Program (USAP) are physically qualified and psychologically adapted for assignment or travel to Antarctica. Medical screening examinations are necessary to determine the presence of any physical or psychological conditions that would threaten the health or safety of the candidate or other USAP participants or that could not be effectively treated by the limited medical care capabilities in Antarctica.

(b) Presidential Memorandum No. 6646 (February 5, 1982) (available from the National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs, room 755, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22230) sets forth the National Science Foundation's overall management responsibilities for the entire United States national program in Antarctica.

$675.2 Medical examinations.

(a) Any individual seeking to travel to Antarctica under sponsorship of the United States Antarctic Program must undergo a medical and dental examination to determine whether the individual is physically qualified for deployment to Antarctica.

(b) The medical and dental examinations may be conducted by a qualified licensed physician or dentist of the candidate's choosing, or designated by the employing organization, following instructions provided by the USAP. The medical examinations shall include a medical history, physical examination and appropriate clinical tests which address major organ systems for medical conditions inconsistent with safe deployment to Antarctica.

(c) The candidate's physician/dentist will submit the required medical information on the appropriate USAP-provided forms to a USAP-designated physician who will determine whether the individual is qualified for deployment to Antarctica based upon Medical Clearance Criteria established by the USAP. All information requested on the forms shall be provided.

(d) Candidates who anticipate spending the austral winter in Antarctica (when evacuation may be impossible) are subject to additional evaluation, including a determination of psychological adaptability for such an isolated assignment. Psychological eval

uations of "winter-over" candidates shall be performed by a qualified team of USAP-designated physicians/clinical psychologists.

$675.3 Medical clearance criteria.

(a) The USAP shall establish Medical Clearance Criteria for determining eligibility for deployment to Antarctica. (See Medical Standards for Antarctic Deployment available from the National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs, room 755.09, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22230).

The criteria will include examination of the following major organ systems: (1) Lungs and chest wall.

(2) Heart and vascular system. (3) Abdominal organs and gastrointestinal system.

(4) Endocrine or metabolic system.
(5) Genitalia and urinary system.
(6) Musculoskeletal.

(7) Skin and cellular tissues.
(8) Neurological Disorders.

(9) Psychiatric or psychological. (10) Dental.

(b) The USAP may review and revise the Medical Clearance Criteria periodically as appropriate.

§ 675.4 Waiver process.

(a) If an individual is found not physically qualified for deployment to Antarctica, the USAP's contractor will inform the individual of the determination and of the administrative waiver process, and will provide a waiver application package to the individual upon request.

(b) The waiver applicant should send the completed waiver application package to the USAP's contractor which will forward the package to NSF's Of fice of Polar Programs for review and a determination on the appropriateness of a waiver. In making the waiver determination, the Office of Polar Programs may consult with other qualified medical personnel and may require waiver applicants to take further medical examinations or to furnish additional medical documentation in support of the waiver application.

(c) The Director, Office of Polar Programs (or designee) will make a final determination, in the exercise of his or her discretion, on the appropriateness of a waiver on a case-by-case basis.

SOURCE: 61 FR 59837, Nov. 25, 1996, unless otherwise noted.

§ 680.10 Definitions; Cross-references to employee ethical conduct standards and financial disclosure regulations.

(a) Definitions. Under this subpart, unless a provision plainly indicates otherwise:

(1) Award means any grant, contract, cooperative agreement, loan, or other arrangement made by the Government.

(2) Employee includes, in addition to any individual defined in 5 CFR 2635.102(h), any individual working at NSF under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act. It includes any part-time or intermittent employee, temporary consultant; but not a special Government employee, as defined in 18 U.S.C.

202(a).

(3) Institution means any university, college, business firm, research institute, professional society, or other organization. It includes all parts of a university or college, including all institutions in a multi-institution State or city system. It includes any university consortium or joint corporation; but not the universities that belong to such a consortium. Those universities shall be considered separate institutions for purposes of this part.

(4) Proposal means an application for an award and includes a bid.

(b) Cross-references to employee ethical conduct standards and financial disclosure regulations. Members of the National Science Board and other employees of the National Science Foundation (NSF), including special Government employees, should refer to the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch at 5 CFR part 2635, the National Science Foundation's regulations at 5 CFR part 5301 which supplement the executive branch Standards, and the executive branch financial disclosure regulations at 5 CFR part 2634.

§ 680.11 Staff involvement with NSF proposals and awards.

