NSF Safe/Inclusive Environment Requirements

    Plan for Safe and Inclusive Working Environment for Off-Campus or Off-Site Research Under an NSF Award

    The National Science Foundation’s policy is to foster safe and harassment-free environments wherever science is conducted. To that end, for each proposal that includes off-campus or off-site research, NSF has instituted a requirement for preparation of a plan that describes:

    • How prohibited behavior will be addressed
    • Steps organization will take to nurture an inclusive off-campus or off-site working environment
    • Processes to establish shared team definitions of roles, responsibilities, and culture
    • Field support
    • Communications within the team and to the organization
    • Any special circumstances, e.g., involvement of multiple organizations or presence of third parties

    NSF defines off-campus or off-site research as “data/information/samples being collected off-campus or off-site, such as fieldwork and research activities on vessels and aircraft.”

    The PI must prepare a plan for their project, prior to proposal submission, and attach the plan to the IRES record. Download a plan template.

    The plan will be uploaded to the Internal Documents tab in IRES by the Department Business Administrator following the below PreAward Naming Conventions.

    Naming Convention: S&I Work Environment Plan
    Category: Compliance
    Folder: General

    The plan will not be submitted to NSF, although they may review it upon request.

    The PI must disseminate the plan to individuals participating in the off-campus or off-site research prior to departure.

    If Yale will be a subaward to another institution submitting to NSF, this policy still applies. If the Yale project will include off-campus or off-site research, the plan is required to be uploaded to the IRES record.

    Additional Information: