Before engaging with an external private-sector, for-profit partner, you are encouraged to consider the level of risk that the collaboration may pose to Canada’s national security regardless of where the partner may be based.
The National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGPR)’ Risk Assessment Form (RAF) was created by the Government of Canada to guide you through the types of national security risks you should consider and assess through the lifecycle of your research partnership. It also provides research security best practices to safeguard your research.
Certain grant opportunities will also require you to document your risk assessment due diligence and associated mitigation plans for any identified risks and to submit the completed risk assessment form with the grant application package. See this UBC Research Security webpage for a list of grants that require a RAF. You can also use the RAF to assess any potential research partnership for national security risks regardless whether a grant opportunity requiring a RAF is involved.
This guide is designed to support you in assessing national security risks and appropriate mitigation measures for your proposed research. The examples provided in the guide are for illustrative purposes only and the level of information provided is appropriate to the example.
For the best experience, we recommend you to use this guide as a companion while you work through the risk assessment form.
The UBC Research Security team is available to support you at all points of your risk assessment process. Should a RAF be required as part of your grant application, please submit the RAF, your Research Project Information Form (RPIF) and full written proposal to the UBC Research Security team to the research security team for validation as early as possible. Please refer to the ORS Upcoming Fixed Deadlines for opportunity-specific deadlines. The UBC Research Security team will review and validate your RAF prior to you submitting the form to the funding agency and can provide additional risk considerations during its review. Only a validated RAF can be submitted with your proposal to the funding agency.