(a)(1) Many scientists, engineers, and educators interrupt active research and teaching careers to spend a year or two at NSF and then return to research and teaching, usually at the same institution from which they came. Many such visiting scientists, engineers, and educators (and a few permanent employees) who have been principal investigators under NSF awards before coming to NSF, retain some interest or association with the work. If an individual is a principal investigator under an NSF award, the individual is not precluded from retaining ties to the work after becoming an NSF employee. The employee may stay in contact with those who are continuing the work in the employee's laboratory or on his or her project. The employee may continue to supervise graduate students. And the employee may visit and work in the laboratory on his or her own time for these and related purposes.

(2) Before a prospective employee comes to NSF, the prospective employee and the grantee institution

must designate, subject to NSF approval, a "substitute principal investigator"-i.e., another scientist who will be responsible for the work and equipment and will represent the institution in any dealings with NSF officials while the prospective employee is at NSF.

(3) Appointment of a substitute principal investigator is unnecessary if all work under an award is to be completely suspended while the employee is at NSF. If the work is to be suspended, the employee and the grantee institution must inform the NSF in writing before the employee's employment begins. Work under the award may be resumed when the employee completes his or her NSF employment, and its term may be extended to account for the time lost during the employee's NSF employment.

(b)(1) NSF will entertain no proposal on which a current NSF employee would be a senior investigator or equivalent, unless it is a proposal for continuation or extension of support for work on which the employee served in that capacity before coming to NSF. Any proposal for continuation of NSF support at essentially the same level (with reasonable allowance for inflation) will normally be considered a proposal for continuation or extension if it would support the work of the same investigator and his or her laboratory or group (if any) in the same general field of science, engineering, or education, notwithstanding that the focus of the work may change in response to research opportunities or educational needs.

(2) Someone other than the current NSF employee must submit any such proposal for continuation or extension of work NSF previously supported and handle all negotiations with NSF, but the capacity in which the current NSF employee will serve should be clearly spelled out in the proposal.

(c) In accordance with 5 CFR 5301.103(a)(1), an NSF employee may not receive, directly or indirectly, any salary, consulting fee, honorarium, or other form of compensation for services, or reimbursement of expenses, from an NSF award.

§ 680.12 One-year NSF post-employ. ment restrictions.

(a) For one year after leaving NSF employment, a former NSF employee, including a special Government employee who has performed work for NSF on more than 60 days in the previous twelve months, shall not represent himself, herself, or any other person in dealings with any NSF official on any proposal, project, or other particular matter.

(b) The one-year restriction contained in paragraph (a) of this section is in addition to any post-employment restriction imposed by statute, includ-* ing 18 U.S.C. 207 and 41 U.S.C. 423. To the extent that any disqualification required by paragraph (a) of this section is not also required by statute, written exceptions may be granted by the NSF's General Counsel, whose decisions shall be final. Exceptions will be rare and will be granted only where strict application of the rules would result in undue hardship for former short-term employees or for other former employees, and when granting an exception would not result in an unfair advantage to the former employee.

(c)(1) Paragraph (a) of this section applies to particular matters involving specific parties, such as grants, contracts, or other agreements; applications for permits, licenses, or the like; requests for rulings or similar official determinations; claims; investigations or audits; charges or accusations against individuals or firms; adjudicatory hearings; and court cases.

(2) For former employees, other than special Government employees, paragraph (a) of this section also applies to particular matters that do not involve specific parties, such as:

(i) Determinations to establish or dis-establish a particular program or set its budget level for a particular fiscal year;

(ii) Decisions to undertake or terminate a particular project;

(iii) Decisions to open or not open a contract to competitive bidding;

(iv) General policy or rulemaking— including, for example, decisions on particular NSF rules or formal policy, such as adoption or amendment of a resolution by the National Science Board, promulgation or amendment of

an NSF regulation or circular, amendment of standard grant or contract terms, or changes to NSF manuals or ⚫ policy documents; and

(v) Agency positions on particular legislative or regulatory proposals.

(d) Paragraph (a) of this section does not apply to:

(1) Any expression of a former employee's views on policy issues where the circumstances make it obvious that the former employee is only speaking as an informed and interested citizen, not representing any financial or other interests of his or her own or of any other person or institution with which he or she is associated;

(2) Any appearance or communication concerning matters of a personal or individual nature, such as the former employee's taxes, salary, benefits, possible Federal employment, rights as a former employee, or the application of conflict-of-interest rules to something the former employee proposes to do;

(3) Any appearance on the former employee's own behalf in any litigation or administrative proceeding; or

(4) Any presentation of scientific or technical information (at a site visit, for example) or any other communication of scientific or technical information on work being proposed or conducted.

(e) As soon as his or her NSF employment ceases, a former NSF employee (including any former special Government employee described in paragraph (a) of this section) may again be listed as principal investigator on an NSF award, may be listed as principal investigator in any proposal or award, and may sign a proposal as principal investigator. However, the former employee and the grantee institution shall formally designate, subject to NSF approval, a “substitute negotiator" who, though not principally responsible for the work, will represent the former employee and the institution in dealings with NSF officials on any proposal or project for as long as the former employee would be barred from representational contacts with NSF by paragraph (a) of this section or by statute.

