COVID-19 Research Continuity
University leadership continues to monitor worldwide COVID-19 disease-related developments. Important information and updates for the broader campus are provided through NC State’s Coronavirus Response website. Research and Innovation has put together a list of frequently asked questions about research continuity.
The university is approaching our research restart using a phased approach in response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.
Phase I guidelines (5/18/20-6/7/20): Colleges will approve which projects are appropriate for restart. In the first phase of research restart, research spaces (labs and facilities) will not be allowed to be occupied beyond 35% of capacity, with a minimum of 250 square feet per occupant.
Phase II guidelines (6/8/20 – 7/12/20): All research restart requests will allow for a minimum of one person regardless of the size of the room. When there is more than one occupant in a room, research restart requests must allow for a minimum of 200 square feet per occupant. You may use up to 100% of your assigned research space (labs and facilities) provided the layout and equipment allow appropriate physical distancing among all occupants at all times. During this phase, there will be a max of 10 occupants allowed at one time regardless of the size of the space.
Phase III guidelines (begins 7/13/20): All research activities will be considered for return to campus but must be approved by the department, college associate dean for research and the Office of Research and Innovation. Research restart requests will allow for a minimum of one person regardless of the size of the room. When there is more than one occupant in a room, research restart requests must allow for a minimum of 200 square feet per occupant.
Phase III-B guidelines (begins 9/14/20): All research activities will continue to be considered for return to campus but must be approved by the department, college associate dean for research and the Office of Research and Innovation. Research restart requests will allow for a minimum of one person regardless of the size of the room. During Phase III-B a minimum of 150 square feet is required per occupant in research spaces with a maximum limit of 15 occupants at a given time regardless of the size of the space. Refer to the faculty guide for Phase III-B to help guide decisions and understand the process for returning to campus.
Phase III-C guidelines (begins 3/29/21): All research activities will continue to be considered for return to campus but must be approved by the department, college associate dean for research and the Office of Research and Innovation. Research restart requests will allow for a minimum of one person regardless of the size of the room. During Phase III-C a minimum of 100 square feet is required per occupant in research spaces with a maximum limit of 25 occupants at a given time regardless of the size of the space.
For information about guidelines for general university space please see this document.
We are providing guidance on how to manage disruptions to normal research operations resulting from the precautions (including recommended physical distancing and reduced facility access) taken to avoid widespread COVID-19 communal transmissions. We have gathered some information below to assist in planning.
The Office of Research and Innovation recommends that anyone conducting research on-campus or in the field for more than 16 hours per week should continue to participate in the surveillance program.
For undergraduate research guidelines please refer to this document.
For external visitor in research space guidelines please refer to this document.
For requests that fall outside of the Phase III guidelines, submit a special research exception request.
Office of Research and Innovation
- Research and Innovation units continue to provide critical services remotely. Contact staff via email with inquiries.
- Core facilities are resuming operations at a reduced capacity, please work through your colleges to gain access as part of the research restart process.
- To submit research delivery exception requests, please refer to the information on this page.
- Information about amending your human subject research (IRB) protocol to continue virtual research activities and submitting new protocols to the IRB please find can be found here.
- Research and Innovation plans to maintain funding commitments, including internal seed-funding programs. We will continually reevaluate such programs as necessary and keep the campus community updated.
Resources
Research Restart
- Environmental Health and Safety have prepared a restart checklist.
- Face coverings or masks are required on campus and in all university programs.
- If an NC State employee observes something that compromises the health and well-being of themselves or others, they can make an anonymous report using the university’s Ethics Point hotline.
- Guidance regarding travel restrictions.
- Environmental Health and Safety have created a guide for supervisors of employees that have tested positive or presumed sick.
- Employees that have been diagnosed with COVID-19 should use the self-reporting tool.
- Find an on-campus testing facility for Spring 2021. Testing is available free of charge to all students, faculty and staff.
- Find an off-campus testing facility.
- Contact Facilities to install plexiglass barriers where necessary.
Lab Safety and Operation
- Visit the EHS site for continually updated information about lab safety.
- How to clean and disinfect your work area
- Laboratory restart checklist
- If you would like to request special accommodations while in research space please submit a Special Circumstance Review.
- If working between 10 pm and 4 am you can request an escort to an on-campus location, call 919-515-3000 or use a Blue Light Emergency Phone found at many locations across campus.
- For direct assistance by phone – Ken Kretchman – 919-515-6860 or 919-795-1416 and Amy Orders 919-515-5208 or 919-795-1129.
- For direct assistance by email – env-health-resource@ncsu.edu
- Online Question Submission
Approved Research Project Density Maps
- These interactive maps allow you to move around the map using your left mouse button and zoom using your scroll wheel. If you do not have a scroll wheel, double click to zoom in and control-double click to zoom out. The color map moves from blue (fewer) to yellow (more). Hovering over the building shows the building name, the total approved capacity for research, the maximum approved per shift, and the unique PIs with approved exceptions in the building. Thanks to V. Petras from the Center for Geospatial Analytics for creating the maps.
- Map of Approved Maximum Approved Per Shift for Research. The counts are computed by identifying the rooms within the building with approved research requests and summing their maximum total personnel per shift. This is the maximum number of people who should be in a building at any one time with approved research requests.
- Map of Unique Principal Investigators. The counts are computed by identifying the unique principal investigators for approved research requests in a building.
Programmatic Impacts and Project Extension
All communications with external sponsors regarding project impacts from COVID-19 must be coordinated with the Sponsored Research office. Proposed communications should be routed through your college research central office representative and then through SPARCS per usual business practice for review.
Libraries
The NC State University Libraries offers extensive research support services including literature searching; data and visualization services; and support for online research collaboration and open sharing of results. As research outputs circulate more quickly online, we consult with researchers on best practices for scholarly sharing (e.g., pre-prints, open access journals, data publishing), developing supplementary digital scholarship projects, and tools/workflows for distributed, open, collaborative scholarship. Our Coronavirus Response page describes the online collections and services available for researchers. If you need something else, just Ask Us.
Contacts
- Animal Care and Use: iacuc_office@ncsu.edu
- Conflicts of Interest: coi-noi-compliance@ncsu.edu
- Contract and Grant Help Desk: cnghelpdesk@ncsu.edu
- Export Control: export_controls@ncsu.edu
- Human Subjects: ncsuirboffice@ncsu.edu
- Sponsored Programs: sps@ncsu.edu
- Not sure who to contact? ncstate-research@ncsu.edu