"Has your team collaborated with terrorists?": Trump's questionnaire that worries Catalan investigators
The document was sent to universities in Australia and has now begun to circulate in Catalonia.
BarcelonaIt scandalized Australian researchers and universities and is now worrying Catalonia. A few days ago, several Australian institutions accused the United States government of "blatant foreign interference" for requiring US-funded research groups to respond to a questionnaire to determine whether their research is aligned with the priorities of the Donald Trump administration. The document, which represents a further step in the fight against foreign interference, on the impact that the Trump administration is already having on scientific research around the world, includes around thirty questions that will ask the researcher to confirm that their team has not collaborated with terrorist groups until they can ensure that their project has no relation to research on climate or climate justice.
As ARA has learned, this questionnaire has currently reached some researchers at Catalan centers and universities, but its origin is still unclear. Although the questionnaire document has spread like wildfire among researchers, at this time neither the Department of Research and Universities nor the universities themselves have been able to clarify whether this questionnaire is being sent by an official sender or how many research group leaders have received it.
What does appear is that the researchers who have received the questionnaire would have projects linked to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the main biomedical and public health research agency in the United States. Be that as it may, sources consulted by this newspaper assure that if it ends up being confirmed that this document is being sent officially from the OMB (the United States Office of Management and Budget), it would be a "totally unprecedented situation and an unacceptable interference."
Terrorism, climate, and patriotism
The questionnaire that ARA has been able to view includes 36 questions, one of which is similar to the one asked of everyone trying to enter the country governed by Trump: "Can you confirm that your agency has not collaborated, had no accusations or investigations for working with an entity on the terrorism watchlist, in the last ten years?" Furthermore, the document also asks if the possible organization conducts anti-terrorism screenings on its employees, if they are encouraged to reinforce patriotic feelings, if freedom of expression is encouraged, or if the research group receives support or funding from entities that go against the United States.
Regarding the objectives of the research, the questionnaire allegedly sent by the Trump administration has the researcher confirm that their project has no relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues and that it is not "a climate project," environmental justice project, or one that includes any elements related to these matters. It also asks to what extent the project "directly affects efforts to counter malign influence, including China." Furthermore, it asks whether the project "supports US energy independence or reduces global dependence on hostile countries."
Beyond the research topic, the document's thirty questions also ask whether the project in question "takes appropriate measures to defend itself against gender ideology." It also asks whether the group confirms that it does not work with entities associated with communist, socialist, or totalitarian parties, or that it ensures that it does so.