Conflicts of Interest
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Conflict of Interest Training Module, Provided by the Office of Extramural Research, National Institutes of HealthRecognizing and Managing Personal Financial Conflicts Provided by the Council on Governmental RelationsResponsibility of Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in Research, Provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
Conflicts of interest can occur at both an institutional and individual level. Institutional conflicts of interest represent an area of growing concern for universities, federal regulators, and the public at large. Although federal agencies only recently have turned their attention to this area, professional societies such as the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) are encouraging universities to disclose and manage conflicts of their institution and its top decision-makers.
Institutional Conflicts of Interest
In discussing institutional conflicts of interest the AAU sets its definition in the context of how these conflicts may occur:
An institutional financial conflict of interest may occur when the institution, any of its senior management or trustees, or a department, school, or other sub-unit, or an affiliated foundation or organization, has an external relationship or financial interest in a company that itself has a financial interest in a faculty research project. Senior managers or trustees may also have conflicts when they serve on the boards of (or otherwise have an official relationship with) organizations that have significant commercial transactions with the university. The existence (or appearance) of such conflicts can lead to actual bias, or suspicion about possible bias, in the review or conduct of research at the university. If they are not evaluated or managed, they may result in choices or actions that are incongruent with the missions, obligations, or the values of the university.
UMass Boston has a responsibility as a steward of public funds to ensure that all activities including those related to research reflect its primary goals of education and scholarly inquiry. The public has endowed the University with certain privileges and entrusted it with resources in the expectation that no single party will derive sole benefit or be unjustly enriched from its investment in the University. The public should be confident that University research remains a rigorous and open inquiry, unencumbered by potential conflicts of interest that might affect the sound judgment of the faculty, students, staff, administrators, officers and other senior managers.
As the potential value of knowledge that the University creates increases, so do the opportunities for collaboration between UMass Boston and private enterprises and corporations. Whether through corporate sponsorship of research or licensing of inventions to private industry partners, UMass Boston can translate the knowledge derived from such activities into useful products; enrich teaching and research with practical experience; and support research and our educational mission.
Developing University innovations through industry partnerships can pose challenges to our core values, notably to our commitment to pursue and disseminate knowledge independent of economic pressures. The University is by nature and by law an educational, not-for-profit institution. The educational and research activities of the University should be, and should appear to be, motivated primarily by a concern for the advancement of knowledge and the pursuit of truth, not by the pursuit of financial reward. The University therefore seeks to ensure that any partnerships involving a substantial technology-development element, as well as any economic activities that may be undertaken, are consistent with the following core values.
Objectivity and integrity of the research, itself: The advancement of knowledge depends on the ability of individual scholars to formulate ideas free from the influence of conflicting interests.
Open publication and sharing of research results: Agreements with outside entities and other economic activities of the University should preserve an open environment for the conduct of teaching and research and the public dissemination of the results of these activities.
Appropriate use of sponsor or University funds: The University must ensure that the institution, its leadership, faculty and staff do not enter into a relationship where there may be an actual or perceived conflict of interest with their primary responsibilities and fiduciary obligations to the University.
Fulfillment of obligations to colleagues and students: The student-faculty relationship lies at the heart of the academic enterprise. Insulating that relationship from inappropriate pressures is vital to the educational welfare of individual students and to the quality of teaching that the institution provides.
Integrity of academic and administrative decision making: The University’s leadership and administration must be aware of and deal appropriately with potential conflict of interest situations, both real and perceived, which may arise in connection with extramural activities.
Federal regulations require that the University of Massachusetts Boston implement policies and procedures to identify, manage, reduce or eliminate conflicts of interest (see Policy on Conflicts of Interest Relating to Intellectual Property and Commercial Ventures).
Individual Conflicts of Interest
The term individual financial conflict of interest refers to situations in which financial considerations may compromise, or have the appearance of compromising, an investigator’s professional judgment in conducting or reporting research. The bias such conflicts may conceivably impart not only affects collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, but also the hiring of staff, procurement of materials, sharing of results, choice of protocol, involvement of human participants, and the use of statistical methods.
An individual conflict of interest occurs when an employee is involved in a particular matter as part of his/her official duties with an outside organization with which he/she also has a financial interest, or one which is imputed to him/her, i.e., the employee's 1) spouse, 2) minor children, 3) general partner, 4) an organization in which the employee serves as officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee, or 5) a person or organization with which the employee is negotiating for prospective or has an arrangement for prospective employment. Conflicts can be real or perceived.
A real conflict exists when an employee participates personally and substantially in particular matters that have a direct and predictable effect on a financial interest of the employee, or one of the others listed above. In this case, participation in the official matter is in violation of statute 18 U.S.C. 208. If the Conflict Committee determines that the financial interest is not "so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of the services that the University may expect" from the employee, a waiver granting permission to participate in the official matter may be given.
An appearance of a conflict exists when an employee is involved in a particular matter involving specific outside parties (including individual, corporate entities, etc) and the circumstances are such that a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts would question the employee's impartiality in the matter. Such circumstances include the involvement of a relative, spousal employer, or former employer in the matter. In this case, the Conflicts Committee could determine that it is in the best interests of the University for that employee to be involved in that particular matter, despite the appearance of a conflict, and authorize the employee to participate.
Employees who have financial interests (outside employment, stocks and other financial holdings) of their own, or financial interests of anyone listed in the first paragraph above which are imputed to them, must disclose any conflict and work with the Conflicts Committee to obtain a waiver or authorization, or be disqualified from participating in particular matters concerning the outside entity.
Partnerships with external enterprises and other economic activities of the University itself should be constituted so as to maintain public confidence in the University as an institution committed to the pursuit of truth and the advancement of knowledge. UMass Boston depends on the goodwill and steady support of our alumni, community and government leaders, and many members of the public, who rely on the institution to uphold standards of academic integrity.
As more and more relationships between the University and industry are created, the greater the potential for a real or perceived conflicts of interest to exist. Hence, as part of the federal mandate, employees have the responsibility to disclose any real or potential conflicts of interest by completing the UMass Boston Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form. Completed forms are to be submitted to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs located in the Quinn Administration Building.