Effective Date: July 2026 · Last reviewed: August 2026

Purpose and Scope

This policy governs all laboratory fieldwork conducted away from the University of Florida campus, with particular reference to our long-term programme on the Mara River in Kenya. It applies to all laboratory members, as defined in the Laboratory Code of Conduct. Field camp and research operations in Kenya are run by Soiyou Adventures, a Kenyan company whose staff are employed by Soiyou rather than by UF; standards in this policy that apply to the whole party are imposed on Soiyou through its contract.

UF EH&S requires a Wildlife Field Safety Plan before wildlife field work starts, and requires IACUC protocols to describe field hazards and their controls. The practices below supplement UF requirements and do not replace them.10,11

For every proposal that proposes off-campus or off-site research, the Authorized Organizational Representative must certify that the organization has a plan in place for that specific proposal regarding safe and inclusive working environments. The certification itself is enumerated at Chapter II.D.1.d(viii) of the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide, currently NSF 24-1, effective 20 May 2024, as amended by Supplements 1 (NSF 26-200) and 2 (NSF 26-202); see the Data and Code Management Policy for what those supplements changed. The governing substantive section is Chapter II.E.9. The Cover Sheet carries an Off-Campus or Off-Site Research checkbox introduced under PAPPG 23-1.1,3,4,5

Certain funding opportunities additionally require a Safe and Harassment-free Fieldwork (SAHF) plan to be submitted to NSF as a supplementary document, reviewed under Broader Impacts. Under the BIO and GEO pilot this is a two-page document submitted in lieu of the organizational plan required by PAPPG Chapter II.E.9, though the AOR certification is still made. “Safe and Inclusive Working Environments” remains the live PAPPG certification language, while SAHF is the name of the separate plan document, which was earlier called Safe and Inclusive Fieldwork (SAIF). Members preparing proposals should search for both terms.1,2,6

A SAHF plan must be a complete stand-alone document specific to the project, and it must address four components:

  1. The field setting and its unique challenges for the team.
  2. The steps taken to nurture a harassment-free off-site working environment, including codes of conduct and training.
  3. Communication processes that minimise singular points within the communication pathway.
  4. The mechanisms the team will use during field excursions to respond to harassment if it arises.1

The requirement extends to all team members collecting data off-site, to subawardees and contractors, and to solo researchers. It does not apply to personnel who only analyse previously collected data.2

Emergency Information

This table is filled in before every season and printed in the field pack.

Contact Detail
Nearest trauma facility to be completed per season
Nearest facility stocking rabies post-exposure prophylaxis to be completed per season
CISI 24-hour assistance line (all UF travellers enrolled through the Travel Registry) to be completed per season
US Embassy Nairobi to be completed per season
PI mobile (Kenya and US) to be completed per season
Second contact outside the reporting line (name, role, reporting obligations) to be completed per season
Second contact, Kenya mobile and email to be completed per season
Soiyou Adventures complaint contact, outside the UF reporting line (name, role, Kenya mobile) to be completed per season
UF Compliance Hotline (US toll-free, may not dial from a Kenyan mobile) 877-556-5356
UF Title IX Office titleix@ufl.edu, 352-273-1400, report.ufl.edu

A Field Safety Plan is the written, per-campaign document described under Field Safety Plans below. It records the hazard assessment, the communication and check-in strategy, emergency procedures, required training, and the named second contact, whose name and in-country mobile are also transcribed into the Emergency Information table above; a pointer to this Plan is not an acceptable entry in that table. It is completed before departure and is one of the pre-departure items.

Pre-Departure Requirements

No laboratory member travels internationally on laboratory business until every verifiable item below is complete and on file: travel registration, your own written confirmation of insurance cover, Travel Authorization and myAssets export review, completion of required training, the Field Safety Plan, and, for any campaign involving sampling outside the United States, the written permit confirmation required by the International Research Partnership Policy, which must exist before departure and not merely before samples move. The occupational health and advisory items below are attestations that a step happened, not records the laboratory collects.

Immigration status. Members who are not US citizens confirm that their status permits re-entry with UFIC International Student Services (F-1), UFIC Exchange Visitor Services (J-1/J-2), or UF Immigration Compliance Services in UF HR (employment-based visas), and check visa appointment availability, before travel is booked. Where re-entry risk exists the trip is rescheduled or the role adjusted. The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program is a US-citizen service; non-US members register with their own consulate instead.

