Office of Research and Innovation

Research Compliance

Export Control in Research


Many campus processes that are covered under Export Control regulation are tied to research practices. The Office of Research and Innovation, Research Compliance works closely with the campus Office of Compliance and the Empowered Official to perform Restricted Party Screenings (RPSs) as well as work with faculty and staff to develop Technology Control Plans (TCPs) for physical and intellectual properties that are classified as controlled.

Export Control goes far beyond just the initial RPS for collaborators.  Also, it's stated that “there are severe institutional and individual sanctions for violations of export control laws and regulations, including the loss of research funding, loss of export privileges, as well as criminal and civil penalties.” PIs in addition to the institution are subject to imprisonment, as well as personal fines and ones levied against an intuition. 

So it’s best for TAMUK PIs are as aware as possible of the requirements so they can avoid penalties.

 Please visit TAMUK Export Controls for the most recent information.

TAMUK EC-99 Telecommunication Certification. This Certification is required for Most of all Federal Grants and is required to be completed on an annual basis and at the time of award.

If you get awarded multiple times in the year then you are required to re-certify from the time of your new award. At that time your re-certification deadline for the annual time period will reset to the new deadline from the date you signed from the new award.

Example:

  • Award #1 = awarded on 01-01-2021, you certify for this award on 01-15-2021, you now will re-certify on 01-15-2022.
  • Award #2 = awarded on 05-01-2021, you certify for this award on 05-20-2021, you now will re-certify on 05-20-2022 instead of the 01-15-2022 as your recent re-certification is now reset to the most recent award date and certification.

This Certification may be required by other entities other than Federal level awards such as State or Private, etc.

FAQ:

  1. Who is required to sign and certify on this form?
    1. All Key Personnel on a grant showing that you are individually aware of this restriction and will adhere to the standard as listed in the certification and those listed on the award and where applicable.
  2. How does this form work?
    1. The form is created through DocuSign Power and can be completed with the link at the bottom of this section. You will need to have the following information ready when you fill in the form prior to beginning the certification Process:
      1. Click on the link at the bottom of this section. It will take you to the DocuSign Power, from there you will be asked what role you are. All you need to do is Type your Full Legal Name and your email address, preferable your TAMUK email address if applicable. Once you type the required information click on "Begin Signing" at the bottom of the page.
        1. Do Not change the Role name this ties into the system to know where your information goes in the form.
      2. Signing and Filling in portion. It will ask you to please review the documents below, click "Continue." Some areas may be pre-filled already such as your name and email. You will need to know the following items in order to fill in the form:
        1. Type in your phone number in the field designated as "PHONE" in this format 000-000-0000 (TAMUK employees please list your office phone if you have one if not the cell phone).
        2. Department (Dept.): Select your "Dept." from the those listed in the form. If not listed then state in the "DEPT. OTHER" box below.
        3. "College:" Select your "College" from the those listed in the form. If college not listed the state in the "COLLEGE OTHER" box below.
        4. "Lead Institution:" Select either "TAMUK" or "OTHER" if you select other then you will need to state the other lead institution Full Name.
        5. "Sponsor:" You will need to know the name of your sponsor for this section. If you are personnel you can request this name from the lead Principal Investigator (PI) for the information.
        6. "Proposal Number:" This number is given at the time of when the PI after submitting the proposal to the sponsor to request funding (this number is generally issued by the proposal administrator). Note some may receive this number by the Pre-Award Team if going through the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.
        7. "M#:" This number is given at the time of the official award notice when you have been sent the award notice email, generally found in the email. This is the project number created in Maestro and is required to be in here. If you do not have this number you may need to contact the PI for it. 
        8. Review the Certification statement.
        9. Initial that you have read and understand.
        10. "ROLE ON GRANT:" Type in your specific role on the grant
        11. "Signature:" Signed the form.
        12. If all looks correct and you have read the certification then Click on "Finish" to complete the form. Once you complete the form it will route to the next persons in the routing path if not altered and will be completed. Once the form has been completed all in the path will receive a copy of the form and it will be filed. 
          1. If a form is incorrectly filled in you will need to resubmit the form and re-certify.

Do NOT Delete or Change those recipients that are in the flow path of the DocuSign Form. If they are altered and or changed and or deleted you will be required to re-submit on the correct form. This form has been set up in this pre-published format to ensure that we meet federal standards that have been set in place and those that need to sign are in the path to do so to meet these standards. 

