Post-Award Considerations

If the nature of the research changes at any point in the project, consider whether it could now be “aiming to advance” one of the Government of Canada’s designated sensitive technology research areas. Such a change would make the funded research subject to the federal Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (Policy on STRAC). .

• Tri-Agency FAQ: "How do I know if I'm "aiming to advance" a sensitive technology research area?"

The funding agencies will periodically validate a  randomized subset of funded grants to ensure that applicants have appropriately identified whether their grant aims to advance a senstitive technology research area and to confirm that any associated attestation forms are accurate. If an agency determines that a project could be aiming to advance a sensitive technology research area (but was not identified as such in the proposal), they will inform the applicant and may require that all relevant research team members adhere to the Policy on STRAC.

If any private sector organization(s) or industry associations that were not identified in the original grant application become involved, you must notify the relevant granting agency. You must also notify the UBC Research Security team and granting agency if the national security risks associated with the partner change during the project. The team will work with you to determine if additional risk assessment measures or mitigation planning is required before proceeding.

If you submitted a risk assessment form as part of the grant application, be sure to follow and implement the risk mitigation plan. All team members should be aware of the plan and implement all required steps to mitigate the identified risks throughout the life cycle of the project.

Principal investigators and other named roles should inform all current and prospective team members that the Policy on STRAC prohibits them from affiliating with the Named Research Organizations that the federal government has identified as posing a risk to Canada’s national security. This means researchers cannot take appointments at, employment with, or conduct research at, these organizations. Receiving funding or in-kind support from those organizations also establishes an affiliation. For CFI grants, only team/project leaders and team members are subject to this requirement.

Each research team member, regardless of whether they submitted an attestation form with the grant application, is responsible to remain unaffiliated with, and to refrain from receiving funding or in-kind support from, Named Research Organizations. All researchers that become involved with a federally funded funded project in scope of the Policy on STRAC at any stage, including Highly Qualified Personnel, are subject to this requirement. 

Potential team members holding active affiliations with Named  Research Organizations would need to end those affiliations to be eligible to participate in federally funded research that is subject to the Policy on STRAC.

Some attestations may be reviewed by the Government of Canada in parallel with the grant review period, prior to a funding decision. The granting agencies will also validate a random subset of attestations to confirm accuracy and compliance after the funding has been awarded or in the event the agency is made aware of a potential policy breach.