All personnel involved in conducting research at UNL are required to complete Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training. As part of our mission and values, we believe that RCR training for all helps ensure integrity in our research endeavors and ensures a base-level understanding of the ethics and expectations for research conducted involving our campus.
While this requirement applies broadly to all research personnel at UNL, regardless of funding, it is important to remember that RCR training is also required in order to meet Federal and/or other sponsor requirements.
At UNL, RCR training is implemented in two ways:
- Annual online training: most requirements can be satisfied through completion of UNL’s online RCR training, which researchers complete through online courses in Bridge (anyone with UNL credentials can complete the RCR training). One overall training must be completed every 4 years with abbreviated trainings also occurring annually.
- In-Person training: through completion of the online training and attending an 8 hour in-person training workshop (certain NIH funding resources require this in-person training, please read further for additional details).
The following is a chart that describes the RCR training expectations of the NIH, NSF, and USDA, the main funding agencies that require RCR training and which our research personnel are frequently funded by:
| Funding Source | NIH | NSF | USDA/NIFA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who Must Complete Training? | Undergraduate and graduate students, Postdoctoral researchers (Trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars). Faculty highly encouraged. | Undergraduate and graduate students, Postdoctoral researchers. As of July 31, 2023, Faculty and Senior Personnel are required to complete RCR training as well. | Program directors, faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, Postdoctoral researchers and any staff participating in research and related activities |
| Training Frequency | No less than once every 4 years | One time requirement | One time requirement |
| CITI Training Required? | Yes & In-person training (dependent on funding source) | Yes | Yes |
| 8 Hour In-person Training Required? | Possibly. *See specific NIH funding programs below. | No | No |
The National Institutes of Health requires all NIH-funded trainees, fellows, participants and scholars to complete the training no less than once every four years. NIH recognizes that online RCR courses are valuable training supplements but does not consider them adequate as a sole means of instruction.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is in full compliance with NOT-OD-10-019. This RCR regulation applies to certain National Institutes of Health awards. When applying for an award with an RCR training requirement, the request for proposals will specify that investigators are required to submit an individual plan for RCR training directly in the proposal.
Each proposal needs to include a plan that meets the requirements specified in NIH regulations. This plan may include online training but please note that these courses alone are insufficient to meet some of the NIH project-specific requirements, which requires an in-person training component.
NIH 8 Hour In-Person Training: The NIH requires that all trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any NIH training, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, and dissertation research grant must receive instruction in responsible conduct of research. This policy is effective with all new and renewal applications submitted on or after January 25, 2010, and for all continuation (Type 5) applications with deadlines on or after January 1, 2011. This Notice applies to the following programs: D43, D71, F05, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F37, F38, K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2, R25, R36, T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2, and U2R. This policy also applies to any other NIH-funded programs supporting research training, career development, or research education that require instruction in responsible conduct of research as stated in the relevant funding opportunity announcements.
Those receiving the above listed NIH support requiring in-person training, must complete face-to-face faculty and staff led workshops consisting of a series of short lectures, discussions and presentations of cases on scientific integrity and responsible conduct in research.
Faculty/Staff Participation: The Research Integrity Officer, Director of Research Compliance, Integrity, and Security, and other faculty or staff are lead instructors in the workshop who contribute to the rich discussions that characterize the training.
Duration: The RCR Workshop consists of eight classroom hours, delivered in segmented meetings scheduled in consecutive weeks during the semester. Attendees are required to complete all eight contact hours of the sessions.
Frequency: The workshops are usually scheduled each year during the Fall semester. Additional workshops may be scheduled depending on participant enrollment and demand.
After completion of the workshop an “RCR Completion Letter” is provided to the attendee and a record of such is maintained by Research Compliance, Integrity, and Security.
The Fall 2025 RCR in-person training is yet to be scheduled. Registration is required and dates are announced/listed here when ready.
Registrants must complete the UNL online RCR training in Bridge AND the in-person sessions in order to satisfy the 8 hours of in-person training/funding agency requirements.
| Funding Source | NIH | NSF | USDA/NIFA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who Must Complete Training? | Undergraduate and graduate students, Postdoctoral researchers (Trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars). Faculty highly encouraged. | Undergraduate and graduate students, Postdoctoral researchers. As of July 31, 2023, Faculty and Senior Personnel are required to complete RCR training as well. | Program directors, faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, Postdoctoral researchers and any staff participating in research and related activities |
| Training Frequency | No less than once every 4 years | One time requirement | One time requirement |
| CITI Training Required? | Yes & In-person training (dependent on funding source) | Yes | Yes |
| 8 Hour In-person Training Required? | Possibly. *See specific NIH funding programs below. | No | No |
The National Science Foundation requires all NSF-funded faculty and senior personnel, undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers to complete the training at least once.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture requires RCR training. All program directors, faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and any staff participating in research and research-related activities (i.e., research, education and extension) supported by a NIFA (competitive grant, capacity grant, cooperative agreement or special project) must participate in RCR training. Learn more about USDA-NIFA award terms and conditions.
