraged or facilitated
• Requires changing of researcher’s primary institute affiliation for purposes of journal citations
• Fundamental research purpose unclear or undefined
• Requirements to recruit or train other talent recruitment plan members, circumventing merit-based processes

What foreign-related activities are not considered malign?

The CHIPS & Science Act of 2022 specifies that researchers may engage in the following activities without violating MFTRP prohibitions, so long as the activities are not funded, organized, or managed by an institution or program specifically listed under Sections 1286(c)(8) and (9) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019:

• Make scholarly presentations and publish written materials regarding scientific information not otherwise controlled under current law;
• Participate in international conferences or other international exchanges, research projects or programs that involve open and reciprocal exchange of scientific information, and which are aimed at advancing international scientific understanding and not otherwise controlled under current law;
• Advise a foreign student enrolled at an institution of higher education or writing a recommendation for such a student, at such student’s request; and
• Other international activities determined appropriate by a head of a federal research agency or their designated representative.

Is there a list of programs considered to be MFTRPs?

Yes. Under the CHIPS & Science Act of 2022, any program sponsored by an institution listed under Sections 1286(c)(8) and (9) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 is considered an MFTRP.