Research Security Training Requirement
September 4, 2025
As previously communicated, the federal government is moving toward requiring Research Security training for researchers applying for or receiving federal funding. To ensure compliance among all federal agencies, Northwestern will require all principal investigators and senior/key personnel working on a federal award or submitting a proposal to a federal agency, to complete this training by October 1, 2025.
Researchers should complete this training by viewing a 1-hour Northwestern-specific training through myHRLearn.
When does Research Security Training Verification Occur?
Training for covered individuals is required to be completed and must be verified by both the RA and SR prior to:
- Proposal submission
- JIT
- Award execution
- Personnel change requests
- Addition of new subawards
- RPPR submissions
Proposal Submission and the RAs Role in Verifying Training
Prior to submitting the proposal record to SR for review, Research Administrators must verify that covered individuals have completed the training. Proposals will not be submitted if training has not been completed.
How to Verify Training
RAs can use the Training Verification Tool to check if covered individuals have completed training. VPN is required to access the tool.
Subrecipient Requirements
Subrecipient LOIs must confirm they are abiding by all federal agency research security training requirements. The NU outgoing subaward LOI has been updated to reflect this certification. Proof of training beyond this certification will not be required.
If the subrecipient provides a LOI on their form, and the LOI does not include confirmation that they are abiding by all federal agency research security training requirements, we will require them to use our form or revise theirs to add this. SR cannot waive this requirement. Please be vigilant in pre-reviewing all subrecipient LOIs to ensure they include this requirement prior to routing the CERES record to SR.
For subrecipients who do not have their own compliant training, they may use any of the following to complete the training in order to certify this requirement:
Faculty with Dual Appointments
Faculty with dual appointments (e.g. Laurie Children’s or Shirley Ryan Ability lab, etc. and Northwestern) should use their Northwestern login credentials (NetID and NU email) to take the Northwestern training via myHR. If you have technical difficulties, contact NUIT for assistance. If you are unable to resolve the issue, please contact the Export Controls and International Compliance.
Resources
- SR Research Security Training page
- Northwestern-specific training course to meet the training requirement
- Office for Research’s website on Research Security