Security, Confidentiality, and Nondisclosure Agreement:
Reviewer of NIH Grant Applications and R&D Contract proposals
With the understanding that any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or
representation may subject me to criminal, civil, or administrative penalties (18 USC
§1001), I certify that I fully understand the confidential nature of the NIH peer review
process and possible consequences for breaches of confidentiality, and agree:
• Not to share or assist in the sharing of government-issued login credentials
and/or passwords with, or grant access to, or assist any individual, organization,
or other entity in gaining access to, a secure government computer system used
to support the NIH peer review process.
• Not to engage in unauthorized or improper use of these systems, data or
information contained therein, including communicating, delivering, transmitting,
or causing to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted, or attempting to
communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered or
transmitted to any person not entitled to receive such information;
• To destroy, delete, and/or return the grant applications, R&D contract proposals,
and associated confidential information to the Designated Federal Officer (DFO)
in charge of the review meeting;
• Not to disclose, transmit, or discuss the grant applications, R&D contract
proposals, and associated confidential information with any other individual
(including but not limited to colleagues, lab members, fellows, students,
applicants, offerors or employees of an offeror), through any communication
channel (including social media) except as authorized by the DFO or other
designated NIH official;
• Not to disclose, in any manner, information about the committee deliberations,
discussions, evaluations, or documents to anyone (including but not limited to a
colleague, lab member, fellow, student, applicant, offeror or employee of an
offeror), through any communication channel (including social media) other than
as authorized during or for the peer review meeting;
• Not to upload or share content or original concepts from grant applications, R&D
contract proposals, critiques, or any other associated confidential meeting
information with any unapproved third-party platforms, including generative
artificial intelligence technologies, except as authorized by the DFO or other
designated NIH official;
• Not to disclose, transmit or discuss confidential information pertaining to an
application or proposal to/with another member who has declared a real or
apparent conflict of interest (consistent with the NIH peer review regulations at 42
CFR 52h) with that application or proposal;
August 2023
• Not to record or transcribe committee deliberations, discussions, evaluations, or
documents;
• Not to use information contained in a grant application or R&D contract proposal
for my personal benefit or make such information available for the personal
benefit of any other individual, organization, or entity;
• Not to disclose or transmit procurement information prior to the award of a
contract (i.e., contractor bid or proposal information or source selection
information as defined in 48 CFR 2.101; 3.104-1(a)) prior to the award of a
contract (see 48 CFR 3.104-3(a)); and
• To refer all inquiries concerning the recruitment or review, including inquiries
related to these Security, Confidentiality and Nondisclosure Rules and/or
Certification, to the DFO managing the review meeting, the Contracting Officer in
charge of the solicitation, or other designated NIH official.
I understand that confidential information related to NIH peer review includes but is not
limited to grant applications, R&D contract proposals, and data and information
contained therein; other materials made available to me as an NIH reviewer; information
and materials related to the reviewer recruitment process and reviews; individual
reviewer assignments, conflicts of interest, and evaluations including scores and written
critiques; and discussions and notes taken during review meetings.
I understand that the NIH may take steps in response to a violation of the above rules,
in order to preserve the integrity of the NIH review process. Depending on the specific
circumstances, such steps may include but are not limited to:
• Notifying or requesting information from my institution.
• Terminating my review service.
• Deferring or withdrawing an application submitted by my institution.
• Terminating grants, cooperative agreements, fellowships or R&D contract awards
to my institution.
• Notifying the NIH Office of Management Assessment (OMA) and other
appropriate Department officials for review of the matter in accordance with
applicable law, with possible referral to the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the U.S. Department of
Justice (DOJ) for further action, which may include pursuing criminal and civil
penalties as allowable by law.
• Pursuing a referral for government-wide suspension or debarment.
• Notifying other, appropriate Federal agencies.
August 2023
