The DFG and the German Embassy bring together German and American experts / Katja Becker: “Ensuring research security without restricting academic freedom”

German and US-American experts met in the US capital at the invitation of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the German Embassy Washington to discuss the topic of research security. The meeting on Thursday, 22 August 2024, at the DFG Office North America brought together more than 20 representatives from science and politics. One of the key questions was, how research security, which is exposed to multiple threats and attacks, can be guaranteed in international research cooperation without restricting research freedom. Another topic of the roundtable discussion was how the centre for research security recently established in the USA could be a role model for research in Germany and Europe.

According to DFG President Professor Dr. Katja Becker, the international trend in research policy is currently very clearly moving towards prioritising security measures: “This means that even cooperation with like-minded countries is being made more difficult due to more controls and reporting requirements. Especially considering the pivotal role of research in tackling global challenges, this is in many ways playing with fire,” said Becker in her keynote speech. “We need to make international cooperation as open as possible while keeping a firm and active eye on security aspects.” This can only succeed if researchers are aware of the increasing security risks.

In this context, Becker referred to the recommendations on dealing with risks in international research cooperation that the DFG submitted already in September 2023. They are intended to provide greater certainty in the proposal submission and review process. Becker emphasised: “The constitutionally guaranteed freedom of research in Germany must also be safeguarded in view of the current threats.” The DFG thus deliberately refrains from drawing general “red lines” in relation to specific countries, partner institutions or research topics. “Instead, we have compiled a list of assessment and reflective steps that are intended to point out potential risks and provide applicants with greater orientation and safety. This will enable the German research community to react jointly and in a timely manner to geopolitical challenges,” said Becker.

Dr. Rebecca Spyke Keiser, Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy at the US National Science Foundation (NSF), a long-standing partner organisation of the DFG, expressed a similar view during the roundtable discussion: “We need a kind of ‘safeguarding’ for scientific research, in other words, we need to convey through communication, training and education how to deal with risks in our daily work, for example, by being careful with preliminary results or the description of methods.”

Keiser also described the reasons for founding a new centre for research security in the USA: “The centre, called SECURE (“Safeguarding the Entire Community of the U.S. Research Ecosystem”), will support the research community in the US safeguard research security with a budget of around $50 million over five years. It is intended to provide researchers and their institutions with the tools to carry out their own risk assessments and provide information on potential partners, such as on whether they have links to military facilities.” Her remarks were met with great interest by the German delegates, as the establishment of a comparable advisory centre for research is currently being discussed in Germany as well.

In addition to DFG President Katja Becker and Rebecca Keiser, DFG Vice President Professor Dr. Britta Siegmund and DFG Secretary General Dr. Heide Ahrens took part in the roundtable discussion. They were joined by representatives from the Alliance of Science Organisations and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). US research funders and research institutions, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Association of American Universities and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as representatives from the US government also took part in the discussion. The German Embassy in Washington was represented by Jean P. Froehly, Head of the Economic and Financial Affairs Department.

Following the roundtable discussion, the DFG President signed an initial memorandum of understanding with the US National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) on site. In the presence of the Chair of the NEH, Shelly C. Lowe, Becker paid tribute to the role of the humanities for society: “The humanities offer guidance and orientation in turbulent times. They raise existential questions, for example, on AI development, intergenerational justice or socially acceptable triage concepts, and help to answer them. I am delighted that our new memorandum reflects this as well as our shared appreciation of international cooperation.” The DFG and the NEH are now planning a first joint call for proposals comprising all areas of the humanities.

Further Information

The DFG recommendations for dealing with risks in international cooperation can be found at https://www.dfg.de/resource/blob/289704/585cb3b48bb8e9f5b6e57e0e0a0d700e/risiken-int-kooperationen-en-data.pdf.