Rigor and Reproducibility
In October 2015, NIH and AHRQ introduced new requirements for rigor and transparency for most research grant and individual mentored career development award applications (see NOT-OD-16-004, NOT-OD-16-011 and NOT-OD-16-012). In consideration that this requirement would include extensive development for effective instructional plans, the timeline for implementation was extended to mid or late 2017.
These new requirements are applicable to the following training grant, career development awards and individual fellowships: D43, T15, T32/TL1, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, and U2R, K12/KL2, F05, F30, F31, F32, F37, F38, and FI2. The specific program and application requirements are detailed further as follows:
Institutional training grant applications will be required to include within the training program plan a summary of the instruction planned for all predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees to ensure the knowledge and skills required to design and conduct rigorous, well-controlled experiments that consider all relevant biological variables, use authenticated biological and chemical resources, and apply appropriate statistical tests for data analyses. In addition, a separate attachment will be required to describe in more detail the instructional content and curricular content. The impacted programs will include the following training grants: D43, T15, T32/TL1, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, and U2R.
Institutional career development applications will be required to include within the career development program plan a summary of the instruction planned for all scholars to ensure the knowledge and skills required to design and conduct rigorous, well-controlled experiments that consider all relevant biological variables, use authenticated biological and chemical resources, and apply appropriate statistical tests for data analyses. In addition, a separate attachment will be required to describe in more detail the instructional content and curricular content. The impacted programs will include the following career development awards: K12/KL2.
Individual fellowship applications will be required to summarize in the research strategy section plans to ensure rigorous, well-controlled experiments that consider all relevant biological variables, use authenticated biological and chemical resources, and apply appropriate statistical tests for data analyses. In addition, more detailed description of instruction in rigorous experimental design to ensure reproducibility will be required in the section on Institutional Environment and Commitment to Training. The impacted programs will include the following individual fellowships: F05, F30, F31, F32, F37, F38, and FI2.
In order to assist in meeting these training requirements, UNL has incorporated rigor and reproducibility training information in the NIH RCR in-person trainings which are offered twice per year during the Fall and Spring semester. The above listed information for the in-person RCR training workshops are utilized along with the following information, which is provided as a summary of the topics covered for this training:
- Rigorous statistical analysis
- Transparency in reporting
- Data and material sharing
- Consideration of refutations
- Establishing best practice guidelines
- Endorsements: Principles and Guidelines for Reporting Preclinical Research
Training modules developed by the NIH are utilized and materials for discussion will be incorporated after viewing of the videos.
NSPM-33 and Research Security Training
In accordance with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) National Security Presidential Memo-33 (NSPM-33) all federal research funding agencies must improve and safeguard the research enterprise for research security. UNL and other institutions receiving over $50M in research funding must have a Research Security Program, which includes required training on several topics.
OR&I and RCIS have evaluated the available trainings both federally and internally while focusing on a couple of key items: reducing burden/confusion in various training needs and providing the best possible training for our campus. With this in mind, and as noted above, we have decided on a “Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) for All,” approach.
UNL requires all research personnel (faculty, staff, and graduate students) to complete UNL’s customized responsible conduct of research online training, which includes training on research security. This mandatory training is necessary to satisfy multiple federal requirements that are intended to educate on research integrity standards and safeguard the academic research enterprise against the misappropriation of U.S. research and development through inclusion of research security training.
Training Information, Maintenance and Updates
Topics covered in the in-person and online trainings are:
- Data acquisition and analysis, lab tools (e.g. tools for analyzing data and creating or working with digital images); recordkeeping practices, including methods such as electronic lab notebooks
- Export controls
- Secure and ethical data use; data confidentiality, management, sharing, and ownership
- Responsible authorship & publication
- Mentor/Mentee responsibilities and relationships
- Peer review, including the responsibility for maintaining confidentiality and security in peer review
- Collaborative research, including collaborations with industry and investigators and institutions in other countries
- Conflicts of interest & Commitment, in allocating time effort, or other research resources
- Data acquisition and monitoring
- Ethics and regulations of research with humans, animals, and safe lab practices
- The scientist as a responsible member of society
- Rigor & Reproducibility
- Research Security: NSPM-33 requirements, foreign talent recruitment programs, international travel etc.
- Research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct
- Safe research environments (e.g. those that promote inclusion and are free of sexual, racial, ethnic, disability, and other forms of discriminatory harassment)
Training completed by all users is manually recorded and maintained via NuRamp by Research Compliance, Integrity, and Security staff and is updated approximately every 48 hours during business days, if not more based on individual deadlines. This training completion is reflected in NuRamp, and particularly within the Sponsored Programs module. Training must be completed prior to an award being made and in some circumstances, prior to a proposal being submitted.
