Plan to reduce foreign influence on research

After months of outcry over whether the United States government is unfairly targeting foreign-born researchers over purported security breaches, President Donald Trump’s science adviser is launching an effort to strengthen national policies on research security, writes Alexandra Witze for Nature.

The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is working to establish government-wide requirements for what information researchers need to disclose to receive federal research grants. Presidential science adviser Kelvin Droegemeier, who chairs the NSTC, outlined details in an open letter to US scientists on 16 September.

Recent tensions between the US and Chinese governments have spilled over into the research community. The National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies have been investigating foreign-born scientists, many of Chinese origin, for allegedly violating rules such as those requiring the disclosure of payments from other governments. The leaders of many US scientific organisations have pushed back against the crackdown. They argue that the government must balance national security against the free exchange of information, to help ensure that the United States can continue to attract top-flight scientific talent from abroad.
Full report on the Nature site