A recent NSF SECURE Center Research Security Briefing (Vol. 1, No. 21) presented key new tools, policy updates, and resources to help institutions enhance research security. The following resources provide practical solutions for research administrators, compliance professionals, and ethics leaders to manage international travel, risk, federal compliance, and coordination.
Below is a curated walkthrough of the most relevant updates for your work.
New SECURE Center Tools Now Available
The SECURE Center’s latest update features new community-developed resources aimed at enhancing institutional compliance and researcher awareness. This month, a diverse set of practical tools has been introduced to address current challenges in research security.
International Travel Security Resources
Compliance and security teams continue to face challenges in protecting research assets during international travel. To address this, the Center has released targeted tools to help Research Security and Compliance Officers better prepare and brief institutional travelers.
- Basic Travel Checklist – A practical, easy-to-deploy checklist focused on cybersecurity, research data protection, intellectual property safeguards, and personal information security.
- Travel Resource Guide – Provides deeper context, case studies, and implementation ideas that complement the checklist—especially useful if you’re developing or refining a campus-wide travel awareness campaign.
- Sample Travel Briefing – A ready-to-use curriculum for pre-departure discussions. Topics include cybersecurity best practices, export control considerations, and personal safety.
These resources are excellent foundations for onboarding new travelers or strengthening existing international travel workflows.
Institutional Risk Assessment Tools
- Risk Assessment Framework – A flexible framework suitable for institutions of any size or maturity. It supports conducting assessments, initiating new processes, benchmarking current practices, and training staff.
- Risk Matrix Reference Guide – A time-saving tool that integrates risk factor information from NIH, NSF, DOE, and DoD. This guide can help compliance teams navigate the differences and commonalities in federal research risk assessments, particularly during the proposal review process.
Process Pathfinder Materials
For institutions reviewing or improving their research security processes, two resources are now available:
- Process Gates Diagramming Method – Helps visualize workflows, identify bottlenecks, and evaluate operational alignment.
Foundational Reference Resources
- Cross-Agency Glossary – Clarifies key terminology across the research security ecosystem—useful for harmonizing expectations among researchers, administrators, and leadership.
- Research Security Reference Library – A comprehensive hub of policy documents, summaries, historical materials, federal efforts, legislative actions, and agency-specific requirements.
Institutions will find these foundational references especially valuable for training, policy development, and onboarding, as they provide clear, consolidated guidance.
Key Policy Developments & Association Actions
On October 15, 2025, AAU and APLU issued a joint letter urging Congress to remove the SAFE Research Act from the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Their concerns include:
- Broad definitions of “hostile foreign entity” and “affiliation”
- Potential impact on all federal research funding agencies
- Requirements that could force universities to halt collaborations with numerous Chinese institutions—active or inactive
These developments underscore the ongoing tension between research openness and national security, highlighting why proportionate legislative approaches remain vital for the research community.
Research Security News & Global Policy Updates
EU Research Restrictions Target China in Horizon Europe
A new Horizon Europe draft proposes limiting Chinese entity participation in several high-profile clusters—specifically health, civil security and society, and digital/industry/space. Additional restrictions apply to universities under China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Research Security as a Collective Responsibility in Europe
A new publication from CESAER emphasizes:
- Shared responsibility for research security
- Proportionate, risk-based approaches
- Safeguards for dual-use technology development
- Alignment between academic openness and security practices
- Institutional capacity building and researcher empowerment
Overall, these insights reflect a global trend toward harmonized research security frameworks, reinforcing best practices across international contexts.
Staying Connected with the SECURE Center
Past briefing issues, along with the current one, are available on the SECURE Center’s website.
