Research Security Training

Federal agencies are mandating that Covered Individuals (PI, PD, Co-PI, Co-PD, or other individuals “who contribute in a substantive, meaningful way to the development or execution of the scope of work”) included on research and development (R&D) projects and/or applications must complete Research Security Training.

  Updated Guidance (September 18,2025)

Pursuant to National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 (“NSPM-33”), recipients of federal research funding are required to implement comprehensive Research Security programs. These comprehensive programs, which apply to both research and non-research functions, seek to mitigate the risk of intended foreign interference in institutional operations. Under NSPM-33, the CHIPS + Science Act (2022), and a growing list of federal sponsor requirements, institutions must ensure that, at a minimum, Principal Investigators (PIs) and Senior/ Key Personnel have received annual Research Security training. Some agencies require that all project personnel receive annual training. Training requirements are growing as agencies fully develop their Research Security program expectations.

To ensure that GW remains compliant with federal agency requirements:

PIs and Key Personnel with National Science Foundation (NSF) or National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding (active awards or proposal submissions) are required to complete training by the following dates and annually thereafter:

• NSF: October 10, 2025
• NIH: October 12, 2025 (to align with next major NIH proposal submission date)

ALL project personnel (including PIs, Key Personnel, post docs, students, and volunteers) on Department of Energy (DoE) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) awards must complete training by the following dates and annually thereafter:

• USDA: immediately or not more than one year prior to the date of proposal submission
• DoE: immediately if you have projects and/or applications with due dates on or after May 1st, 2025

Personnel who have a combination of funding from multiple agencies must complete training by the earliest applicable date. However, personnel must only complete training once per year, which will fulfill requirements for all agency research security training requirements.

In the spirit of conducting research with integrity as well as minimizing the effects of new training requirements by other agencies, all PIs and Key Personnel participating in research funded by other federal agencies are strongly encouraged to complete Research Security training by December 31, 2025.

Failure to complete the training could result in a PI’s inability to submit future proposals. At their discretion, PIs may require all personnel on their award to complete the Research Security Training regardless of funding source and associated sponsor regulations.

GW’s Office of Research Security is responsible for administering and managing GW’s Research Security program. Please visit the Research Security Training page for more information and links to training.

Questions? Please contact the Office of Research Security at rsecgwu [dot] edu (rsec[at]gwu[dot]edu).

GW is using the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program’s "Research Security Training (Combined)" module to meet these training requirements. This CITI training module will take approximately 1-1.5 hours to complete, and is a condensed version of the four-hour NSF modules which were initially required. Steps to complete the CITI module can be found below.

The Research Security Training Requirements Matrix below can be used to determine if you are required to take annual training.

Steps to complete the CITI research security training course

• Access the CITI website.
• Log in to your existing CITI account or register if this is your first time visiting CITI.
• When you select an email address for your registration, please use your GW email address .
• Under "Learner Tools…"choose "Add a Course".
• Under "Getting Started" select "Research Security".
• Under "Research Security Curriculum", select "Research Security Training (Combined)". This will add the course to your "Courses Ready to Begin".
• Next, click "Start Now" and take the course.
• Save the Completion Certificate

If you have any questions related to Research Security training, please contact GW's Office of Research Security at rsecgwu [dot] edu (rsec[at]gwu[dot]edu).

Research Security Training Requirements Matrix