§19031. Office of Research Security and Policy

The Director shall maintain a Research Security and Policy office within the Office of the Director with not fewer than four full-time equivalent positions, in addition to the Chief of Research Security established pursuant to section 19032 of this title. The functions of the Research Security and Policy office shall be to coordinate all research security policy issues across the Foundation, including by-

(1) consulting and coordinating with the Foundation Office of Inspector General, with other Federal research agencies, and intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and the National Science and Technology Council, as appropriate, in accordance with the authority provided under section 1746 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92; 42 U.S.C. 6601 note), to identify and address potential security risks that threaten research integrity and other risks to the research enterprise and to develop research security policy and best practices, taking into account the policy guidelines to be issued by the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy under section 19231 of this title;

(2) serving as a resource at the Foundation for all issues related to the security and integrity of the conduct of Foundation-supported research;

(3) conducting outreach and education activities for recipients on research policies and potential security risks and on policies and activities to protect intellectual property and information about critical technologies relevant to national security, consistent with the controls relevant to the grant or award;

(4) educating Foundation program managers and other directorate staff on evaluating Foundation awards and recipients for potential security risks;

(5) communicating reporting and disclosure requirements to recipients and applicants for funding;

(6) performing risk assessments, in consultation, as appropriate, with other Federal agencies, of Foundation proposals and awards using analytical tools to assess nondisclosures of required information;

(7) establishing policies and procedures for identifying, communicating, and addressing security risks that threaten the integrity of Foundation-supported research and development, working in consultation, as appropriate, with other Federal agencies, to ensure compliance with National Security Presidential Memorandum–33 (relating to strengthening protections of United States Government-supported research and development against foreign government interference and exploitation) or a successor policy document; and

(8) in accordance with relevant policies of the agency, conducting or facilitating due diligence with regard to applications for research and development awards from the Foundation prior to making such awards.

( Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title III, §10331, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1551 .)