Training Program Faculty and Administrators
Federal Training Requirements
The NIH, NSF, and other federal funders require training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) for any individual funded by a training or career development grant. NIH guidance is set out in NOT-OD-10-019 and NOT-OD-22-055 and summarized below. If you have questions, be sure to contact your funder for specific requirements.
Format
The NIH encourages multiple forms of RCR training, including formal courses (such as the three offered by UCSF), informal small-group discussions, and instruction by research training faculty members.
Subject Matter
The NIH requires the following topics to be covered:
- Conflict of interest
- Policies regarding human subjects, live animals, and safe lab practices
- Mentor/mentee responsibilities
- Safe research environments
- Collaborative research
- Peer review
- Data acquisition, analysis, management, sharing, and ownership
- Research misconduct
- Authorship and publication
- The scientist as a responsible member of society
- Contemporary ethical issues in biomedical research
Duration of Instruction
The NIH suggests at least 8 contact hours between participants and faculty instructors. Grant applicants for federal training funds must also describe the plan and duration of instruction beyond their chosen RCR training program at UCSF: “Reflection on responsible conduct of research should recur throughout a scientist’s career: at the undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, pre-doctoral, postdoctoral, and faculty levels. Institutional training programs and individual fellows/scholars are strongly encouraged to consider how to optimize instruction in responsible conduct of research for the particular career stage(s) of the individual(s) involved."
Instruction must be undertaken at least once during each career stage, and at a frequency of no less than once every four years. It is highly encouraged that initial instruction during pre-doctoral training occurs as early as possible in graduate school.
Individuals at the early career investigator level (including mentored K awardees and K12 scholars) must receive instruction in RCR at least once during this career stage.
Senior fellows and career award recipients (including F33, K02, K05, and K24 awardees) may fulfill the requirement for instruction in RCR by participating as lecturers and discussion leaders. These individuals should contact the course directors and administrators of the RCR course that relates to their area of scholarship for teaching opportunities.
To meet the above requirements, instruction in RCR may take place, in appropriate circumstances, in a year when the trainee, fellow or career award recipient is not actually supported by an NIH grant.
RCR Text Template for NIH Grant Proposals
When applying for NIH training grants, applicants must describe the format for continuing and ongoing training and instruction in research ethics/RCR throughout the year for each year of the trainees’ fellowship. Participation of trainees in the formal UCSF RCR courses is an essential part of this. Templates for training grant applicants are provided for GRAD 214, Basic Science RCR, and Human Subjects RCR. Please select the course which best matches your population of learners (or, for individual fellowships and career awards, best matches your own research area).