Travel registration. All UF faculty, staff, and graduate students travelling abroad on University business are required to register with the UF International Center prior to travel. Undergraduates register through the Student Travel Registry. Registration should not be filed more than six months in advance.7,8

Insurance. UF provides travel health insurance through CISI, including emergency evacuation, repatriation, travel assistance, and security coverage, at no charge to faculty, staff, and graduate students. Undergraduates are enrolled in CISI through the UF Student Travel Registry but pay the premium themselves; the no-charge arrangement covers faculty, staff, and graduate students only. Soiyou Adventures staff are not covered, and their cover is a matter for their own employer. That premium is a laboratory field cost, not a personal one: it is charged to the project or advanced through UF Travel, consistent with the undertaking in the Laboratory Code of Conduct that no undergraduate is asked to incur an unreimbursed cost. Allowability is determined by UF Sponsored Programs and the sponsor; where the premium is not an allowable charge, the deployment is restructured rather than the cost passed to the student. Before each season the laboratory records, for every person in the party, that they have confirmed their own cover with UFIC and the carrier, and asks Soiyou to confirm the same for its staff. The laboratory records the confirmation; it does not make it. Eligibility, scope, and exclusions are set by UF and CISI, not by this laboratory. Confirm your own coverage and its exclusions with the UF International Center and the carrier before you travel. Do not assume any particular condition, including a psychiatric emergency, is covered. Confirm exclusions with the carrier before travel.7,8,26

Travel authorization and equipment. A Travel Authorization in myUFL and the international travel acknowledgement are required for all foreign travel on University business. Equipment taken abroad, including telemetry receivers, data loggers, and laptops, requires a Foreign Travel Request in the myAssets Portal with pre-approval from UF Asset Management and export control review.9

Security advisory review. Kenya currently carries a US Department of State Level 2 advisory, Exercise Increased Caution. The advisory must be re-checked before each season. The Department names specific areas to avoid, including the Kenya-Somalia border counties of Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera, Lamu County, Tana River County except Tsavo National Park, Kilifi County north of highway C103 and coastal areas north of Malindi, parts of Marsabit and Turkana within 30 miles (about 48 km) of the Ethiopian border, western Turkana and West Pokot, and the Eastleigh and Kibera neighbourhoods of Nairobi. UFIC asks graduate students planning research in Level 4 countries to contact it directly. Confirm with UFIC whether any UF approval requirement is keyed to advisory level.8,12

Minors and non-matriculated participants. If anyone under 18 who is not a matriculated UF student joins field or laboratory work, UF’s Youth Compliance policy governs, including registration lead times, background screening, and staffing ratios. Route it through UF Youth Compliance Services rather than through this policy.42

Occupational health. This laboratory does not set its own vaccination or medication requirements. Those are set by UF through its own risk assessment.

  • Anyone who handles live animals or unfixed animal tissue, body fluids, or waste, is listed on an IACUC protocol, or accesses ACS-managed facilities enrols in the UF Animal Contact Program, which the IACUC verifies. The Animal Contact Program sets whatever immunisation and titre requirements apply to your role, on its own interval. The declination pathway sits in the UF vaccination policy for research personnel. This laboratory sets none of its own and holds no vaccination records.40,41
  • Other occupational vaccinations are recommended by the UF Biosafety Office or the IBC through the Biohazard Project Registration risk assessment. Under UF policy vaccination is voluntary: where a vaccine is recommended the individual completes the Acceptance, Declination, or Request for Additional Information form, and declining is handled through a UF General Counsel waiver rather than by exclusion from the work. Cost falls on the department or PI, not on the individual.11

Travel vaccinations and malaria chemoprophylaxis are individual medical decisions, made with UF Occupational Medicine Services or a travel medicine provider prescribing against current CDC and WHO guidance. The consultation happens before departure, and members carry any certificate it produces. The laboratory does not hold a copy. We do not require, verify, or record what was prescribed.14,15,16

Raise both of the following at that consultation:

  • Yellow fever. Kenya requires a certificate from travellers arriving from countries at risk of yellow fever transmission. Whether your itinerary triggers it depends on your transits, so confirm your specific routing at the consultation and re-check if a carrier reroutes you.12,13
  • Malaria. Kenya’s National Malaria Control Programme places Narok County, which contains the Kenyan Mara, in the moderate burden stratum, whose adjusted median incidence is 54.0 cases per 1,000.17

Bite prevention is a laboratory requirement rather than a medical decision: EPA-registered repellents, long sleeves and trousers, permethrin-treated clothing, screened accommodation, and treated bed nets at remote camps.16

Training. Before first deployment, every member completes wilderness first aid, harassment intervention training, and the pre-trip meeting described below.32

Water Contact

The laboratory’s work requires contact with Mara River and hippo-pool water.

