Research-Related Economic Stimulus Information

Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research

NRSA applications (NIH training grants or stand alone awards for graduate fellowships) require that the applicant institution certify that awardees will be trained in the elements of Responsible Conduct of Research. For the convenience of applicants, we provide prototype language that can be used to respond to that part of the grant application.

Of course, certification implies that the applicant's Department or School will provide the training program described in the NIH grant application, and will be able to document that training on request. The introductory materials, noted below, will likely meet the basic requirements for certification of electronic training in the Responsible Conduct of Research.

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"The University of Pennyslvania recognizes the obligation to train students and postdoctoral fellows in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). To this end, we have developed an online website that is divided into 13 rubrics.

1. Data acquisition, management, sharing, and ownership
2. Materials, their ownership, and material transfer agreements
3. Intellectual property, copyrights, patents, licenses, and technology transfer
4. Authorship and publication practices
5. Peer review
6. Mentor/trainee responsibilities, and collaborative science
7. Human subjects
8. Research involving animals
9. Environmental safety: radiation, chemicals, and microbial agents
10. Research misconduct
11. Conflict of interest
12. Preparing grant proposals
13. Research administration: financial and personnel management

Each rubric includes Penn policies, lectures, guidelines, interactive quizzes, Federal policies, and hyperlinks to a few selected websites at other institutions. In the aggregate, these materials provide a systematic introduction to the fundamental issues underlying the Responsible Conduct of Research. Many Penn programs supplement these materials with small group discussions of the subjects listed above. Finally, each School or Department maintains a database that can be used to track all trainees and insure that each of them has completed an appropriate discipline-specific RCR instruction and certification program."