Department of Energy

This information is from the Financial Assistance Letter issued under the authority of the Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Senior Procurement Executives.

Please refer to the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) which may contain requirements regarding disclosures and transparency of foreign connections.

Current and Pending Support

Current and pending support is intended to allow the identification of potential duplication, over-commitment, potential conflicts of interest or commitment, and all other sources of support.

As part of the application, the principal investigator and each senior/key person at the prime applicant and any proposed subaward level must provide a list of all sponsored activities, awards, and appointments, whether paid or unpaid; provided as a gift with terms or conditions or provided as a gift without terms or conditions; full-time, part-time, or voluntary; faculty, visiting, adjunct, or honorary; cash or in-kind; foreign or domestic; governmental or private-sector; directly supporting the individual’s research or indirectly supporting the individual by supporting students, research staff, space, equipment, or other research expenses.

All involvement in foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs must be identified in current and pending support.

For every activity, list the following items:

• The sponsor of the activity or the source of funding.
• The award or other identifying number.
• The title of the award or activity.
  • If the title of the award or activity is not descriptive, add a brief description of the research being performed that would identify any overlaps or synergies with the proposed research. 
• The total cost or value of the award or activity, including direct and indirect costs and cost share.
  • For pending proposals, provide the total amount of requested funding.
• The award period (start date – end date).
• The person-months of effort per year dedicated to the award or activity

Details of any obligations, contractual or otherwise, to any program, entity, or organization sponsored by a foreign government must be provided on request to either the applicant institution or DOE. Supporting documents of any identified source of support must be provided to DOE on request, including certified translations of any document.

In addition to current and pending support, DOE/NNSA program offices may also require disclosure of past support. This should be limited to a reasonable time period (e.g., previous five years), to be determined by the DOE/NNSA program office. 

Disclosure of past support would prevent a scenario where a program office unknowingly funds RD&D that had already been supported, but where the prior award happened to conclude before submission of the application to the DOE Program Office. 

The requirement to disclose past support will be stated in the applicable FOA.

DEFINITIONS

Current and pending support – (a) All resources made available, or expected to be made available, to an individual in support of the individual’s RD&D efforts, regardless of (i) whether the source is foreign or domestic; (ii) whether the resource is made available through the entity applying for an award or directly to the individual; or (iii) whether the resource has monetary value; and (b) includes in-kind contributions requiring a commitment of time and directly supporting the individual’s RD&D efforts, such as the provision of office or laboratory space, equipment, supplies, employees, or students.

This term has the same meaning as the term Other Support as applied to researchers in NSPM-33: For researchers, Other Support includes all resources made available to a researcher in support of and/or related to all of their professional RD&D efforts, including resources provided directly to the individual or through the organization, and regardless of whether or not they have monetary value (e.g., even if the support received is only in-kind, such as office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, or employees). This includes resource and/or financial support from all foreign and domestic entities, including but not limited to, gifts provided with terms or conditions, financial support for laboratory personnel, and participation of student and visiting researchers supported by other sources of funding.

Foreign Government-Sponsored Talent Recruitment Program. An effort directly or indirectly organized, managed, or funded by a foreign government, or a foreign government instrumentality or entity, to recruit science and technology professionals or students (regardless of citizenship or national origin, or whether having a full-time or part-time position).

Some foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs operate with the intent to import or otherwise acquire from abroad, sometimes through illicit means, proprietary technology or software, unpublished data and methods, and intellectual property to further the military modernization goals and/or economic goals of a foreign government.

Many, but not all, programs aim to incentivize the targeted individual to relocate physically to the foreign state for the above purpose. Some programs allow for or encourage continued employment at U.S. research facilities or receipt of federal research funds while concurrently working at and/or receiving compensation from a foreign institution, and some direct participants not to disclose their participation to U.S. entities. 

Compensation could take many forms including:

• cash
• research funding
• complimentary foreign travel
• honorific titles
• career advancement opportunities
• promised future compensation
• other types of remuneration or consideration, including in-kind compensation.

Senior/key personnel – an individual who contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of an RD&D project proposed to be carried out with a DOE award.

Typically, these individuals have doctoral or other professional degrees, although individuals at the master's or baccalaureate level may be considered senior/key personnel if their involvement meets this definition. Consultants, graduate students, and those with a postdoctoral role also may be considered senior/key personnel if they meet this definition. 

DOE has designated any individual who meets the definition of senior/key personnel as a covered individual responsible for completing a current and pending support disclosure. DOE may further designate covered individuals during award negotiations or the award period of performance.

NOTE:  Current and Pending Support updates and/or changes.

• After selection and during the life of the award, if there are changes to or additions of PIs or other senior/key personnel, such person(s) must also submit current and pending support disclosures within 30 days of joining the project team, or on a timeline consistent with the program office instructions.
• For changes to previously submitted current and pending support disclosures, the individuals must update their disclosures within 30 days of the change, or on a timeline consistent with the program office instructions.