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Conflict of Interest: Funds Awarded by the National Science Foundation and the Public Health Service

Recommended By: Academic Senate
Approved: Ruben Armiñana, President
Date of Original Issue: October 10, 2002
Current Issue Date: May 10, 2004
Effective Date: May 10, 2004
Contact Office: Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP)

Policy #2002-6

  1. PURPOSE
    On October 1, 1995, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Public Health Service (PHS), US Department of Health and Human Services adopted parallel polices on Investigator Financial Disclosure that are relatively consistent. Under these rules the grantee institution (Sonoma State University) must:
    • develop, enforce and certify to Public Health Service (PHS) and National Science Foundation (NSF) a policy to ensure that PHS- or NSF-funded research is not biased by investigators' conflict of interests;
    • inform potential investigators of the policy and their responsibilities under the policy;
    • designate institutional officials to solicit and review financial disclosure statements from each investigator planning to participate in NSF- or PHS-funded research;
    • provide designated officials with guidelines for identifying conflicts of interest and take action to manage, reduce, or eliminate the conflict; and,
    • maintain records for at least three years (from the date the final grant expenditures report is submitted) of all financial disclosures and all actions taken by the institution.
    Additionally, the grantee institution must update all financial disclosures during the period of the award either on an annual basis or as new reportable conflicts of interest are discovered.

    The CSU has had a conflict of interest policy relating to non-governmental funding sources in effect since 1985. This policy, as specified in FSR 85-08 and 86-05, addresses only certain activities funded by non-governmental funding agencies. While the CSU does not have a Conflict of Interest policy specifically related to research funded by federal sources, Executive Order 890 requires that:
    Each campus shall maintain a policy that complies with conflict of interest requirements of the law and applicable CSU, Sponsored Program Administrator and Grantor policies and shall alert Principal Investigators to these requirements
  2. INVESTIGATOR DISCLOSURE
    Investigators must disclose significant financial interests at the time of proposal submission and update this information annually or as new interests are obtained during the life of the award.
    1. Investigator
      Investigator is defined as principal investigator, co-principal investigator, and any other person who is responsible for the design, conduct, or reporting of the sponsored project or of any related agreement. In addition, disclosure must be made for each investigator's spouse and dependent children.
    2. Significant Financial Interest
      The term "significant financial interest" means anything of monetary value, including, but not limited to, salary or other payments for services (e.g., consulting fees or honoraria); equity interest (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interests); and intellectual property rights (e.g., patents, copyrights and royalties from such rights). The term does not include:
      1. salary, royalties or other remuneration from the applicant institution;
      2. any ownership interests in the institution, if the institution is an applicant under the Small Business Innovation Research Program or Small Business Technology Transfer Program;
      3. income from seminars, lectures, or teaching engagements sponsored by public or nonprofit entities;
      4. income from service on advisory committees or review panels for public or nonprofit entities;
      5. an equity interest that, when aggregated for the investigator and the investigator's spouse and dependent children, meets both or the following tests: does not exceed $10,000 in value as determined through reference to public prices or other reasonable measures of fair market value, and does not represent more than a 5% ownership interest in any single entity; or
      6. salary, royalties or other payments that when aggregated or the investigator and the investigator's spouse and dependent children, are not expected to exceed $10,000 during the next funded twelve-month period.
  3. INSTITUTIONAL CERTIFICATION
    Certification will be performed by the Associate Vice President of Research and Sponsored Programs (AVPRSP), or his/her designee, and will be based on information provided by the Investigator on the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form for each entity that may be involved (enclosed). The AVPRSP, or his/her designee, will review disclosures, assess their potential for conflicts of interest, and develop resolution strategies with the investigator to manage, reduce or eliminate such conflicts.
    1. Resolution Plan
      If the designated official determines a conflict of interest exists1, a Resolution Plan must be developed with the Principal Investigator and implemented prior to award. The Resolution Plan must be in writing and approved by the AVPRSP, the Dean (or equivalent) of the Principal Investigator’s school/unit, and the Provost.
      Resolution Options may include but are not limited to:
      • public disclosure of significant financial interests
      • monitoring of research by independent reviewers
      • modification of the research plan
      • disqualification from participation in the portion of the project that is affected by the significant financial interest
      • divestiture of significant financial interests
      • severance of relationships that create actual or potential conflicts.
    2. Enforcement Mechanisms and Sactions
      Potential violations of the Conflict of Interest Resolution Plan shall be handled by the Conflict of Interest Resolution Committee made up of the Campus Conflict of Interest Officer, the Internal Auditor, the Dean (or equivalent) from the affected Principal Investigator's school/unit. This committee will establish and enforce appropriate sanctions based on the specific conduct of an investigator failing to follow the agreed upon Resolution Plan.
    3. Reporting
      The Associate Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs will inform the National Science Foundation's Office of the General Counsel if Sonoma State University is unable to satisfactorily manage a conflict of interest. In the case of the Public Health Service (PHS), the Associate Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs will notify the PHS Awarding Component of the corrective action taken or to be taken if the failure of an Investigator to comply with the policy of Sonoma State University has biased the design, conduct, or reporting of the PHS-funded research.
  4. Documentation and Record Maintenance
    The Division of Administration and Finance will maintain records of all financial disclosures associated with governmental sponsors and of all actions taken to resolve conflicts of interest for at least three years beyond the termination or completion of the grant to which they relate, or until the resolution of any federal action involving those records, whichever is longer. The Division of Administration and Finance will retain custody of all records according to the following priority scheme:
    1. Individual granting agency’s specific requirements
    2. CSU Records management requirements (refer to http://www.calstate.edu/SUAM/SUAMTOC4800.shtml), and
    3. California Department of General Services General Retention Schedules (refer to http://www.pd.dgs.ca.gov/recs/49gut2.html.)
      1 Section 510 of the National Science Foundations (NSF) Grant Policy Manual and Section 50.605 of the National Institute of Health’s GUIDE, Volume 24, Number 25, July 14, 1995 state that “A conflict of interest exists when the reviewer(s) reasonably determines that a significant financial interest could directly and significantly affect the design, conduct or reporting of (NSF-) (NIH-) funded research or educational activities.”

Updated May 10, 2004 by SSU.policies@sonoma.edu