Global Risk Task Force

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Chartered by President Joseph Paul on April 24, 2024, the Southern Miss Global Risk Task Force is dedicated to safeguarding the University of Southern Mississippi's academic, research, and business operations from foreign influence threats. Our Task Force utilizes a risk management strategy to address vulnerabilities and ensure compliance with evolving federal and state requirements.

Mission and Structure

Chaired by the Research Security Officer, our Global Risk Task Force is composed of leadership-level representatives from key university functions, including:

Office of Research
Office of the President
Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs
Office of Finance & Administration
Office of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
Office of External Affairs
University Communications
Office of the General Counsel

The Task Force meets quarterly and remains responsive to urgent concerns, providing guidance and updates to the university community and senior leadership.

Objectives

• Implementing Research Security Solutions: Guiding the implementation of research security measures across various university units and activities.
• Disseminating Regulatory Updates: Serving as an informational resource to keep campus stakeholders informed of regulatory changes and training requirements.
• Advising on Compliance: Acting as an advisory body on USM’s efforts to comply with NSPM-33 and other relevant regulations.
• Coordinating Government Responses: Managing responses to state and federal data requests or queries.
• Monitoring Effectiveness: Ensuring the ongoing effectiveness of the university's research security measures.

Background and Relevance

As a Carnegie R1 research institution, USM exceeds the $50 million federal research funding threshold and is thus subject to strict research security requirements under NSPM-33 and the CHIPS + Science Act. Our growing research portfolio and international presence increase our risk of being targeted by unauthorized entities. The Task Force is pivotal in exercising due diligence to protect against these threats while maintaining the open and welcoming nature of our academic environment.

Communication and Reporting

The Task Force is committed to transparent communication, ensuring that concerns about foreign influence are addressed without compromising the positive relationships USM holds with international partners. The Chair will provide summarized updates to the University President following each meeting to maintain informed and proactive leadership.

We strive to protect academic freedom and uphold our university’s reputation as a hub for global talent and innovation. The Global Risk Task Force's strategic and sensitive approach ensures that we minimize risks while supporting USM's international academic and research mission.

Global Risk Task Force Members

Conflicts of Interest & Conflicts of Interest Commitment Subcommittee

In coordination with the COI Director [TBD], this subcommittee will be responsible for building out institutional Conflicts of Interest and Conflicts of Commitment Policies, processes & procedures, forms & disclosures, and training to meet federal, state, and other sponsors requirements.  The subcommittee will also draft/review escalation paths for conflicts reporting/review/approval, assess current electronic systems which store/process information needed for review, and make recommendations on potential systems options to support Conflicts management going forward.

Sponsored Research Administration Subcommittee

This subcommittee is responsible for working with ORA to identify ‘foreign influence’, export control, conflicts, data security, research misconduct/integrity, and/or other research security-related requirements and ‘trigger points’ stemming from federal, state, and other sponsor awards.  Once identified, this subcommittee will work to identify points of shared governance between ORA and other stakeholders, across all elements of Research Security, and map pre-award, contracts, and post-award research administration processes to identify key points or activities which may trigger export control, foreign influence, data security, and/or research security notification/evaluation/reporting.  The subcommittee will assess overall ORA staff knowledge of Research Security-related requirements and will make recommendations on necessary policy/process changes to support the overall build-out of the Research Security program.  The subcommittee will develop concise review/escalation paths for PIs, college-based research administrators, ORA staff, and leadership related to potential research security concerns, and will also recommend changes to electronic research administration systems to support effective identification/review of potential requirements/issues.  Lastly, the subcommittee will be responsible for developing and/or recommending required training to support the overall Research Security program.

More information will be forthcoming, including updates on additional members to sub-committees.