UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE
Office of the Secretary
SECRETARY’S MEMORANDUM __2400-007______________________
USDA IMPLEMENTATION OF
FEDERAL GUIDELINES
ON RESEARCH MISCONDUCT
Section
Secretary’s
Memorandum
Applicable to All USDA Agencies Conducting or Supporting Research SM-1 to SM-7
Attachment
1: Requirements for USDA Agencies’
Research Misconduct Procedures
Applicable to All USDA Agencies Conducting or Supporting
Research, with some
specific provisions for Intramural Research
Institutions (Agencies which conduct
research supported by their own appropriated
funds). 1-1 to 1-8
Attachment 2:
USDA Research Misconduct Requirements Related To Extramural Research
and Research Institutions Conducting
Extramural Research
Applicable to all USDA Agencies that Fund Research Conducted
Outside USDA or that Fund
Research Conducted by a Different Federal
Agency, and the Supported Research
Institutions (whether Federal Agencies or
not). 2-1 to 2-5
Attachment
3: Definitions
Contains definitions relevant to this Memorandum and all
Attachments 3-1 to 3-2
Attachment
4: References 4-1
1 BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
On December 6, 2000, the National Science and Technology
Council, Office of Science and Technology Policy of the Executive Office of the
President (OSTP) published in the Federal Register (65 FR 76260) the Federal
Policy on Research Misconduct (OSTP Policy) as a final, government-wide policy
addressing research misconduct to establish: (1) uniformity among the Federal
agencies’ definition of research misconduct, and (2) consistency in their
processes for responding to allegations of research misconduct. The OSTP Policy defines research misconduct
and establishes basic Federal guidelines for the conduct of fair and timely
investigations of alleged or suspected infractions, and provides instruction on
agency administrative actions when research misconduct is found. This Memorandum will establish U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA or the Department) policy for implementation of
the OSTP Federal Policy on Research Misconduct, such that the Department and
all its agencies will comply with OSTP Policy requirements. AttachmentAppendixAppendixces to this Memorandum contain
vital definitions, information, and implementation guidelines, and must be
considered inseparable from this Memorandum.
By June 30,
2007, the Department will publish in the Federal Register a final rule on extramural
research misconduct. In addition, by
the same date, the Department will publish a final rule on intramural research
misconduct in the Federal Register or Department Directive System.
2 APPLICABILITY
AND SCOPE
This Memorandum and its AppendicesAttachments apply to:
a The
USDA and any and all agencies thereof that engage in or support research, as
defined in AttachmentAppendix C (hereafter referred to as
“USDA Agencies”)
b All
allegations of research misconduct (as defined in AttachmentAppendix C) by performers or reviewers
of research that use USDA resources, including:
(1) Employees
of the USDA;
(2) Employees
of other Federal agencies;
(3) Employees
of non-federal entities that receive USDA funding through procurement
contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or any other funding instruments,
under the terms of those instruments;
(4) Individual
consultants, under the terms of their appointments;
(5) Reviewers
of applications who are not USDA employees and do not receive formal
appointments.
c Research
conducted or managed for USDA by contractors, or supported by USDA and
performed at research institutions (defined in AttachmentAppendix C).
3 DEFINITIONS
Terms used in this Memorandum
are defined in AttachmentAppendix C.
4 POLICY
Consistent with the objective
of the OSTP Policy to ensure public trust in USDA-conducted research and USDA
Agencies’ support for research, USDA Agencies shall promote the integrity of
research conducted under their purview.
The Office
of the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics (REE) will
designate a USDA Research Integrity Officer (USDA RIO) USDA and each UUSDA Agency that conducts
research shall appoint
an Agency establish
the offices of the USDA Research
Integrity Officer (see Section 6). Each USDA
Agency that conducts research shall either:
a establish procedures to foster integrity in
research activities, to respond to allegations of research misconduct, and to
remedy findings of research misconduct, consistent with applicable laws,
regulations, the OSTP Policy, and the guidelines established by this Memorandum
and its attachmentAppendicess,
OR
b shall
initiate and sign a standing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between it and REE the Office of the Undersecretary
for Research, Education, and Economics (REE) to have another USDA Agency act on its behalf in
lieu of developing its own research misconduct procedures, as described in
section 6b(2)(b) of this
Memorandum.
