As of 11.17.2022

This policy promotes scientific integrity through training in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) and applies to students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and investigators supported on applicable research awards funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or any extramural funding organization that makes RCR a term and condition of its award.  The responsible conduct of research training is intended to promote a culture of integrity in science, discourage and prevent unethical conduct, empower researchers to hold themselves and others accountable to high ethical standards, inform researchers about the regulations, policies, statutes and guidelines that government federally-funded research. 

GBH and its subrecipients that utilize undergraduate students, graduate students or postdoctoral researchers as interns to conduct research must ensure that all students and research-related staff paid by federal financial assistance from NSF, NIH, or other federal agency that requires RCR training, participate in instructional programs in the Responsible Conduct of Research, which are consistent with the legal, regulatory, and ethical requirements established by the relevant regulatory agencies, and funding sources.

The RCR training must cover the following content areas, as applicable:

• research misconduct and questionable research practices;
• data management – i.e., data acquisition, record-keeping, retention, ownership, analysis, interpretation, and sharing;
• scientific rigor and reproducibility;
• responsible authorship and publication;
• peer review;
• conflicts of interest in research;
• mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships;
• collaborative science;
• civility issues in research environments, including but not limited to, harassment, bullying, and inappropriate behavior;
• policies regarding laboratory safety, biosafety, and human and animal research subjects;
• views about scientists as responsible members of society;
• social and environmental impacts of research; and,
• contemporary ethical issues in biomedical research.

GBH and its subrecipients may rely on online training sites, such as the Collaborative Institutional Training Institute, to provide the required training, unless in person training is required.  Subrecipients shall track training completion by individuals and certify to GBH that the required RCR training occurred.