Training & FAQ

Employees must obtain approval for external business relationships that are related to their professional responsibilities at the University. Other parties within the University (beyond the Conflict of Interest Office) share responsibility for aspects of this process. 

1. Discuss with your supervisor to obtain approval in writing.

Applicable policies to consider include:

• Policy 5-204: Remunerative Consultation and Other Employment Activities (make sure your external financial relationships won’t disrupt your job at the University)

Excerpt: “All Employees of the University holding full-time positions shall give full services to the work of the university during scheduled work periods. Any non-University employment must not interfere with the discharge of the person's full-time service obligations to the university. It is expected that all full-time University Staff Members will treat the University as their prime employment activity.”

Outside activities may not "...impair the individual’s ability to adequately perform instructional, clinical, research, administrative, service or other University responsibilities, as determined by that individual’s department chair, dean or other immediate supervisor..."

Note that this policy includes a Company Consulting Services Agreement Form for faculty to use as an addendum in their consulting contracts with external companies. 

• University Rule 1-006E: Individual Financial Conflict of Interest in Transactions (you will need to recuse yourself from any transactions that the University has related to your financial relationships)

Excerpt: “The following types of activities present conflicts of interest in which an Employee who has a Substantial Interest in a Business Entity is not allowed to participate because such an activity would be a violation of law or is judged by the University to be a violation of its institutional values.

1. 1. 1. An Employee is not allowed to negotiate for the University or UURF or act as a University decision-maker or a UURF decision-maker regarding any Transaction with a Business Entity in which the Employee has (or will likely have) a Substantial Interest.
      2. An Employee is not allowed to disclose or use any of the University’s controlled, private, or protected business information (1) to further the Employee’s or another’s business interests or (2) to secure special privileges or exemptions for the Employee or others.
      3. Solicitation or receipt of a Gift by a University Employee, whether directly or indirectly through the institution, is not allowed, when (a) the purpose or effect of the Gift is likely to improperly influence the Employee in the discharge of the Employee’s University responsibilities; (b) the Gift is given to reward the Employee for official action taken; or (c) the Gift is given in close proximity to recent past, present, or future transactions between the University and the giver of the Gift.”

• Supplemental Rule 1-006: Health Sciences Industry Relations Policy (applicable if you are part of UU Health Sciences)
• Policy 8-001: Medical Practice Plan for the University of Utah School of Medicine Full-Time Faculty (applicable if you are a faculty member in the School of Medicine)
• Other departmental or University policies may also apply

2. Update your financial disclosure in the University's Business Relationship Reporting system ("BRR") once the financial relationship is approved.

• • During the disclosure process, you will be issued a general COI management plan that prohibits you from acting on behalf of the University in transactions where you have a conflict of interest:
    • • I will advise my immediate supervisor of the existence of my Financial Relationship.
      • If the University transacts business with the Business Entity, I will not participate in any aspect of the transaction process on behalf of the University. This includes, but is not limited to, preparation, deliberation, negotiation, and execution of: purchases (including the purchase of supplies, equipment, or services), subcontracts, subawards, material transfer agreements, data sharing agreements, term sheets (whether binding or non-binding), option agreements, licensing agreements, agreements for sponsored research, grants, lease agreements, etc. If my University responsibilities require me to provide input regarding the transaction with the Business Entity, at the time of providing such input, I will clearly disclose my conflict of interest in writing to the University decision-makers, and ensure that the minutes of the relevant committee meetings reflect my recusal from the decision-making process.
      • I will not disclose or use any of the University's controlled, private, or protected business information (1) to further my, or another's, business interests or (2) to secure special privileges or exemptions for myself or others.
      • I have disclosed a Financial Relationship in a Business Entity that may transact business with the University of Utah ("University"). I am aware that the Utah Public Officers' and Employees' Ethics Act ("Ethics Act," Utah Code Ann. § 67-16-1 et seq.) creates legal obligations for me as a public employee, including prohibiting my participation in any transactions between the University and this Business Entity. Violations of the Ethics Act may result in prosecution and criminal penalties.
  • If you are participating in research through the Institutional Review Board or Office of Sponsored Projects, the COI Office will automatically perform COI reviews on a case by case basis for each research project (see University Rule 1-006C: Individual Financial Conflict of Interest in Research) to determine whether there is a conflict of interest and what management might be necessary.
  • If you are participating in scholarly or educational activities where your financial relationship may be a conflict of interest, please review University Rule 1-006D: Individual Financial Conflict of Interest in Scholarly or Educational Activity and contact the COI Office (coi@utah.edu) to discuss.
  • If you are participating in other activities where your financial relationship may be a conflict of interest, contact the COI Office (coi@utah.edu) to discuss. Remember that you must recuse yourself from any transactions that the University has related to your financial relationships.
  • Continue to update your financial disclosure at least annually and within 30 days of a change in your financial relationships.

A financial conflict of interest exists when an individual’s external financial interests have the potential to influence or bias judgment in executing their professional responsibilities with the University of Utah.