Treat all fresh surface water in the study system as schistosomiasis-infested. CDC states that most freshwater surface water sources in Africa are potentially contaminated, and advises travellers to view with scepticism any local claim that a body of freshwater, including a fast-moving river, is free from schistosomiasis. Cercariae penetrate skin on contact, there is no vaccine, and brief incidental contact transmits.18,19,20,21,22

Laboratory controls:

  • Barrier protection for all planned water entry. Waders or equivalent, inspected before each use.
  • Vigorous towel-drying immediately after any unavoidable skin contact. Towel-drying does not substitute for barrier protection.19
  • River water used for washing is treated by one of the CDC-listed methods before use. The current methods and contact times are on the CDC prevention page; do not work from memory.19,20
  • Raise water exposure with UF Occupational Medicine Services before and after each season. Whether to test for exposure, and when, is a clinical decision for that provider, not one this laboratory makes or records.20

Large Animals, Water Craft, and Vehicles

No authoritative government or intergovernmental standard exists for work around hippos and crocodiles. The clinical literature is limited to case series establishing severity. The controls below are set by this laboratory.23,27,28

Laboratory controls:

  • A local guide or armed scout is present for all work at or adjacent to water occupied by hippos.
  • No wading in, or immediately adjacent to, an occupied hippo pool.
  • Daylight-only water entry.
  • A dedicated spotter is posted to watch for surfacing animals whenever anyone is in or beside the water.
  • Defined boat standoff distances from hippos and crocodiles, agreed at the pre-trip meeting and not reduced for sampling convenience.

Drowning is documented as a leading cause of injury death among US citizens visiting countries where water recreation is a major activity, driven by unfamiliar conditions, inability to swim, and absent supervision. Flotation devices are worn for all boat work and all water entry. No member enters the water alone. Water entry and boat work have physical demands; if you need an adjustment to perform them, contact the UF Disability Resource Center or ADA coordinator, who determine what is reasonable.24

Boat work follows the practices in the USGS watercraft standard: a worn flotation device at all times aboard, a dedicated operator plus sufficient crew while underway, and a float plan lodged before departure listing craft, occupants, departure and return times, route, communications, and the action to take if the party is overdue.37,38

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of non-natural death among US citizens abroad, and fatal crash rates in sub-Saharan Africa are among the highest in the world. Seatbelts are worn at all times. No night driving in rural areas, consistent with State Department guidance to avoid travel after dark in Kenya. No alcohol before driving. Helmets meeting US standards for any two-wheeled travel. Overcrowded public transport is avoided.22,24,12

Wildlife handling. Gloves are worn for handling any wildlife. After any bite or scratch, begin wound washing immediately and seek medical care. Follow the current CDC guidance linked below for wound care and rabies post-exposure prophylaxis rather than working from memory or from this page. The nearest facility stocking rabies PEP is recorded in the Emergency Information table before every season.23,35

Field Safety Plans, Lone Work, and Communication

Every field campaign has a written Field Safety Plan before departure, documenting hazard assessment, communication strategy, emergency procedures, and required training. A mandatory pre-trip meeting covers the plan, logistics, the pack list, and confirmation that required training is complete.35,36

Members avoid working alone where possible, including on private property, at controlled sites, and in areas lacking reliable phone service. Where solo work is unavoidable, the Field Safety Plan must specify check-in procedures, and the member must carry a field radio or satellite communication device.35

Communication redundancy is an NSF requirement. The reporting pathway must minimise singular points: at least one reporting route must not pass through the Principal Investigator, who may be the subject of a complaint. A second contact outside the field team’s reporting line is named in the Field Safety Plan before each deployment, with their institutional role and their reporting obligations stated, and is someone other than the Principal Investigator. The UF Compliance Hotline (877-556-5356) is listed in the Emergency Information table above. It is a US toll-free number and may not dial from a Kenyan mobile. Itineraries and lodging are shared, check-in expectations are set, and members enrol in the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program or, if not US citizens, with their own consulate.1,25

Stop-Work Authority

Any member of the field party may stop a field activity they judge unsafe, and no explanation is required at the moment of stopping. For Soiyou Adventures personnel, stop-work authority and protection from reprisal sit in the contract between this laboratory and Soiyou, and are administered by Soiyou as their employer.

