Western Kentucky University
Office of Sponsored Programs
Conflict of Interest Policy for Sponsored Projects
WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY
SUMMARY: This policy sets forth procedures and guidelines to be followed in resolving actual and potential faculty and staff conflicts of interest and commitment pertaining to sponsored projects. This policy applies to all sponsored projects funded by (a) commercial sponsors, (b) those federal agencies having specific conflict of interest requirements, and (c) purchase orders and subcontracts issued by Western Kentucky University under its sponsored projects irrespective of the source of funds.
The University and its faculty and staff members often benefit from participation in both public and private outside activities. The University has no interest in setting forth detailed rules that may interfere with faculty and staff members' legimate outside interests.
Faculty and staff members, in turn, must also ensure that their outside obligations, financial interests, and activities do no conflict or interfere with their commitment to the University. This obligation pertains to both full-time and part-time faculty and staff members who are in any way associated with sponsored projects.
The areas of potential conflict may be divided into two categories. Conflicts of Interest are defined as situations in which faculty or staff members may have the opportunity to influence the University's business decisions in ways that could lead to personal gain or give improper advantage to members of their families or to associates. Conflicts of Commitment are defined as situations in which external activities of faculty members or staff members interfere or appear to interfere with their paramount obligations to their students, colleagues, and the University.
In those circumstances in which the University is engaged in or intends to engage in a sponsored project with a commercial organization, or has subcontracted or intends to subcontract to an external organization under one of the University's sponsored projects, a conflict of interest may occur when a faculty or staff member's affiliation with the external organization meets any one of the following criteria:
- The faculty or staff member is an officer, director, partner, trustee, employee, advisory board member, or agent of an external organization or corporation either funding a sponsored project or providing goods and services under a sponsored project on which the faculty or staff member is participating in any capacity.
- The faculty or staff member is the actual or beneficial owner of more than five percent (5%) of the voting stock or controlling interest of such organization or corporation.
- The faculty or staff member has dealings with such organization or corporation from which he or she derives income of more than $10,000 per year, exclusive of dividends and interest.
- The faculty or staff member's immediate family (spouse, parents, parents-in-law, siblings, children, or other relatives living at the same address as the faculty or staff member) meet any of the criteria stated in a-c above.
Each faculty or staff member participating in a sponsored project covered by this policy must disclose whether or not he or she has external affiliations that may constitute a conflict by falling within the criteria stated in paragraphs a-d above. A disclosure must be completed prior to the University's acceptance of the sponsored project or issuance of a purchase order or subcontract for the acquisition of goods and services. It is the responsibility of the lead Project Director/Principal Investigator to make sure each member of the Project staff has read the WKU Conflict of Interest Policy and has disclosed any real or potential conflicts of interest. Such disclosures may be made on the OSP's Sign-off Sheet "Request for Proposal Approval and Submission." Positive disclosures will be reviewed by a Conflict Review Committee consisting of the Dean of the Graduate College, the Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs, and the University Legal Counsel.
In reviewing the positive disclosures, the Conflict Review Committee will be guided by the following practices and apply them as may be appropriate:
- Assure adherence to relevant University policies such as the Commonwealth of Kentucky Statutes, specifically 164.390, which prohibits interest by any and all University employees and trustees in any contract or purchase for the building or repairing of any structure or furnishing any supplies for the use of a university, the Policies and Procedures Manual, the Faculty Handbook, the Intellectual Property Policy, the Research and Projects Policy, and other University documents the Conflict Review Committee may deem appropriate.
- Consider the nature and extent of the financial interest in the relationship of the faculty or staff member and the external organization.
- Give special consideration to the terms and conditions of sponsored project agreements that may mitigate or complicate the given situation.
- Consult with and obtain additional information from the faculty or staff member as either the Conflict Review Committee or the faculty or staff member feel may be helpful in resolving actual or potential conflicts.
- Act in a timely manner so as not to delay unduly the conduct of the sponsored project.
- Conclude that the University may take one of the following actions:
- Accept the sponsored project award.
- Not accept the sponsored project award.
- Accept the sponsored project subject to suitable modifications in either the sponsored project award document or the external organizational affiliation(s) of the faculty or staff member or faculty or staff member's family.
