Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs

Under Section 10631(b) of the CHIPS and Science Act 1 of 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) was required, in coordination with an interagency working group, to define Foreign Talent Recruitment Program and for federal funding agencies. OSTP’s guidelines were issued on February 14, 2024 (PDF), and include the following definitions:

“A foreign talent recruitment program is any program, position, or activity that includes compensation in the form of cash, in-kind compensation, including research funding, promised future compensation, complimentary foreign travel, things of non de minimis value, honorific titles, career advancement opportunities, or other types of remuneration or consideration directly provided by a foreign country at any level (national, provincial, or local) or their designee, or an entity based in, funded by, or affiliated with a foreign country, whether or not directly sponsored by the foreign country, to an individual, whether directly or indirectly stated in the arrangement, contract, or other documentation at issue 2.”

A malign foreign talent recruitment program is

A.  a MFTRP is a foreign talent recruitment program as described above, where the compensation, research funding, travel, titles or other types of listed remuneration or consideration that is provided to a targeted individual is, “in exchange for the individual -

  1. engaging in the unauthorized transfer of intellectual property, materials, data products, or other nonpublic information owned by a United States entity or developed with a Federal research and development award to the government of a foreign country or an entity based in, funded by, or affiliated with a foreign country regardless of whether that government or entity provided support for the development of the intellectual property, materials, or data products;
  2. being required to recruit trainees or researchers to enroll in such program, position, or activity;
  3. establishing a laboratory or company, accepting a faculty position, or undertaking any other employment or appointment in a foreign country or with an entity based in, funded by, or affiliated with a foreign country if such activities are in violation of the standard terms and conditions of a Federal research and development award;
  4. being unable to terminate the foreign talent recruitment program contract or agreement except in extraordinary circumstances;
  5. through funding or effort related to the foreign talent recruitment program, being limited in the capacity to carry out a research and development award or required to engage in work that would result in substantial overlap or duplication with a Federal research and development award;
  6. being required to apply for and successfully receive funding from the sponsoring foreign government's funding agencies with the sponsoring foreign organization as the recipient;
  7.  being required to omit acknowledgment of the recipient institution with which the individual is affiliated, or the Federal research agency sponsoring the research and development award, contrary to the institutional policies or standard terms and conditions of the Federal research and development award;
  8. being required to not disclose to the Federal research agency or employing institution the participation of such individual in such program, position, or activity; or
  9. having a conflict of interest or conflict of commitment contrary to the standard terms and conditions of the Federal research and development award;”

and

B.  a MFTRP is a program that is sponsored by –
  1. a foreign country of concern or an entity based in a foreign country of concern, whether or not directly sponsored by the foreign country of concern”; currently defined as:
    • The People’s Republic of China
    • The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (i.e., North Korea)
    • The Russian Federation
    • The Islamic Republic of Iran
  2. An academic institution or a foreign talent recruitment program on  the 1286 list 3 (PDF). 

 

A foreign talent recruitment program does not include the following international collaboration activities , so long as the activity is not funded, organized, or managed by an academic institution or a foreign talent recruitment program on the 1286 list (PDF). 

  1. Making scholarly presentations and publishing written materials regarding scientific information not otherwise controlled under current law;
  2. Participating in international conferences or other international exchanges, research projects or programs that involve open and reciprocal exchange of scientific information, and which are aimed at advancing international scientific understanding and not otherwise controlled under current law;
  3. Advising a foreign student enrolled at an institution of higher education or writing a recommendation for such a student, at such student's request; and
  4. Engaging in the following international activities:
    • Activities that are partly sponsored or otherwise supported by the United States such as serving as a government appointee to the board of a joint scientific fund (e.g., the U.S.- Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation); providing advice to or otherwise participating in international technical organizations, multilateral scientific organizations, and standards setting bodies (e.g., the International Telecommunications Union, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, etc.); participating in a Fulbright Commission program funded in whole or in part by a host country government; or other routine international scientific exchanges and interactions such as providing invited lectures or participating in international peer review panels.
    • Involvement in national or international academies or professional societies that produce publications in the open scientific literature that are not in conflict with the interests of the federal research agency (e.g., membership in the Pontifical Academy of Sciences or The Royal Society).
    • Taking a sabbatical, serving as a visiting scholar, or engaging in continuing education activities such as receiving a doctorate or professional certification at an institution of higher education (e.g., the University of Oxford, McGill University) that are not in conflict with the interests of the federal research agency.
    • Receiving awards for research and development which serve to enhance the prestige of the federal research agency (e.g., the Nobel Prize).
    • Other international activities determined appropriate by the federal research agency head or designee.

1  https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ167/PLAW-117publ167.pdf PDF

2 See also, more generally, National Institute of Standards and Technology: Strengthening Disclosure Requirements and Assessing Training Could Improve Research Security, GAO-24-106074 (Dec 14, 2023), p. 10 (“A foreign talent recruitment program is an effort organized, managed, or funded by a foreign government, or a foreign government 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)).”

3 The 1286 list (PDF) is developed under paragraphs (8) and (9) of Section 1286(c) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (10 U.S.C. 4001 note; Public Law 115-232). Although this list is maintained by the Department of Defense, the list applies to all federally sponsored research in the context discussed here.