USGS provisions give a watercraft operator final authority to abort and protect anyone reporting an unsafe condition from reprisal. On the water the operator retains final authority to complete a manoeuvre where stopping immediately would be less safe. Any call to stop is debriefed the same day.37,39

Retaliation against anyone who exercises stop-work authority is a violation of this policy and of the Laboratory Code of Conduct.

Conduct, Harassment, and Wellbeing

The Survey of Academic Field Experiences found that 64 percent of respondents had experienced sexual harassment and 21.7 percent sexual assault at field sites; that harassment of women came predominantly from superiors while harassment of men came predominantly from peers; that over 90 percent of targeted women and 70 percent of targeted men were trainees or employees; and that fewer than a quarter had ever worked at a field site with a sexual harassment policy, and fewer than a fifth were satisfied with the outcome when they did report. 29,30

Accordingly:

  • A written field code of conduct with explicit reporting protocols and consequences is signed by every UF member of the field party before deployment. The equivalent obligation for Soiyou Adventures personnel is carried by the contract between this laboratory and Soiyou, which the laboratory confirms is in force before each season; that confirmation is what satisfies the NSF requirement at Chapter II.E.9 in respect of contractor personnel.32
  • Field settings can carry different risks for different people. If you want the Field Safety Plan to account for something specific to you, raise it with the PI, the named second contact, or a UF office of your choice. You are not asked to explain why. Note that the PI, the second contact, and most UF staff are mandatory reporters under UF Policy 5-003 and must pass prohibited conduct to the Title IX Office; the confidential route is a UF Confidential Resource, as set out in the Laboratory Code of Conduct.31
  • Workload and rest are scheduled in the Field Safety Plan, including bathroom access, a rest day each week, and uninterrupted sleep hours, consistent with the Laboratory Code of Conduct.32
  • Local on-ground contacts are named in the Field Safety Plan before departure.32
  • Members should not be out of pocket for laboratory field costs. Allowable expenses are charged to the project or advanced through UF Travel; what is allowable is determined by UF Sponsored Programs and the sponsor. Emergency funds are reachable from the field. Whether training time is compensable is determined by UF Human Resources for your classification. Personal medical costs are handled through your health plan and UF Occupational Medicine Services.32,33
  • The pre-travel consultation covers mental as well as physical health. The laboratory does not learn, verify, or record diagnoses or medications, and makes no medical judgment about who deploys. Any fitness-for-duty determination is made by UF Occupational Medicine Services. The consultation covers whether members’ medications are legal and available in-country, telehealth arrangements before departure, and medication stability at high ambient temperature.26,34
  • A debrief follows every field season.32

Review

This policy is reviewed annually, before each field season, and immediately upon any change to NSF off-campus research requirements, UF travel policy, or the State Department advisory level for a destination country.

Policy Acknowledgment

Confirm by email, or sign a printed copy if you prefer.

Member Name (print): ___________________________________

Member Signature: ___________________________________
Date: __________________

Member Acknowledgment: UF members within the scope of this policy confirm they have read it before their first field deployment and before each subsequent field season. Soiyou Adventures personnel are not asked to sign a UF policy; the corresponding obligations sit in the contract with Soiyou. A translated copy is provided where English is not the reader’s working language.