A faculty or staff member dissatisfied with the Conflict Review Committee's conclusion, may appeal to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs who will consult with the faculty or staff member and Conflict Review Committee as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs deems necessary and appropriate to the particular circumstance. The decision of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs shall be final.
Violations of this policy, such as wilfull concealment of financial interests, may result in sanctions being imposed upon the violating individual. The Conflict Review Committee will review allegations of violations and will make recommendations regarding the imposition of sanctions to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. The decision of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs with regard to the imposition of sanctions shall be final.
The Office of Sponsored Programs shall maintain the records pertaining to each disclosure in strict confidence. Access to such records will be limited to the faculty or staff member, the Conflict Review Committee, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and others who have a legal right to review the records.
Certain sponsors, particularly federal agencies, may have requirements that differ from this policy with regard to the timing and frequency of faculty or staff disclosures and other provisions as well. In the case of such discrepancies, the sponsors' requirements will generally prevail.
APPENDIX
The following list of examples serves as a set of guidelines for identifying potential conflicts of interest and commitment. It is not intended as a comprehensive list of all potential situations that could present faculty or staff members and the University with difficulty.
- ACTIVITIES INVOLVING SPONSORED PROJECTS THAT ARE CLEARLY PERMISSIBLE.
- Acceptance of royalties for published works and patents, or of honoraria for commissioned papers and lectures.
- Service as a consultant to outside organizations, provided that the time commitment does not exceed the then existing University policy, and that the arrangement in no way alters the faculty or staff member's commitments incurred in the University's execution of a sponsored agreement on the faculty or staff member's behalf.
- Service on boards and committees of organizations, public or private, that does not distract unduly from the faculty or staff member's obligations to the University or that does not interfere or appear to interfere with a faculty or staff member's ability to conduct work under sponsored agreements objectively.
- ACTIVITIES INVOLVING SPONSORED PROJECTS THAT PRESENT THE POTENTIAL FOR CONFLICT.
- Relationships that might enable a faculty or staff member to influence the University's dealings with an outside organization in ways leading to personal gain or improper advantage for the faculty or staff member, or his or her associates or family members. For example, a faculty or staff member or family member could have a financial interest in an organization with which the University does business and could be in a position to influence relevant business decisions. Ordinarily, making full disclosure of such relationships and making appropriate arrangements to mitigate potential conflicts would resolve such problems.
- Situations in which the time or creative energy a faculty or staff member may devote to external activities appear substantial enough so as to compromise the amount or quality of his or her participation in the instructional, scholarly, or administrative work of the University.
- Situations in which a faculty or staff member directs students into a research area from which the faculty or staff member may realize a financial gain. In such situations, the ability of a faculty or staff member to render objective, independent judgment about the students' scholarly best interests may be diminished.
- ACTIVITIES INVOLVING SPONSORED PROJECTS THAT ARE VERY LIKELY TO PRESENT UNACCEPTABLE CONFLICTS.
- Situations in which a faculty or staff member assumes executive responsibilities for an outside organization that might seriously divert his or her attention from University duties. Faculty or staff members should consult with the appropriate dean or supervisor before accepting any outside management position.
- Use for personal profit of unpublished information emanating from sponsored agreements or confidential University sources, or assisting an outside organization by giving it exclusive access to such information; or consulting with outside organizations that impose obligations upon the faculty or staff member of the University that conflict with the faculty or staff member's or University's Intellectual Property Policy or with the University's obligations under sponsored projects.
- Circumstances in which a substantial body of research that could and ordinarily would be carried on within the University is conducted elsewhere to the detriment of the University and its legitimate interests.
- Any activity that a faculty or staff member may wish to undertake on an individual basis that: (a) involves or appears to involve the University significantly through the use of its resources, facilities, or the participation of academic colleagues, students, and staff, (b) involves the use of the University's name or implied endorsement, or (c) violates any of the principles set forth in the University Research and Project Policy (for example, giving the outside organization the right to censor or prohibit publication rights for research any part of which is performed under University auspices).
Last update made July 6, 1999.
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All contents copyright (C) 1999. Western Kentucky University.