Export controls and international research collaborations

Export controls apply to the transfer of physical materials, software, data, technology, or know how that may have a military application, factoring in development over approximately the next 30 years. The University and its researchers may not always know whether particular research may have a military application for other users. The University therefore must apply for an export licence if any of the following apply:

1. The material intended for transfer, or the subject of software, data, technology, information, or technical assistance, is listed on the UK Consolidated List; OR
2. The University or the researcher has been informed, or has any reason to believe, that the material to be transferred may be used in connection with military equipment or WMD programmes; OR 
3. The material is subject to trade sanctions.

There is no automatic exemption for academics and researchers and their work.

Software and technology (but not goods) which are listed on the UK Consolidated List may be decontrolled if the dual-use item is in the public domain or used for basic scientific research. This means that items that do appear on the list but are in the public domain or being used for basic scientific research may be exempted. 

Basic scientific research is defined as 'experimental or theoretical work undertaken principally to acquire knowledge of the fundamental principles or phenomena or observable facts and not primarily directed towards a specific practical aim or objective'.² This exemption only rarely applies to research activity beyond Masters level and requires specialist assessment to confirm whether the relevant criteria are met. 

To be considered ‘in the public domain’, material must be available without restrictions on its further dissemination (apart from copyright restrictions). Access to material must not be limited or require a fee to access.

Neither of these exemptions apply where there are end-use concerns (e.g. if 2. or 3. above apply).

There are four phases to the export control process at Oxford:

1. Screening - using a list of criteria, researchers should identify whether a detailed assessment of export control requirements is necessary, contacting the relevant support team if assessment is required;
2. Detailed assessment - use the Export Control Assessment Form or the Hosting Visitor Form to assess whether an export licence application is required;
3. Licence application - prepare, review, and submit the licence application;
4. Monitoring and compliance - ensure that the terms listed on the licence are adhered to and records maintained according to Research Services' guidance. 

For research-related activities listed above, the Trusted Research team will work with researchers and Departmental professional services colleagues to carry out the Detailed assessment and prepare, review, and approve the Licence application. For activities that are not research, Departments and Faculties are requested to use the resources provided on this page to conduct the Detailed assessment (guidance) and to prepare, review, and approve the Licence application for onward submission by the Trusted Research team (guidance) . 

The Export Control Organisation (ECO) aims to turn around applications within 21 working days, though complex applications, and those for destinations considered to be high-risk may take longer, sometimes several months.

A detailed assessment of export control requirements is necessary where research activity includes the transfer (physical, digital, or verbal) of technology, or provision of technical advice, to a destination outside of the UK or within the UK to a representative of an entity outside of the UK and any of the following apply:

1. The transfer will include any of the following dual-use materials:
   • Nuclear materials, facilities and equipment;
   • Special materials and related equipment (including chemicals and human, animal, and plant pathogens, viruses, micro-organisms and toxins);
   • Materials processing;
   • Electronics (including circuits, microprocessors, microwave technologies, electromagnets, solar cells, semiconductors and CMOS systems, mass spectrometers);
   • Computers (including software);
   • Telecommunications or information security (including radio equipment, telemetry and telecontrol, cryptography, satellite navigation);
   • Sensors or lasers (including underwater survey equipment, cryocoolers, cameras, space equipment, radar systems);
   • Navigation or avionics;
   • Marine technology;
   • Aerospace and propulsion; OR
2. The transfer will include materials or information that could be used for military purposes, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), or torture; OR
3. Equipment or information about equipment that the University or its staff or students are aware has a classification of OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE or above; OR
4. The transfer is to a destination, or representative of an entity, in a country that is subject to trade sanctions or arms embargoes; OR
5. The University or the researcher has been informed, or has any reason to believe, that the material to be transferred may be used in connection with military equipment or WMD programmes. 

For 4 and 5, the University maintains a list of entities on which it has received advice from the UK Government of military or WMD end-use concerns. The University must apply for a licence and receive the outcome before transferring any technology, or providing any technical assistance, to any of these entities. The list is sensitive and therefore not published widely. Please ask your Department/Faculty administration team whether the entity you wish to collaborate with is listed. You may assume that entities not in countries subject to UK trade sanctions or arms embargoes are not the subject of end-user advice from the UK Government.

If the answer to any of the screening questions is yes, please proceed to a Detailed Assessment. For research activities listed above, please contact Trusted.Research@admin.ox.ac.uk and we will support you and the Department through the detailed assessment and the preparation of any licence application. For other activities, please contact your Department administrator for advice. 

The UK Consolidated List is a listing of controlled goods and technology for which an export licence is required.  The Trusted Research team has compiled resources to help you with reviewing the UK Consolidated List which are available in the links to the right. 

