Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A UK university applies Trusted Research due diligence checks before signing a research agreement with an overseas industrial partner.
- Is an instance
Researchers consult Trusted Research guidance to assess whether a sensitive technology area is involved in a planned collaboration.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A purely domestic UK collaboration outside sensitive areas typically does not require formal Trusted Research review beyond standard institutional processes.
- Not an instance
Internal departmental administration unrelated to international collaboration is outside Trusted Research scope.
Editorial commentary
Trusted Research is guidance jointly published by the UK’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA, the successor body to the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, CPNI) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), aimed at helping researchers, university staff, and industry partners make informed, risk-based decisions when working with international collaborators. It supports the integrity of international research collaboration by helping institutions identify and manage legal and national-security risks — theft, misuse, or unwanted exploitation of sensitive research and intellectual property — without discouraging legitimate international partnership.
Approach: proportionate, not blanket
The framework emphasises proportionate, risk-based decision making rather than blanket restrictions on international collaboration, and offers separate guidance tracks for senior leaders, academic researchers, and industry partners. It covers due diligence on prospective partners, protecting intellectual property, cyber security, and handling particularly sensitive research areas, without mandating a single universal process — institutions are expected to apply it to their own risk profile.
Due diligence in practice
Due diligence under Trusted Research is expected to weigh reputational, ethical, legal, and national-security considerations together with the more familiar financial due diligence, drawing on publicly available information about a prospective partner’s affiliations and any links to programmes or states of concern. This sits alongside, rather than replaces, the UK’s Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS), which requires certain international students and researchers working in fields relevant to advanced conventional military technology or weapons of mass destruction to obtain a certificate before starting.
Status and related instruments
Trusted Research guidance itself is largely advisory and sector-supported rather than a standalone statute, but it operates alongside statutory instruments with real legal force, notably the National Security and Investment Act. It is widely cited internationally as a model for university-led research-security guidance in other countries building comparable frameworks.
References
- NPSA and NCSC, Trusted Research guidance (npsa.gov.uk/specialised-guidance/trusted-research); UKRI Trusted Research and Innovation resource hub.
Also known as
UK Trusted Research · Trusted Research
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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