$ 680.13 Purposes for "substitute” requirements.

Appointment of a “substitute principal investigator" or "substitute negotiator" ensures against unthinking violation of the restrictions on dealings with NSF officials. It serves this purpose by flagging proposals or awards affected by the restrictions and by identifying someone else with whom NSF officials can properly discuss them or negotiate over them. Designation of a substitute principal investigator while an employee is at NSF has two additional functions: it identifies another person to be responsible for the work and equipment, and it reminds all concerned that during an employee's NSF service his or her attentions should focus on NSF duties.

Subpart B-Statutory Exemptions

§ 680.20 Exemptions under 18 U.S.C. 208(b).

(a) The Foundation exempts the interests described in the remainder of this section from the operation of section 208(a) and from case-by-case formal determinations under section 208(b)(1) of title 18, United States Code.

(b) Minor interests. The following financial interests are too inconsequential to affect the integrity of an employee's services to the Government: (1) Noncorporate bonds;

(2) Shares in a well-diversified money market or mutual fund;

(3) Stocks, bonds, or other securities of a corporation listed on the New York or American Stock Exchange if the aggregate market value of all the securities you hold in that corporation does not exceed $1,000;

(4) Vested pension rights to which no further contributions are being made by your former employer.

(c) Indirect interests. An NSF employee may be a stockholder, partner, employee, officer, or director of an institution, such as a mutual fund, that owns a financial interest in a second institution. If the owning institution's financial interest consists of securities or other evidences of debt of the second institution that amount to:

(1) Less than 5 percent of the total portfolio of investments of the owning institution,

(2) Less than 5 percent of the total outstanding amounts of the same classes of securities of the second institution, and

(3) Less than would be needed to obtain effective control of the second institution,

then the interest is too remote and inconsequential to affect the integrity of the employee's services to the Government.

(d) Policy determinations. Where a general policy determination of the Government might constitute a "particular matter" under 18 U.S.C. 208(a) and might affect the home institution of an NSF officer or employee, but only in the same manner as all similar institutions, the officer or employee may participate in that determination.

(e) Support services for National Science Board tasks and responsibilities. A member of the National Science Board may need professional, clerical, and administrative services to support the member's personal efforts to carry out Board tasks and responsibilities. With the approval of the Director and the Chairman of the National Science Board and in accordance with other laws and regulations, the NSF may contract with the home insitution of the member to provide such services. The institution may receive reimbursement of all allowable costs, but no profit or fee. In such circumstances any financial interests the institution might have are normally too inconsequential to affect the integrity of the services provided by the Board member to the Government.

[47 FR 32131, July 26, 1982. Redesignated at 61 FR 59839, Nov. 25, 1996]

Sec.

PART 689-MISCONDUCT IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

689.1 General policies and responsibilities. 689.2 Actions.

689.3 Role of awardee institutions.

689.4 Initial NSF handling of misconduct matters.

689.5 Investigations.

689.6 Pending proposals and awards. 689.7 Interim administrative actions. 689.8 Dispositions.

689.9 Appeals.

AUTHORITY: Sec. 11(a), National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1870(a)).

SOURCE: 56 FR 22287, May 14, 1991, unless otherwise noted.

§ 689.1 General policies and respon. sibilities.

(a) Misconduct means

(1) Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or other serious deviation from accepted practices in proposing, carrying out, or reporting results from activities funded by NSF; or

(2) Retaliation of any kind against a person who reported or provided information about suspected or alleged misconduct and who has not acted in bad faith.

(b) The NSF will take appropriate action against individuals or institutions upon a determination that misconduct has occurred in proposing, carrying out, or reporting results from activities funded by NSF. It may also take interim action during an investigation. Possible actions are described in § 689.2.

(c) NSF will find misconduct only after careful inquiry and investigation by an awardee institution, by another Federal agency, or by NSF. An "inquiry" consists of preliminary information-gathering and preliminary factfinding to determine whether an allegation or apparent instance of misconduct has substance. An investigation must be undertaken if the inquiry determines the allegation or apparent instance of misconduct has substance. An "investigation" is a formal examination and evaluation of relevant facts to determine whether misconduct has taken place or, if misconduct has already been confirmed, to assess its extent and consequences or determine appropriate action.

(d) Before NSF makes any final finding of misconduct or takes any final action on such a finding, NSF will normally afford the accused individual or institution notice, a chance to provide comments and rebuttal, and a chance to appeal. In structuring procedures in individual cases, NSF may take into account procedures already followed by other entities investigating the same allegation of misconduct.