The OSTP Policy defines “research
misconduct” as “fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing,
performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.” USDA hereby accepts and endorses OSTP’s definition of research
misconduct.
5 PROCEDURES
Guidance for implementation
of the policy set forth by this memorandum is provided in AttachmentAppendix A. The guidance sets forth requirements that pertain to research
institutions in general, as well as specific requirements for intramural
research institutions. AttachmentAppendix B specifies the requirements
to be implemented in research institutions that receive financial support from
USDA Agencies through grants, agreements, or any other funding arrangements
(extramural research institutions).
6 ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES
a Responsibilities of the Office of the Undersecretary of USDA for
Research, Education, and Economics
(1) Delegation: The Office of the Undersecretary of USDA
for Research, Education, and Economics (hereafter REE) is hereby delegated
oversight authority for research misconduct proceedings within the
Department. REE will oversee and
monitor USDA agencies’ implementation of this policy. REE must:
(a) Ensure
that procedures are developed by USDA Agencies to address research misconduct,
that these procedures are consistent with the guidelines established by this
Memorandum and its attachmentAppendixces, and that USDA Agencies adhere to their procedures
when processing allegations of research misconduct;
(b) Assign
allegations of research misconduct that are reported through the USDA Office of
Inspector General (OIG) Hotline complaint system to the appropriate USDA
agency; and
(c) Maintain
a status report of research misconduct cases across USDA as a means of
monitoring the progress toward resolution.
(2) Assignment of Coordinating Person or Group: REE
will designate a USDA Research Integrity Officer (RIO). This USDA RIO will be responsible for the
following:
(a) Overseeing
USDA agency responses to allegations of research misconduct;
(b) Ensuring
that agency research misconduct procedures are consistent with the guidelines
set forth in this Memorandum;
(c) Receiving
and assigning allegations of research misconduct reported by the public;
(d) Developing
Memoranda of Understanding with Agencies that elect not to develop their own
research misconduct procedures, as described in B.2(2);
(e) Monitoring
the progress of all research misconduct cases; and
(f) Serving
as liaison with OIG to receive allegations of research misconduct when they are
received via the OIG Hotline.
REE shall provide contact information for the USDA
RIO on its website and any other appropriate medium. The USDA RIO may be reached at:
USDA Research Integrity
Officer
214W Whitten
Building
Washington,
DC 20250
Telephone:
202-720-5923
Email: researchintegrity@usda.gov.
(3) Notification of OIG:
The USDA RIO shall notify the Assistant Inspector General for
Investigations of all allegations of research misconduct if any are reported to
the USDA RIO.
If at any point the research misconduct proceedings
reveal any criminal or potentially criminal behavior involving USDA-funded
research activities, the USDA RIO shall immediately report the potentially
criminal behavior to OIG and coordinate with the appropriate USDA agency to
ensure that all records, documents or other materials relating to the research
misconduct allegation are provided to OIG.
If OIG accepts the case for criminal investigation, it will assume
responsibility for conducting the criminal investigation into the
allegation.
(4) Oversight While Agencies Develop Implementation Procedures: The
USDA RIO will provide direction and oversight to ensure all required elements
(detailed in AttachmentAppendix A) are included in agency-specific
procedures (described in Section B.2.) and that the procedures are consistent
with this Memorandum.
b Responsibilities of USDA Agencies Conducting or Supporting
Research
(1) Reporting of Allegations: USDA agencies conducting
or supporting research shall report all allegations of research misconduct
reported to them to the OIG, using any of the methods described in Section VII,
and the USDA RIO. The USDA agency will
provide all records, documents and other materials relating to a research
misconduct allegation to OIG when requested.
A USDA Agency responding to allegations of research misconduct will
provide status reports to the USDA RIO during each of the separate phases
(i.e., inquiry, investigation, and adjudication, as defined in AttachmentAppendix C) of its response to the
allegation.
