New Policy on Disclosing, Reviewing, and Approving Engagements Involving Countries of Concern

I am writing to announce a new policy on Disclosing, Reviewing, and Approving Engagements Involving Countries of Concern.  Effective July 1, 2025, this policy will apply to new engagements involving countries of concern and substantive changes to currently active engagements.

The policy implements an August 2023 UC Presidential policy outlining a comprehensive framework for vetting international engagements involving emerging technology and countries of concern.  It also responds to the expectation that UC locations establish review procedures for all engagements involving countries of concern.  Importantly, this policy will help ensure that UCI remains eligible to receive federal funding to support its research enterprise.  It also creates transparency around countries of concerns engagements so that the Office of Research can provide advisory and support services to the research community and to help foster responsible engagements.

The Countries of Concern Engagements webpage (on the Office of Research website) contains FAQs regarding the policy, as well as the procedures to operationalize it.  Additionally, questions may be directed to the Research Engagement and Compliance team in the Office of Research at or-rsie@uci.edu.

I am grateful to the Research Security and International Engagement Committee for its work in developing this policy and the Campus Ethics, Compliance, and Risk Committee, the Council on Research, Computing, and Libraries, and UCI’s faculty for their engagement and input during the UCI-wide policy comment period.

Pramod Khargonekar, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Research
Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science