Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR, also known as RECR):
Principal Investigators (PIs) are required to take RCR Core Training within 30 days of award notice, failure to take training may result in funding being retroactively pulled.

All researchers, regardless of their role within the research group (e.g. graduate student, postdoc, faculty, staff) and regardless of the funding status, should take RCR Core Training prior to starting research.

Research Security Training:
For sponsored research, PIs and senior/key personnel must also complete Research Security Training prior to grant submission.

In accordance with National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 (NSPM-33), federal funding agencies now require these individuals to certify within each proposal that they have completed this training within one year prior to submission date.

Requirement

Required For:

Deadline/Frequency:

RCR Core Training

All PIs and all individuals partaking in research (e.g. undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, research staff)

PIs must complete training within 30 days of the sponsored award to release funding

Research Security Training

PIs and Senior/Key Personnel

Within one year prior to grant submission


For further guidance on these mandates, please consult the Procedure for PI Eligibility Requirements policy.

Note: MN-GEMS recognizes RC-4105 “RCR Core” (through CITI) for tracking compliance. Since training completed prior to 2023 does not meet the most recent federal standards, we strongly encourage you to refresh your training now to prevent any administrative delays in grant submission/award release.

RCR Core and Research Security Training can be taken through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program.

Launch CITI RCR Core Training
 

CITI Sign Up Instructions

The RCR Core Training is a Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) course. CITI uses a single sign-in application, so UMN employees can use their UMN internet IDs when logging into CITI.

To enroll in a course for the first time:

  1. Select “Register”
  2. Enter “University of Minnesota (SSO)” in the Select Organization Affiliation box
  3. Enter your name and UMN email address as your primary email
  4. Select the training required by or most appropriate to your research activities by answering the questions. For RCR Core training, check all boxes that apply in question #1.
    1. If registering for RCR Core, please check the first box in question #1 “PI who has not previously completed the RCR Core Training, OR any graduate student, post-doc, research administration…”
  5. It is required that you also answer question #2. Please visit the Research Security Training page to determine if you are required to complete research security training. 
  6. Click “Submit”

To merge your UMN internet ID with a previously created CITI account,* email [email protected] with the following information:

  1. Your first and last name
  2. The name of your institution
  3. UMN email for the account to keep
  4. The username or Member ID and email for the account to merge

*If you merge an existing account from another institution, please note that the University of Minnesota requirements may be different, so you may have to take additional modules.
 

Deadlines

The RCR Core Training must be completed no later than 90 days from the date of a PI’s initial appointment. Personnel anticipating a research award within the 90 day window should meet the RCR requirement as early as possible. Awarded funds cannot be released until all RCR requirements are met.

Research Security Training must be completed prior to proposal submission. For more information, visit the Research Security Training page.