International Health and Safety Policies

Research or scholarship could involve the travel of University faculty, staff, or students to locations, which pose hazards to health and/or safety.

Aim:

Cornell is a University with substantial international connections and interests. Recognizing that a significant number of faculty, students, and staff conduct teaching, research, or University business abroad, Cornell University has established procedures designed to increase access to information about international health and safety conditions. The aims are to provide information; promote discussion of these issues between Cornell faculty, staff, and students and their supervisors; and to assist members of the Cornell community in avoiding health and safety risks in foreign locations.

Procedures:

For the University’s aims to be met, it is necessary that as many Cornell travelers as possible be apprised of the information resources and the opportunities to receive assistance in the development of contract language if needed.

With respect to overseas activities involving Sponsored Programs (SPS) will include in their review of awards, consideration of terms (such as Force Majeure and “best efforts”) with a view to providing the University with sufficient flexibility to meet contract obligations and protect the safety of overseas personnel.

In some cases specific research contract language may need to be developed. The decision to undertake a contractual obligation to perform research or related services on behalf of the University in an unstable foreign environment where it can be reasonably anticipated that intervening events may significantly delay performance or render performance impossible should be made in full consideration of such circumstances. The project director and SPS should consult on these matters. In such cases the SPS will seek contract language, which will minimize the risk to the University due to a resultant inability to perform.

Requests for specialized international health information should be addressed to the director of the Department of University Health Services and/or the traveler’s personal physician. Health briefings for international travelers will be offered twice yearly to all members of the Cornell community under the supervision of the Cornell Department of University Health Services and with the participation of qualified health care providers. These seminars aim to provide travelers only with the most basic information regarding good health practices and potential health hazards encountered abroad.

The availability of information concerning sources of pertinent safety and health data shall be made known to faculty through their department heads and deans to graduate students through the Graduate School, and to undergraduate students through the appropriate Director of Undergraduate Studies. Faculty, staff, and students contemplating foreign travel are encouraged to contact the appropriate office for access to available information sources.

Guidelines for Conducting Sponsored Research Overseas

By choosing to travel, the Principal Investigator and project staff members are providing their informed consent to conduct research overseas, after becoming aware of the health and safety conditions known about their specific location.

1. At the time of proposal preparation, the Principal Investigator, project staff, and department heads should consider the health and safety conditions present at the proposed overseas location. Information regarding such conditions can be sought through the U.S. State Department .  Consideration should be given to how these conditions will affect the safety of University personnel, the continuity and validity of the proposed research, as well as any ethical issues involved.
2. At the time of award and when hiring University personnel and students for specific overseas work assignments, the Principal Investigator shall be responsible for providing project staff with copies of the “Cornell University International Health and Safety Policies.”
3. Upon arrival in a foreign country where local conditions merit, the Cornell traveler should contact the U.S. embassy to advise them of the individual’s purpose and activities, in-country travel plans, and place where they can be contacted if safety conditions change. The traveler should request updated health and safety information as well as information on any areas where travel by Americans is restricted due to undue risk.
4. In recognition of the fact that the health and safety conditions of a given location can change rapidly, the University delegates to the individual working overseas, or the project field leader in the case of a field team, initial responsibility for making decisions in the field, which are necessary to maximize personal safety.
5. The individuals working overseas shall be responsible for immediately notifying the Principal Investigator and SPS when changing conditions warrant a change in the project’s workscope or work stoppage due to an unacceptable level of personal risk. The University, acting through SPS, will then negotiate with the sponsor to implement a change in workscope or a termination of the project, as determined by all parties involved.