JASON Releases Report on NSF’s Pending Research on Research Security Program

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has commissioned a report by JASON, the independent scientific and national security advisory body, on NSF’s proposed “Research on Research Security” program. This program has been in development as part of the push towards securing the U.S. research enterprise over the past few years, and is intended to provide funding to scientifically examine aspects of research security (see previous coverage). The JASON report aims to consider what this program might look like at NSF and how it would impact research security policy throughout the federal government. Notably, the JASON report states that the “social sciences will be important for a successful research program” and that JASON “strongly encourages collaborative efforts of social scientists and researchers in the natural sciences.”

The report offers several recommendations for NSF as it develops its Research on Research Security program:

Avoid creating a reputation of racial profiling or using the research security program to disadvantage anyone based on ethnicity or nationality, aiming for an open science environment.

• Consider anonymous access of data, especially confidential data at universities and companies.
• Emphasize research on training of researchers on risks in international collaborations.
• Encourage collaboration with international organizations concerned with research security.
• Encourage cross-discipline collaboration between social scientists and other STEM researchers.
• Work closely with STEM professional societies to disseminate training materials.
• Collaborate with other Federal research agencies to create a protected database on research security breaches at U.S. institutions.

The report is available on the NSF website.