Research, Technology & Economic Security

The Department takes seriously its responsibility to protect federal investments from undue foreign influence and to accomplish its mission in ways that protect and further energy security and technological advancement of the United States. The Office of Research, Technology, and Economic Security supports the Department’s programs in due diligence reviews and risk mitigation to ensure our national security, economic competitiveness, and technological leadership imperatives are duly incorporated into its financial assistance and loan activities.

The Office’s responsibilities include identifying and addressing potential security risks that threaten the scientific enterprise; establishing best practices for programs; conducting outreach activities for stakeholders; educating Department programs on potential security risks; and conducting or facilitating risk assessments of DOE proposals, loans, and awards. It is also responsible for implementing the Department’s pilot vetting process, which is intended to streamline and strengthen existing due diligence processes. 

DOE's approach to Research, Technology, and Economic Security (RTES) is shepherded by two groups:

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The risk review and mitigation process is led by DOE’s Office of Research, Technology, and Economic Security (RTES). The RTES Office coordinates, as appropriate, with subject matter experts in DOE’s/NNSA’s Program Offices and DOE’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence (DOE-IN). The centralized approach ensures that DOE’s risk assessment and mitigation strategies are applied consistently across DOE and NNSA. 

Timing of Review

• Phase 1: A review is conducted on Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs), Prize Rules, Partnership Intermediary Agreements (PIAs), Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs), and other such solicitations prior to publication. This ensures that appropriate language is included in the published document, such that potential applicants understand the RTES-related requirements to which their projects will be subject. This review also includes an assessment of the technology risk level of the solicitation.
• Phase 2: Before selection, financial assistance projects undergo an RTES due diligence review, with consideration of the technology risk assessment during Phase 1 review. For Loan applications, an RTES due diligence review is conducted prior to finalizing the application’s term sheet. 
• Phase 3: During the life of a project, an RTES review may be triggered in situations where there are changes to the project, personnel, or ownership/control that could affect RTES. The entities selected for funding are responsible for notifying DOE of these types of changes, as outlined in their agreements with DOE. DOE, in turn, conducts its own due diligence to verify the information and will take a risk-based approach to continuous monitoring. 

To the extent possible, DOE/NNSA will seek to mitigate identified risks through means such as certifications, tailored mitigation agreements, reporting, and special terms and conditions.