References

  1. U.S. National Science Foundation. Safe and Harassment-free Fieldwork (SAHF) Plans.
  2. U.S. National Science Foundation. FAQ Regarding Preparation and Submission of Safe and Harassment-free Fieldwork (SAHF) Plans under the BIO/GEO Pilot. NSF 23-071, 22 March 2023.
  3. U.S. National Science Foundation. Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 24-1, Chapter II: Proposal Preparation Instructions. Effective 20 May 2024. See Chapter II.E.9.
  4. U.S. National Science Foundation. Summary of Changes to the PAPPG (NSF 23-1). Effective 30 January 2023.
  5. U.S. National Science Foundation. Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide. NSF 24-1 applies to proposals submitted or due on or after 20 May 2024.
  6. U.S. National Science Foundation. BIO Virtual Office Hours: Safe and Harassment-free Fieldwork (SAHF) plans and other changes to proposal submissions. 13 November 2023.
  7. UF International Center. Online Travel Registration. University of Florida.
  8. UF International Center. International Travel. University of Florida.
  9. University of Florida CFO Division. International Travel Acknowledgement of UF Directives and Policies. Applies to travel on or after 1 January 2022.
  10. University of Florida Environmental Health & Safety. Policies and Guidelines.
  11. University of Florida Environmental Health & Safety. Vaccination Policy for Research Personnel.
  12. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Kenya International Travel Information. Travel Advisory Level 2, updated 28 July 2026.
  13. World Health Organization. International Travel and Health, Annex 1: Countries with risk of yellow fever transmission and countries requiring yellow fever vaccination (PDF). 18 November 2022, revised 3 January 2023.
  14. Staples JE, O'Laughlin K. Yellow Fever. In: CDC Yellow Book: Health Information for International Travel, 2026 Edition. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 April 2025.
  15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Choosing a Drug to Prevent Malaria. Last reviewed 18 July 2024.
  16. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing Malaria While Traveling. Last reviewed 12 March 2024.
  17. Ministry of Health, National Malaria Control Programme, Republic of Kenya. Kenya Malaria Strategy 2023-2027 (PDF). 2023.
  18. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Schistosomiasis. Last reviewed 17 June 2024.
  19. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing Schistosomiasis. Last reviewed 4 March 2024.
  20. Straily A, Secor WE. Schistosomiasis. In: CDC Yellow Book, 2026 Edition. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 April 2025.
  21. World Health Organization. Schistosomiasis fact sheet. Updated 23 February 2026.
  22. Geissler A, Kasule JN, Ojwang J. African Safaris and Climbing Expeditions. In: CDC Yellow Book, 2026 Edition. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 April 2025.
  23. Cossaboom CM, Wallace RM, Barton Behravesh C. Zoonotic Exposures: Bites, Scratches, and Other Hazards. In: CDC Yellow Book, 2026 Edition. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 April 2025.
  24. Ballesteros MF, Decenteceo FM, Zia M, Alvarado-Ramy F. Injury and Death During Travel. In: CDC Yellow Book, 2026 Edition. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 April 2025.
  25. Lehner VM. Safety and Security Overseas. In: CDC Yellow Book, 2026 Edition. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 April 2025.
  26. Valk TH. Mental Health in Travelers. In: CDC Yellow Book, 2026 Edition. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 April 2025.
  27. Haddara MM, Haberisoni JB, Trelles M, Gohou JP, Christella K, Dominguez L, Ali E. Hippopotamus bite morbidity: a report of 11 cases from Burundi. Oxford Medical Case Reports. 2020;2020(8):omaa061.
  28. Matanzima J. Negative Human-Wildlife Interactions at Lake Kariba: Emphasis on Crocodile and Hippo Attacks on People. In: The Materiality of Lake Kariba. Springer Nature Singapore, 2024:135-172.
  29. Clancy KBH, Nelson RG, Rutherford JN, Hinde K. Survey of Academic Field Experiences (SAFE): Trainees Report Harassment and Assault. PLOS ONE. 2014;9(7):e102172.
  30. Nelson RG, Rutherford JN, Hinde K, Clancy KBH. Signaling Safety: Characterizing Fieldwork Experiences and Their Implications for Career Trajectories. American Anthropologist. 2017;119(4):710-722.
  31. Demery AJC, Pipkin MA. Safe fieldwork strategies for at-risk individuals, their supervisors and institutions. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 2021;5(1):5-9.
  32. Nordseth AE, Gerson JR, Aguilar LK, Dunham AE, Gentles A, Neale Z, Rebol E. The Fieldwork Wellness Framework: a new approach to field research in ecology. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 2023;21(6):297-303.
  33. Walsh LL. Enabling Fieldwork for All (EFFA) Framework: Supporting physical, social, financial, and psychological safety in the field. Science Advances. 2026;12(9):eaeb6753.
  34. John CM, Khan SB. Mental health in the field. Nature Geoscience. 2018;11(9):618-620.
  35. University of California, Office of the President, Risk Services. Field Operations Safety Manual (PDF). 2019.
  36. University of California, Berkeley, Office of Environment, Health & Safety. Field Research.
  37. U.S. Geological Survey. Survey Manual 445-2-H, Chapter 31: Watercraft Safety (PDF). March 2020 revision.
  38. U.S. Geological Survey. Survey Manual 412.1: Watercraft. 22 January 1990.
  39. U.S. Geological Survey. Survey Manual 445.1: Occupational Safety and Health Policy and Responsibilities. 6 September 2023.
  40. University of Florida Environmental Health & Safety. Animal Contact Program.
  41. University of Florida Environmental Health & Safety, Occupational Medicine. Medical Monitoring: Animal Contact.
  42. University of Florida. Youth Compliance and Child Abuse Reporting (Policy 5-002).