JASON Suggests Ways to Clarify Research Security Concerns

The National Science Foundation has posted a report it commissioned from the JASON science advisory group to lay groundwork for a new program that will fund research on efforts by foreign governments to exploit the U.S. research system.

The report, which JASON completed last month, argues that among the greatest challenges will be ensuring researchers can access anonymized data on enforcement actions taken by federal agencies and universities. It also stresses that, while legitimate threats to “research security” do exist, they are often conflated with breaches of “research integrity,” such as violations of professional codes of conduct.

In addition, it argues the FBI has exhibited “a lack of understanding of the norms of conduct of fundamental research at universities,” and it cautions that some scientists perceive the U.S. government’s recent research security campaigns as “a mechanism to pursue a racist policy against Chinese and Chinese-American scientists,” citing a 2021 survey by the American Physical Society. (APS is an AIP Member Society.)

Among other recommendations, JASON encourages NSF to embed social scientists into natural science research labs to “strengthen the understanding of the customs and operations of open science.”