(2) Development of Implementation Procedures: Each USDA Agency that conducts or supports research shall:
(a) Develop
implementation procedures to comply with the OSTP Federal Research Misconduct
Policy and this Memorandum.
Implementation procedures shall include, at a minimum, the requirements
listed in AttachmentAppendix A to this Memorandum. Agencies supporting extramural research
shall ensure that the USDA Agency’s procedures encompass the requirements
listed in AttachmentAppendix B to this Memorandum. Once adopted, each USDA Agency will handle
reported research misconduct allegations according to its implementation
procedures;
OR
(b) In
lieu of developing its own implementation procedures to comply with the OSTP
policy, a USDA Agency may initiate a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with
REE. Under the MOU, the USDA RIO shall assign
another USDA Agency to act on behalf of the USDA Agency that has not developed
an OSTP-compliant policy, with respect to research misconduct.
(3) Adherence to Procedures/MOU: Each USDA agency will handle
reported research misconduct allegations in accordance with its implementation
procedures or MOU.
(4) Designation of Agency RIO: Each USDA Agency conducting or supporting research shall appoint
an Agency Research Integrity Officer (ARIO).
The responsibilities of this individual are detailed in AttachmentAppendix A.
(5) Notice of Procedures/MOU: Upon completion of its implementation procedures or completion of
its MOU with REE, a USDA Agency must publish its implementation procedures or
MOU on its website, and make reasonable efforts to notify any and all
interested parties and relevant stakeholders of the agency’s procedures for
handling allegations of research misconduct.
(6) Reporting Research Misconduct: All USDA Agencies shall
provide the name and contact information of OIG and the ARIO in the terms and
conditions applied to any awards, grants, contracts, and all other funding
mechanisms used to fund extramural research.
These same terms and conditions shall also clearly state that
allegations of research misconduct must be reported to OIG.
An intramural research
institution shall announce the name and contact information of the Agency’s
ARIO and the OIG. Intramural research
institutions shall also announce that research misconduct should be reported to
OIG. Intramural research institutions
shall make the preceding announcements through standard agency communication
channels.
(7) Referral
to REE: If an allegation does not involve the agency to which it was
reported, a USDA agency shall refer the allegation to REE for
reassignment.
(8) Date of Completion of Implementation Procedures/MOU: USDA Agencies shall develop
implementation procedures or complete an MOU with REE by June 30, 2006.
c Responsibilities of Research Institutions
(1) Reporting Allegations: All research institutions
shall report all allegations of research misconduct involving USDA-funded
projects reported to the research institution to the OIG Hotline.
(2) Primary
Responsibility: USDA Agencies and
research institutions that conduct USDA-funded research are partners who share
responsibility for the research process.
USDA Agencies have ultimate oversight authority for USDA-funded
research, but under the OSTP Policy, the research institutions where the USDA-funded
research is conducted will bear primary responsibility for prevention and
detection of research misconduct and for the inquiry, investigation, and
adjudication of research misconduct alleged to have occurred in association
with their own institution.
7 PUBLIC
REPORTING INFORMATION
a Contact Information
Anyone who suspects that
researchers or research institutions performing Federally-funded research may
have engaged in research misconduct is encouraged to make a formal allegation
of research misconduct to OIG. Suspected
research misconduct may be reported to OIG using any of the following methods:
Via the OIG Hotline:
Telephone: (202) 690-1622
(800) 424-9121
(202) 690-1202 (TDD)
E-mail: usda_hotline@oig.usda.gov.
U.S. Mail: United States Department of Agriculture
Office of Inspector General
P.O. Box 23300
Washington, DC 20026-3399.
b Required Information when Making an Allegation
To the extent known, the following
details should be included in any formal allegations made to the OIG:
The names of involved
individuals and research projects,
§
Sources
of funding;
§
Important
dates;
§
Any
documentation that bears upon the allegation; and
§
Any
other potentially relevant information.
8 EFFECTIVE
DATE