Office of Research & Innovation
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NIH & NSF Safety Plans For Supported Conferences, Scientific Meetings, and Research

As part of the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) effort to “foster safe and harassment-free environments wherever science is conducted,” specific NIH-funded or NSF-funded conferences & research will require the submission of a safety plan. The elements required for the safety plan are dependent upon the solicitation.

NIH Safety Plan Requirements

NIH has issued NOT-OD-22-074, which requires applicants for NIH-supported conferences and scientific meetings (R13/U13) to provide a safety plan to NIH as part of the Just-In-Time materials. The “safety plan” must be communicated to all attendees and required to include the following elements per NIH:

  • Statement of commitment to provide a safe environment,
  • Expectations of behavior,
    • Including list of behaviors considered harassing (specific emphasis on harassment, sexual, racial, ethnic, or otherwise)
  • Instructions on how to confidentially report alleged violations of the expectations of behavior to conference organizers,
  • Description of how the organizers will assess allegations and the consequences for those who are found to violate the expectations of behavior,
  • Information explaining that individuals who have questions, concerns or complaints related to harassment are also encouraged to contact the conference organizer or the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR),
  • Information about how to file a complaint with HHS OCR (see OCR’s webpage, Filing a Civil Rights Complaint),
  • Information explaining that filing a complaint with the conference organizer is not required before filing a complaint of discrimination with HHS OCR, and that seeking assistance from the conference organizer in no way prohibits filing complaints with HHS OCR, and;
  • Information explaining how individuals can notify NIH about concerns of harassment, including sexual harassment, discrimination, and other forms of inappropriate conduct at NIH-supported conferences (see NIH’s Find Help webpage).

NIH staff will review all plans and must approve them prior to the award being made. Plans deemed incomplete or unsatisfactory will need to be corrected by the applicant and approved by NIH prior to award. Along with the safety plan being shared with attendees, R13/U13 applicants should also provide the following per NIH:

  • A description of the strategy that will be used to communicate the Safety Plan to conference attendees and a plan to document allegations and resulting actions.
  • Information on the steps the organizers will take to ensure a safe and respectful environment for all attendees, free from discrimination and harassment.

NSF Safe and Inclusive Fieldwork Environments Plan

Several NSF solicitations issued by the Directorates for Biological Sciences and Geosciences (BIO/GEO) are included in a pilot requiring submission of a Safe and Inclusive Work Environments (SAIF) Plan. The SAIF Plan is a project-specific 2-page Supplementary Document.

NSF’s requirements for a SAIF Plan are broader than NIH’s, which is only required for R13/U14 and is not specific to conferences and scientific meetings but is expansive and per solicitation. The four components of the SAIF plan are specified in each solicitation and, per NSF, include the following:

  • a description of the field setting and unique challenges for the team;
  • steps that will be taken to nurture an inclusive off-campus or off-site working environment;
  • communication processes; and
  • organizational mechanisms for reporting, responding to, and resolving issues of harassment, should they arise.

Resources:
NSF-SAIF: Frequently Asked Questions
NSF-SAIF PPT Slides [PDF]

Where Do I Register My Conference or Scientific Meeting?

All NIH and NSF-supported conferences and scientific meetings should register atNIH & NSF Safety Plans for Supported Conferences and Scientific Meetings. Registration is also strongly recommended for all other Drexel-hosted scientific conferences and meetings. Once registered, the Office of Research and Innovation will engage other offices at Drexel University (e.g., Public Safety, DEI).

Questions

Please contact Cassandra Myers, Associate Vice Provost of Research Compliance & Regulatory Affairs, with any questions at cjm523@drexel.edu.