What is Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)?

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) “is the awareness and application of established professional norms and ethical principles in the performance for all activities related to scientific research.” The Research Ethics and Compliance Office (RECO) in the Office of Research administers the Responsible Conduct of Research Certification Program by upholding requirements set forth by granting bodies and UC Davis policies.

The RCR Certificate Program is designed to satisfy federal regulations that require RCR training as a part of grant or contract terms and conditions. RCR introduces and reinforces ethical principles to guide the performance of scientific research activities by combining engaging and relevant live Zoom sessions and challenging on-line modules.

Who must participate in RCR Training?

RCR training is strongly encouraged for all students and faculty or staff and may be required if you are working on a project funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). While RCR requirements may differ by study, or funding agency, the UC Davis RCR program is designed to satisfy requirements of all funding agencies including NIH, NSF, and NIFA.

UC Davis RCR Certificate Program Requirements

RCR requirements may differ by study, or funding agency, the UC Davis RCR program is designed to satisfy requirements of all funding agencies including National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

NIH supported researchers must take the CITI Course and attend eight live Zoom sessions.

NIH requirements include that all trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support must complete face‐to‐face instruction, discussions, or video conferencing of a minimum of eight contact hours. UC Davis RCR meets the agency’s requirements by providing engaging and relevant live Zoom sessions. RCR certification requires that all attend at least eight of the one-hour live Zoom sessions offered to satisfy this requirement.

NSF supported researchers must take the CITI RCR Course.

UC Davis undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, including short-term visitors, paid by NSF under a research or educational award are required to complete the RCR training.

NIFA supported researchers must take the CITI RCR Course.

UC Davis faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and any staff participating in the project must complete RCR training.

How to complete the RCR training modules via CITI (CITI Login)

Register with CITI
RCR Training Certification is valid for three years.
The minimum passing score for each module is 80%. You may retake the quiz from any module that you did not pass.
Participants enroll in the RCR courses for all learners.
- Courses Include:
  - Introduction to RCR; Authorship; Collaborative Research; Communicating with the Public; Conflicts of Interest and Commitment; Data Management; Environmental and Social Dimensions of Engineering Research; Financial Responsibility; Mentoring; Peer Review; Plagiarism; Presentation of Research Findings; Reproducibility of Research Results; Research Involving Human Subjects; Research Misconduct; Research, Ethics, and Society; and Using Animal Subjects in Research.

How to attend at least eight live Zoom sessions (link to schedule)

Offered the fourth Monday of every month from 11:00 am to noon via Zoom at https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/97617129322
Every RCR learner must participate in eight live Zoom sessions, facilitated by faculty or staff, to receive the RCR Certificate.
No registration for the live Zoom session is required.
Participants must join the session using a valid UC Davis NetID and provide a UC Davis email address.

NOTE: These RCR courses do not satisfy the basic courses for human subjects or lab animal welfare.

Additional Information

NIH Requirements

For NIH, both of the training requirements apply to all NIH Institutional Research Training Grants, Individual Fellowship Awards, Career Development Awards (Institutional and Individual), Research Education Grants, and Dissertation Research Grants. The programs are listed as: D43, D71, F05, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F37, F38, K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2, R25, R36, T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2, and U2R.

NSF Requirements

NSF expanded their responsible and ethical conduct of research (RCR) training. It is now required for both Principal Investigators and for senior personnel (i.e., faculty and other academic appointees).

UC Davis will permit NSF researchers to complete only the asynchronous CITI component, which satisfies the NSF RCR requirements, during fiscal year 2025 as an interim measure given the new requirement. We will continue to review and refine our Responsible Conduct of Research Program to ensure we deploy strategies that comply with federal regulation and minimize faculty administrative burden.

Address questions to the Research Ethics and Compliance Office, Elizabeth “Liz” Chase at RECO