Implementation Of "Countering Foreign Influence Program" For Scientific Research Funded By DARPA

Over the past three years, the U.S. Congress has directed the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ("DARPA"), the research and development agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, to secure its funded research from undue influence by foreign governments through the establishment of an initiative and relevant policies.¹ In accordance with its congressional mandate, the U.S. Department of Defense initially circulated a memo in March 2019 directing its award managers and other award-related personnel to collect information related to the other funding of Senior/Key Persons of DARPA-funded research in order "to limit undue influence" from "countries that desire to exploit [the] United States' technology," including from within the U.S. Department of Defense's "research, science and technology, and innovation enterprise."² More recently, DARPA implemented a "Countering Foreign Influence Program" ("CFIP"), which, by using a risk algorithm, assesses the level of risk