Compliance Resources

External funding often comes with compliance requirements.  Several offices and committees oversee compliance at Bates.  Select the links below for more information and resources.  Contact SPaRC with any questions.

  • Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research webpage
  • Bates RECR training plan
  • Training Record Checklist

Bates College is committed to the responsible and ethical conduct of research, and has appointed a Research Integrity Officer (RIO) to help ensure compliance with federal regulations.

Principal Investigators are encouraged to review the College’s institutional training plan for Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (pdf). Participation is mandatory for all PIs and senior personnel, students, and postdoctoral research associates on projects funded by the National Science Foundation and for all personnel supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health awards for which RECR training is required (including training awards and others as specified by the solicitation).  

Faculty are responsible for providing documentation of RECR training for each student and others they supervise to SPaRC.  Please download and complete the Bates RECR Training Checklist for each trainee, then email the completed and signed checklist to sparc@bates.edu.

In alignment with the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-167) and National Security Presidential Memorandum-33 (NSPM-33) which aim to safeguard US science and engineering research, and to comply with Federal funding requirements, Bates College has implemented several policies focused on ensuring Research Security.  These policies and procedures identify requirements for training and disclosures for Bates faculty and staff to remain in compliance with Research Security requirements of federal funding agencies.

Research Security compliance at Bates includes the following policies and associated training requirements:

Research Security and Disclosure of Other Support

This policy identifies requirements for training and disclosures by Bates faculty and staff who wish to apply for federal funding so that they and Bates remain in compliance with Research Security and Other Support Disclosure requirements of federal funding agencies

Export Control

Export Control refers to a series of laws and regulations enacted by the federal government to control or restrict the access to sensitive technologies by foreign nationals.

Travel to some foreign countries may require export control review.

SPaRC can help determine what, if any, risks or licensing requirements might apply for Export Control.

Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment
  • Policy on Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs

Pursuant to Section 10632 (42 U.S.C. § 19232), each individual identified as senior/key person on an NSF grant must certify prior to proposal submission and annually thereafter for the duration of the award that they are not a party to a malign foreign talent recruitment Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program

All senior personnel on federally-funded research projects must complete a Financial Conflict of Interest disclosure form on an annual basis.

The Research Integrity Officer, currently Associate Dean Donald Dearborn, serves at the Financial Conflict of Interest Officer for the College.

Good research data management practices allow Bates College and its researchers to meet funder, ethical, legal, and other obligations. A data management and sharing plan (DMSP) is a concise cradle-to-grave “life cycle” narrative for the products of your scholarship that describe how the research data will be collected, stored, analyzed, preserved, and shared. Bates’s Research Data Management Policy describes the shared responsibilities and expectations for the retention, disposal, and access of research data generated at Bates College regardless of funding or external collaboration

In addition, many funding agencies require a DMSP for projects involving data collection as part of a grant proposal, and most funders (even those that don’t require a DMSP at the time of submission) have record retention policies that extend years beyond submission of the final grant reports. 

SPaRC partners with Information and Library Services and Pete Schlax, the Science and Data Librarian, to assist faculty with preparation of their DMSPs.

The IACUC reviews and oversees research and educational activities involving vertebrate animals.

Proposed research involving vertebrate animals must be approved by the IACUC before the work begins.  Often, external funders require proof of IACUC approval before they will release funds to Bates College.  

Biosafety level 2 organisms or cells or tissues, (including most human, non-human primate, or other mammalian cells) at Bates College requires approval of the Institutional Biosafety Committee. Work with Biosafety Level 3 or 4 organisms is not permitted on campus.

Work with recombinant DNA also requires approval from the Institutional Biosafety Committee. rDNA work that is expected to be exempt from IBC approval should still submit a proposal to obtain an official “Exempt” letter. 

Research that involves the gathering of data from living human beings or from biological specimens collected from living human beings is defined as “human subjects research.”  The Bates College Institutional Review Board (IRB) approves research projects involving the use of human participants (or source-identifiable biospecimens from human participants). 

IRB approval is required before work on an externally-funded project involving human subjects can begin.

  • Policy on Intellectual Property Rights and Responsibilities of Bates Faculty and Staff

Faculty or staff members applying for a grant or engaged in grant-funded activity must familiarize themselves with their rights and responsibilities as enumerated in the College’s Intellectual Property policy.

If you have any concerns about gender discrimination, or sexual harassment or assault, in a research context or elsewhere at Bates College, please contact Gwen Lexow, Title IX Coordinator.