Trusted Research

At the University of Essex we are proud of our status as an international research institution, and we value and encourage external collaboration as a core part of our research mission.

The international environment we work in is increasingly complex and international collaboration presents both benefits and risks.

These risks include hostile entities attempting to gain access to research to benefit weapons development, cyberattacks and other military purposes.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have introduced Trusted Research guidelines to help universities review and respond to these risks, and we have developed our own corresponding processes to enable us to follow these guidelines.

Relevant legislation includes Export Control legislation, the National Security and Investment Act (2022) and the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS). The Trusted Research Policy (.pdf) explains these pieces of legislation in detail.

What research is affected?

Trusted Research principles apply to all research, whether funded or unfunded, including research trips and publication, but the primary focus is on scientific research that has the potential to be misused by hostile entities.

The Research Enterprise Office (REO) has already communicated with the most affected departments about the potential risks and the Trusted Research Policy – which supports the mitigation of these risks – was recently approved by Council.

All researchers have the responsibility to take up training opportunities regarding Trusted Research and to learn to review their own work for any risks that may arise.

Export licences

The University is required to apply for export licences for research projects involving overseas entities if the technology has potential military applications and/or if the overseas entities are considered high risk.

The REO Due Diligence Team will conduct a review of any research where any concerns arise and lead on export licence applications. This may involve liaising with the Government’s Research Collaboration Advice Team (RCAT), who provide guidance to universities about national security matters.

The REO Due Diligence Team already conducts due diligence checks on research partners for funded projects, and they will conduct additional checks for Trusted Research purposes where the risk is high.

Where there is doubt about whether research falls within the scope of the legislation, research activities should not begin until the relevant checks have been completed and/or the doubt has been resolved.

Please take this opportunity to review the relevant documents to help ensure we continue producing research of the highest quality while remaining compliant with current legislation in a rapidly changing geopolitical context.

Documents

• Trusted Research Guidance.
• Trusted Research Policy (.pdf).
• Due Diligence for Research Partners
• Information Security Guidance

Contact Details

Queries about Trusted Research should be addressed to reo-due-diligence@essex.ac.uk.