Researchers should complete the Export Control Assessment Form or Hosting Visitor Form as appropriate, and provide to you. Then follow these steps to assess whether an export licence application is required:

1. Review the researcher's assessment of whether any Control List Classifications (CLCs) from the UK Consolidated List apply and determine whether this is sufficient or if further questions are required;
2. If Control List Classifications apply, then an export licence application is required, you may proceed to preparing the licence application (first use the OGEL checker to determine whether an OGEL (Open General Export Licence may be available for the activity);
3. If no CLCs apply, determine whether the material is to be transferred to an entity or individual in a country that is subject to UK trade sanctions or arms embargoes;
4. If the answer to 3 is Yes, then we need to consider whether there are any military or Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) concerns in relation to the end-user:
   1. First, check the spreadsheet listing existing end-user advice (if your Department does not have access to this, please contact Trusted.Research@admin.ox.ac.uk);
   2. If the end-user appears with concerns, then a licence application is required, and you may proceed to preparing the application;
   3. If the end-user appears with no concerns, then no export licence application is required, please store the record of the decision-making securely for future reference;
   4. If the end-user does not appear, please email Trusted.Research@admin.ox.ac.uk asking us to submit an end-user advice request, and providing the full name, address, and website URL of the entity or individual;
5. If no CLCs apply and there are no end-user concerns, then no export licence application is required, please store the record of the decision-making securely for future reference.

First, use the document 'Licence Descriptions by Type' to determine which type of licence you need. 

All export licence applications are submitted via the ECO’s online export licensing system SPIRE. The University’s registration on SPIRE is managed by Research Services. Please contact Trusted.Research@admin.ox.ac.uk if you need access to SPIRE, providing the email address that you will use for registration, Department/Faculty name, and the address of the University Site from which the planned export will be made. 

The Higher Education Export Control Association has provided the HEECA guidance, which sets out how to create a SIEL application. We recommend that Departments refer to this guidance in drafting a licence application. 

Once the draft application is complete, please secure the written approval of the PI. The relevant approver for your Department should then email Trusted.Research@admin.ox.ac.uk with the following text:

"Please submit licence application reference XXXX on behalf of the University. On behalf of the Department/Faculty, I confirm that the licence application is complete and accurate, and that appropriate review and approval has taken place. I confirm that a Department/Faculty contact is listed as the contact for the application. I understand that export licences, if granted, will impose terms and conditions on the Department/Faculty and the University. I understand that the activity set out in the licence application must not proceed until a positive response is received from ECJU. Disclosure of the contents of this application by ECJU under FOIA is/is not likely to harm the University's interests [if it is, please add a short note explaining why]."

The Trusted Research team will then submit your application and advise you of the ECO reference.

The ECO aims to turn around applications within 21 working days, though complex applications, and those for destinations considered to be high-risk may take longer. Providing as much information as possible, as clearly and consistently as possible, will reduce the likelihood of the ECO requesting further information, which delays application processing.

Checklist

Before submitting, please ensure that your application conforms to the following points. Failure to do so is likely to result in requests for information, delaying processing and increasing administrative work.

1. Site: It is important that the correct Oxford Site address is used for the export licence application, particularly for exports of physical materials, otherwise a licence may not be valid (if you do not see the site you need listed, please contact Trusted.Research@admin.ox.ac.uk);
2. Contact: Please ensure that a Department contact is listed here so that any requests for information from the ECJU are sent directly to the Department;
3. End-User Undertaking Form (EUU)
   1. Ensure that the EUU matches the application, particularly the listed end-user, goods list, and end-use;
   2. Ensure that the cover letter is on headed paper (application rules are that both the cover letter and the EUU must be on headed paper throughout, however, there seems to be some flexibility on the EUU itself);
   3. Ensure that the signature on the EUU and the cover letter, and the associated person details, match;
   4. Ensure that the cover letter names the University of Oxford (e.g. "the licence application of the University of Oxford");
4. Goods list: the goods list must accurately reflect the materials and information that will be exported as this will appear on your licence;
5. Visitors and/or Overseas funders names and details should be listed under Third Parties (work addresses and phone numbers may be used);
6. Attachments: a technical specification and EUU must be attached to every SIEL application; the technical specification should be sufficiently detailed that technical specialists in the ECJU can understand the project/transfer. You may find it helpful to attach the Export Control Assessment Form or Hosting Visitor Form to the application.

Either Research Services or your Department/Faculty administrator will be notified of the outcome of your licence application through the SPIRE system, and will contact you as soon as possible, providing the terms of your licence and record-keeping requirements.

