RCR Training Requirements

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA)

As required by 2 CFR Part 422, Sections 2, 3, and 8, Institutions that conduct USDA NIFA funded extramural projects are required to foster an atmosphere conducive to research integrity, bear primary responsibility for prevention and detection of research misconduct, and communicate and train their faculty and staff regarding policies and procedures:

• The Principal Investigator (PI) will ensure all participants on NIFA-funded projects are appropriately trained in RCR.
• Institutions are responsible for developing their own training system which is subject to NIFA review upon request.
• General content of RCR training will at a minimum, emphasize three key areas: authorship and plagiarism; data and research integration; and reporting misconduct.

USDA NIFA requires that all program directors, faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and any staff participating in USDA-funded extramural research projects receive appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research and that documentation of such training will be maintained. Documentation of training is subject to NIFA review, upon request.

USDA NIFA’s RCR training Capacity Fund requirements also apply to: Hatch Regular, Hatch Multistate, McIntire-Stennis, and Animal Health and Disease Research Awards. At this time, RCR training is not required on Smith-Lever extension funds; however, those extension faculty and staff associated with USDA NIFA research projects will be required to receive appropriate RCR training.

For more information, see USDA NIFA’s website on Responsible Conduct of Research.