The White House has asked federal agencies to devise uniform policies for what outside funding researchers must disclose on their grant applications and consequences for not doing so, Science reports.
This, it adds, follows on efforts by the government to protect the US research enterprise from foreign interference. That push was criticized for its singling out of Chinese and Chinese-American researchers, as well as for investigations that which focused on fraud linked to visa or grant programs, rather than trade secret theft, as the Wall Street Journal noted in September.
Science adds that uniform policies and consequences could help clarify the rules and the roles of universities, but notes that the guidance does not make clear what affiliations might be national security concerns. It notes, though, that White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Eric Lander says the agency will address those questions in the future.
In the meantime, Science says that Lander wants an interagency group to develop model grant application forms and instructions by May.