Departments and Faculties who are granted licences for activity not related to research should contact Trusted.Research@admin.ox.ac.uk for advice on record-keeping, monitoring, and compliance. This will ensure that the University maintains a consistent approach and is readily able to respond effectively to audit. Guidance will be added to this page soon.

The University is regularly audited by the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU), and HMRC has the right to audit the operation of any individual licence. Effective record-keeping and monitoring, following Research Services’ guidance, is critical to ensuring a positive outcome and to avoiding time-consuming investigation.

If the technology was imported from the US and is subject to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) or EAR (Export Administration Regulations) controls, transfer to another party within or outside the UK may be prohibited unless cleared within the supplier’s licence.

Ask the supplier if the technology is subject to ITAR or EAR controls and request a copy of the licence.

ITAR specifies that information and material concerning defence and military related technology (for items on the US Munitions List) may only be shared with US persons, unless authorisation is received from the US Department of State or a special exemption is used.

EAR restrict the transfer of relevant US materials. Materials that are subject to EAR and have been received from the US require a licence prior to transfer outside the University, even within the UK. Deemed re-exports are also restricted. 

The US Treasury is able to audit the University for compliance with US EAR and ITAR.

Please contact Trusted.Research@admin.ox.ac.uk for advice if you have received materials from the US.
 

This guidance is for academic staff who will disseminate information to students based overseas who may require an export control licence. Most importantly, the export control guidance on this site applies equally to the dissemination of information and technology to students based overseas as it would to sharing research results with a collaborator or funder based overseas.

What are export controls?

UK export controls aim to prevent goods, technology, and know-how deemed sensitive from a national security perspective from falling into the wrong hands. The regulations restrict the export of certain 'controlled' goods and information with the aim of preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and countering terrorism by denying access to those who might misuse the technology.

The regulations apply to technology that can be used for military purposes and also to 'dual-use' items. Dual-use items are goods, technology, software and know-how which are created for a civil purpose but could also be used in a military application, in the broadest sense.

The definition of 'export' is not limited to physical shipments of goods, but includes instances where software, data, technology, or intangible know-how is sent or shared with anyone based outside the UK. Exports can be made by any means, including email, telephone, online platforms such as Microsoft Teams, or accessing documents from the University’s website or shared drives via VPN (where the recipient is based outside the UK). 

There is no automatic exemption for academics, researchers, and students. Failure to obtain an appropriate licence to export controlled goods is a criminal offence. 

How export controls impact on teaching

Export controls are most likely to affect teaching in certain scientific and technical areas with potential for military or WMD applications. Directors of postgraduate teaching programmes which will be delivered to students working remotely from countries outside the UK and which cover a discipline that could involve disclosing controlled technology, data and know-how, should:

1. Check whether the syllabus is covered by either of the two general exemptions: 

• information already in the public domain, defined in the relevant legislation to include information 'available without restriction upon further dissemination' – copyright is not regarded as a restriction in this context)
  Most undergraduate teaching will fall under this exemption.
• dissemination of basic scientific research, defined as 'experimental or theoretical work undertaken principally to acquire knowledge of the fundamental principles or phenomena or observable facts and not primarily directed towards a specific practical aim or objective'
  As a rule of thumb, consider whether the information being shared could be used to develop, improve, produce or use a physical item – if so, then it is not basic scientific research. 

2. If aspects of the syllabus are not exempt under either of the two above provisions, check whether the data, know-how, information are ‘controlled’ by searching the UK strategic export control lists, which are enabled for keyword searching. Alternatively, the online checker tool can also be used determine if the information is controlled. An export licence is required to export controlled technology or know-how included on the list (more in point 4).
3. If aspects of the syllabus are controlled (ie listed on the UK strategy export control list), consider whether there are alternative sources of publicly available teaching material that could be used or if the controlled elements of the syllabus can be delayed until the relevant students will be studying in Oxford.
4. If it is not feasible to delay dissemination, then an export licence must be sought and granted before sharing the controlled information.  To apply for a licence, follow the process described above under For Departments and Faculties: Applying for an export licence for non-research related activity. A licence will be required for each country or, in some cases, each recipient of the controlled information. This will take time, depending on the nature of the technology and its destination. There is no guarantee that a licence will be granted. It is essential that the above checks are made as early as possible.
    

Export controls can be complex and this note is intended as a brief overview.  Two important points not included above are:

1. Controls may apply to items not listed on the control lists where the student is studying in a country under embargo or sanctions.
2. Where remote teaching involves sharing technology which has been imported from the US and is governed by ITAR regulations, then the academic teacher must abide by the UK regulations above in addition to US restrictions.

For more information about remote teaching visit the Centre for Teaching and Learning website.