Research and Sponsored Projects Manual (RSP)

Effective: 11/14/1986

Revised: 5/1/2011

RSP 404: Classified Research

Purpose

To identify the circumstances under which the university will accept agreements requiring access to government classified information and to protect the special interest of the university to carry out research in an open and unrestricted manner

Sources

Arizona Board of Regents Policy Manual - 3-202

Policy Statement on Classified and Proprietary Research, prepared by the Ad Hoc University Senate Committee on Classified and Proprietary Research, December, 1984

Report of the Task Force on Classified Research, put forth by the University Senate at Arizona State University, 2006

University Senate Motion 75-0910

Policy

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General

The faculty of Arizona State University (ASU) is committed to a large and varied agenda of research. The research agenda assumes that the university’s role in society is not fulfilled unless research and teaching are vigorously pursued and fully integrated at all levels. Thus, faculty research advances knowledge, enriches teaching, and serves the community.

The principle of the indivisibility of teaching and research requires the university to carry out research in an open and unrestricted manner, with complete freedom to publish or otherwise disseminate the results of the search for knowledge. This special mission of a university makes it necessary for students and faculty to have access to university facilities with minimal restrictions. While society can benefit from classified research, the requirements of secrecy and restrictions on freedom to publish, which are inherent in governmental security classification, can be in opposition to the special mission stated above. This makes it necessary to specifically address classified research conducted by the university.

The research policies are intended to prevent the restrictions associated with classified research from interfering with the educational and open research activities of the university. These policies do not, however, prohibit self-imposed restrictions based upon the professional ethics of a particular discipline. This policy does not apply to off-campus research relating to non-ASU consulting, leaves of absence, or work conducted by an individual employee outside of usual ASU responsibilities.

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Classified Research Policies

1. The university shall not undertake, on campus, any classified research that introduces limits on the access to a facility unless:
   
   
   1. the project requires the use of unique specialized facilities or the participation of personnel unique to this university

      and

   2. the project clearly represents a critical public service at a time of local, state, or national emergency.
2. In no case shall the university enter into a classified research agreement unless the proposed research has been reviewed by the Classified Research Subcommittee of the Research and Creative Activities Committee and the Classified Materials Management Group (MG).
3. Theses or dissertations that cannot be freely published or disseminated in their entirety cannot be accepted in fulfillment of degree requirements. Faculty are obligated to explain this requirement to students working on classified projects and discuss the likelihood that their research would not be publishable.
4. No classified research or materials shall be considered with regard to appointments, reappointments, tenure, promotions, or merit pay raises.
5. Adequate access to research facilities or instrumentation on campus used by faculty or students for nonclassified research must be maintained. The sponsoring agency must finance any instrumentation, equipment, or space renovations on campus designated solely for classified research.
6. The term “on campus” shall designate those areas and physical facilities in which education and research involving undergraduate and graduate students takes place. Initially, these areas shall include Tempe, Downtown Phoenix, Polytechnic, and West campuses, and exclude the ASU Research Park and Skysong.

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The Classified Research Subcommittee

There shall be a standing faculty Classified Research Subcommittee broadly representative of the university’s disciplines, composed of six faculty members, with the associate vice president for Research (or equivalent university officer) serving ex officio. The faculty members of the committee will be nominated by the president of the University Senate in consultation with the vice president for the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development and approved by the University Senate for staggered terms of three years each. Normally, two new members will be nominated by each new president of the University Senate.

Authority and Responsibilities of the Subcommittee

The Classified Research Subcommittee shall review any proposed new or renewal of a research award that will involve classified information, and shall make a determination that the proposed contract does or does not satisfy the criteria stated in the policy. The chair of the subcommittee shall appoint three individuals with relevant technical competence to assess the proposed research project and the capabilities of the university’s personnel and facilities. They shall be informed of the details of the proposed research project, exclusive of classified information, and will determine if the project satisfies the criteria stated above. The subcommittee shall submit its recommendation to the vice president for the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development.

The same review shall also be conducted for any project that is originally unclassified but becomes so during the period of its grant or contract. The subcommittee shall also be responsible for interpretations of paragraphs B through F, above, and for resolving issues or conflicts that might arise thereunder.

The vice president for the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development shall consult annually with the Classified Research Subcommittee and inform the committee of any research on-campus grant or contract that the university has accepted, agreed to, or renewed since the last report and that involves classified information. The Classified Research Subcommittee shall transmit a written report of its deliberations, recommendations, and university actions annually through the Research and Creative Activities Committee to the chair of the University Senate.

If the university decides not to follow a recommendation of the Classified Research Subcommittee, the vice president for the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development shall at that time provide a written justification to the subcommittee, with a copy to the chair of the University Senate, of the reasons for the university’s actions.

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The Classified Materials Management Group

Under ABOR policy 3–202, ABOR and ASU have established a Classified Materials Management Group (MG), with responsibility for negotiating, executing, and administering research projects involving classified information. The MG includes a regent, the university president, the vice president for the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development, the associate vice president for Research, the director of Research Integrity and Assurance, and the senior vice president and general counsel. Under no circumstances will the university enter into a classified research agreement without a quorum of the Management Group certifying that the contemplated project satisfies the above criteria.

For more information, see the Office of Research Integrity and Assurance Web site.

Cross-Reference

For additional information, see RSP 101, “General Research Policy.”

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