Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgment or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest.

All Faculty

The Amherst campus requires an annual disclosure from all faculty members regarding Outside Activites as definited in Trustee Policy T96-047.

• Faculty Consulting and Outside Activities (policies, resources, and forms)

NSF (National Science Foundation) Funded Researchers

Faculty investigators who are supported by external funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other federal agencies adopting the NSF requirement, must submit an annual conflict of interest disclosure, as well as a "transactional update" at the point of each proposal submission.

• Conflict of Interest for NSF Funded Researchers (and others as noted above) (policies, resources, and forms)

PHS (U.S. Public Health Service) Funded Researchers (includes NIH, CDC, HRSA, SAMHSA, FDA, AHRQ)

Faculty investigators who are supported by U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) funding, including National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) are required to submit a PHS Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form at the point of each proposal submission and receive training on the regulations.

• Conflict of Interest for PHS funded researchers (policies, resources, forms, training schedule and registration)

Human Subjects Research

• Conflict of Interest relating to Human Subjects Research (UMass President's Office)
• Conflict of Interest relating to Human Subjects Research (UMass Medical School)

Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property

• Conflict of Interest relating to Intellectual Property and Commercial Ventures

All University Employees (including Faculty and Staff)

All University employees are subject to the requirements of State laws regarding Conflict of Interest.

• Conflict of Interest for State Employees (policies and resources)

COI Resource and Guidance page

Should you have any questions on the conflict of interest/conflict of commitment policies, procedures or regulations, please do not hesitate to contact Jennifer Donais, Director of Research Compliance, at 545 - 5283 or via email at jadonais@research.umass.edu