Researchers with active or flow-through funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), may need to take action to remain compliant as there are multiple changes to the agency’s terms and conditions.
The updated USDA General Terms and Conditions (GT&C’s), as well as recent deviations 2026-USDA-0001-F and 2026-USDA-0001-M, require all covered individuals conducting research activities on an impacted USDA award to complete several compliance tasks prior to beginning work on the project, including:
- Completing the Research Security Training module in BuckeyeLearn (already required by Ohio State)
- Completing and certifying the USDA Biosketch and USDA Current and Pending (Other) Support documents within SciENcv
- Confirming that they are not subject to Foreign Ownership, Control, and Influence (FOCI) by a Country of Concern
Sponsored Programs is working to develop an automated process to manage these requirements. In the meantime, an interim process has been developed to ensure compliance with these requirements.
If your award is impacted, your sponsored program officer will reach out by email with further instructions that must be completed as soon as possible to meet the terms and conditions of your contract. PI’s will be asked to sign a PI Responsibility Statement affirming your agreement to comply with the USDA GT&C’s.
More information, including definitions of key terms and instructions on how to create SciENcv common forms can be found on the ERIK website.