Conflict of Interest

Policy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY AND PROCEDURES

Introduction:

Conflicts of interest exist when an individual’s personal financial interests could improperly influence execution of his/her University responsibilities.
Conflicts are not inherently unacceptable, but must be identified and managed, reduced or eliminated to prevent damage to the individual and the institution.

Policy applies to “significant financial or other interests” defined as:

Salary or other payments for services if equal to or greater than $10,000/year for the employee and/or his/her family members
equity interests (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interests) equal to or greater than $10,000 and/or 5% of a business entity held by the employee and/or her/his family members
intellectual property rights (e.g., patents, copyrights and royalties from such rights)
holding of a position as an officer, director, agent, or employee of a business entity by the employee and her/his family members
Does not include salary from the University, payment for services to public or non-profit entities, income from mutual funds, ownership interests in businesses applying for SBIR/STTR Phase I projects

Policy requires disclosure of information at the following activities:

submission of a new grant/contract/protocol to the Office of Sponsored Projects
submission of a new application to the Institutional Review Board
request for signature authority on a University account
if a (new) potential for conflict arises after the original submission for any of the above activities

Policy prohibits the following activities:

Academic freedom restrictions such as prohibitions on publication by subordinates;
Acceptance of payments, gifts, (including any arrangements by which the value of financial interests will be affected by the outcome of the research) directly or indirectly, by employees involved in human subjects research, (or their family members)
Solicitation or receipt of gifts in violation of the Utah Public Employees’ Ethics Act.

The information required for disclosure:

Purchasing/procurement: Does the discloser have a significant financial or other interest in a business that could benefit from the discloser’s signature authority?
Research/sponsored projects:
1. Description of the project for which the disclosure is being made – PI, title, funder, anticipated funding date, if human subjects are involved.
2. Whether or not the discloser has a significant financial or other interest in a business sponsoring the research or whose business is substantially related to subject of the research.
3. If the discloser has such an interest:
  - the nature of the interest,
  - the conflict it creates,
  - how the discloser proposes to manage the conflict.

After a disclosure is submitted to the Conflict of Interest Committee:

All disclosures are reviewed by the Committee and staff.
The COI Committee determines whether or not a conflict of interest exists.
The discloser is notified of the determination.
If a conflict exists, the Committee works with discloser to “manage, reduce or eliminate” the conflict.
Results of the review are provided to OSP, IRB, Purchasing as necessary.

Acceptable strategies to “manage, reduce or eliminate” conflicts include:

Disclosure of the conflict to journals and in public presentations;
Disclosure of the conflict to potential human subjects;
Changes to informed consent document(s);
Decision-making by a non-conflicted member of the research team;
Monitoring of aspects of the research by a non-conflicted peer, not a member of the research team.