EC-99 Export Control Certification - Telecommunications

DocuSign RPS Form Initiation Link

 

This step verifies if TAMUK faculty, staff, and/or students can legally work with certain individuals or institutions, or accept funding from international funding agencies/sponsors based on US Commerce regulations.

 In order to know for certain if a collaborator can work on a publication, a funding proposal, or even a research compliance protocol, an Export Control Delegate needs to screen all non-US persons. 

 Every College has at least (2) Delegates, and some non-Academic Departments/Divisions have Delegates.  Here is the Delegate list for TAMUK.

For any restricted party screening, the Delegate will need the following for each individual:

  • Each non-US Co-PI/Collaborator/Key Personnel full name and if possible, country, date of birth, and even address, if possible. 
    • In the case the Delegate finds a match for someone, a request that a second Export Control Delegate on campus, preferably from another department, do a second screening with more complete information is made to clear the positive. 
  •  Each non-US Institution’s full name, and address, if possible. 
    • Just because an individual may be clear, we need to screen the entity for whom they work as well. 
  • Each non-US institution's President/CEO/Head’s full name and if possible, date of birth, and even address, if possible.
    • We also need to screen the entity’s CEO.
  • Each non-US funding agency/sponsor’s full name, and address, if possible. 
    • We will need to see if we are allowed to do business or accept funds from the agency/sponsor.
  • Each non-US funding agency/sponsor’s President/CEO/Head’s full name and if possible, date of birth, and even address, if possible.
    • We also need to screen the entity’s CEO.

Even if there are people with matches during the RPS, if there is time, a special license can be explored based on the project and the appropriate Federal Agency’s requirements, but this can take a very long time to secure.  It’s best to screen individuals, entities, and their CEOs before the talks to work together proceed.

TAMUK as a higher education institution is allowed to claim a Fundamental Research Exclusion, as long as the data is to be made available to the public. Any restrictions on this can cause this protection to be lost.

At the time of award, as the contract is being reviewed and prior to execution, the treatment of the data to be generated by the project needs to be checked.

 

Items to submit for a New Acknowledgement of Restrictions (AoR) application

PDF IconEC-105 TCP/Acknowledgement of Restrictions

 

Items to submit to amend an approved TCP and or AoR protocol

PDF IconEC-106 TCP/AoR Amendment Application*
*If adding personnel use the below link to the TCP Digital Signature DocuSign Form for the amendment submission.
DocuSign Icon EC-103-B TCP Signatures - Personnel Assurances

Regardless of the status of any of the items above, instruments, equipment, or materials to be purchased should have the Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) provided by the manufacturer/seller to the PI who then shares it with Pre-Award/Post Award/Procurement, prior to making the purchase. The College or Department Export Control Delegate is supposed to be able to assist a PI who has not encountered this before and can work to assist in checking ECCNs.

This number signifies if the item being purchased has any required security or access restrictions on it, often based on a user’s country of origin. A person can be clear on the RPS screening and still be restricted from access to physical or intellectual property due to their country of citizenship.

If the item is controlled, then a Technology Control Plan (TCP) is needed prior to its use by anyone It does not matter if any non-US person is using the item now, the TCP must be filed so the security measures are in place BEFORE someone can gain access to it. The TCP helps TAMUK keep track of who is using which machines, and how.

EAR99 is a “generic” ECCN for many items that are not controlled, but each item must be checked individually unless it’s the exact same model.

Similar items like two cameras, for instance, may have different ECCNs based on their features and abilities. One may be EAR99 (uncontrolled), but due to nothing more than a faster shutter speed, another could be 6A003, which is controlled. This is why we try to get this from the manufacturer if possible since a tiny feature can make an item controlled.

 

Items to submit for a TCP Acknowledgement for purchases (if required and been told to complete)

DocuSign Icon EC-103-P TCP Process Acknowledgement

 

Items to submit for a New TCP application

PDF IconTCP NEW Application
DocuSign Icon EC-103-A TCP Signatures - PI Assurance and PI, Chair, Dean Signatures
DocuSign Icon EC-103-B TCP Signatures - Personnel Assurances

 

Items to submit to amend an approved TCP and or AoR protocol

PDF IconEC-106 TCP/AoR Amendment Application*
*If adding personnel use the below link to the TCP Digital Signature DocuSign Form for the amendment submission.
DocuSign Icon EC-103-B TCP Signatures - Personnel Assurances

 

Items to submit for an Annual Continuing Review

DocuSign Icon EC-103CR Export Control TCP Continuing Review