The University of Utah encourages relationships with the business community, but when these relationships create conflicts of interest, they must be identified and managed, reduced, or eliminated.

Conflict of interest oversight is required by University of Utah policy, state law, and federal regulation. It is necessary to protect the researcher, the research team, the University, the science, the public, and human participants enrolled in research projects. A financial conflict of interest by itself is NOT an indication of wrongdoing, but unmanaged conflicts of interest (real or perceived) may manifest as:

• Bias in research or academic work
• A sense of reciprocity due to ties with industry
• Improper influence over University students or subordinates
• Undue influence on research participants
• Inappropriate uses of University funds or property
• Public allegations of unethical behavior

These situations have the potential to harm research participants and damage the validity of our work.

• Anyone listed as an Investigator in Research
• Anyone engaging in Scholarly/Educational Activity
• Anyone engaging on behalf of the University in a Business Transaction to which the University is a party
• Faculty (excluding emeritus faculty and visiting faculty who do not participate in other triggering activities)
• Adjunct faculty in Health Sciences and all adjunct faculty involved in Scholarly/Educational Activity
• All staff employed at the manager level or above
• All staff with purchasing authority or delegated purchasing authority

• Research
  • For new research projects that are activating, all investigators listed on the research application must have a current disclosure (within 90 days). If an investigator is added to a research project later at any point, their disclosure must also meet this criteria.
    • The COI Office does not routinely perform formal COI review at the proposal stage for OSP projects (only upon actual award or as requested). However, investigators must have a recent disclosure on file (within 1 year) to submit a proposal. 
  • Then, annual COI review of the research is required for the duration of the project. For those reviews, investigators must have a recent disclosure on file (within 1 year). For IRB applications, this is moderated via the continuing review process. For OSP applications, this is moderated via the COI Management Transaction process.
• Scholarly/Educational Activity or Transactions
  • Disclosures must be filed prior to engaging in the activity. 

Disclosures should be filed online in the University's Business Relationship Reporting system at https://BRR.utah.edu. This site is also accessible via Campus Information Systems (CIS).

A mandatory training is offered within the system, which must be renewed at least every 4 years. 

See additional training available at https://oris.research.utah.edu/brr.php or contact the COI Office. 

Any Financial Relationship (held by you or a Family Member) which is reasonably related to your responsibilities to the University:

• Employment, consulting, or any other activity resulting in payment or other Compensation
• Any Equity Interest (excluding ownership in mutual funds or pension funds)
• Any paid or unpaid leadership position in a Business Entity such as director, officer, partner, trustee, agent, or any position of management
• Any intellectual property where you have, or reasonably foresee having, the right to receive Compensation as a result of licensing or other commercialization of Intellectual Property
  • Technology through the U is automatically added to your disclosure
• Travel sponsored by a foreign entity/person
• Other sponsored travel not funded through the University, government, or institutions of higher education (only if you receive federal funding)

This could include, for example, relationships with start-up companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, non-profits, government entities, medical centers. Talk to your supervisor if you are unsure what is considered related.

The University's Research Security Office also asks information from researchers who participate in the BRR disclosure process. Contact RSO@utah.edu for more details or questions. 

Within the University, the information provided in your BRR Disclosure Form is confidential and is only used for the purposes of administering the policy by the COI Committee and other University offices with oversight responsibilities, as appropriate. Supervisors are made aware of disclosures for purposes of approval. Under certain circumstances, the University is required to make personal financial information publicly available to comply with federal and state law.

A management plan approved by the COI Committee may also require disclosure of the conflict to the resesarch team, to human subjects participating in research, to students or other subordinates at the University, and/or disclosure of the details about your financial relationships on the University’s publicly available COI website. 

Though you are required to disclose all Financial Relationships that reasonably appear related to your professional responsibilities to the University, many Financial Relationships do not create a conflict of interest. The COI Committee is responsible for determining whether the financial relationships are both significant and directly related to an activity, therefore creating a conflict of interest.

For example, in research: 

• Remuneration exceeding $5,000 (in a 12 month period) from a company involved in the research project
• Equity interest in a company involved in the research project
• Commercialized intellectual property being used or evaluated in the research project

Once a disclosure is filed, the COI Office and Commitee will perform an analysis of research to identify which, if any, projects are affected. If you have a conflict related to other activities (ex. Scholarly/Educational activity, Transactions, or Research beyond IRB/OSP processes), please contact the COI Office to intiate a review.

Your supervisor will independently perform their own review of the disclosure for issues related to other University policies (beyond COI policy 1-006). 

Where conflicts of interest exist, the COI Committee will work with you to design a way to manage, reduce, or eliminate the conflict (a “management plan”).  The Committee tries to design a management plan that will allow you to continue your University work while ensuring that your personal Financial Relationships do not negatively affect, or bias, that work. If the Committee determines that management is not possible for your circumstances, you may be required to eliminate your conflict of interest by divesting your financial interest or modifying some aspects of the work you do for the University.

For research involving human subjects (which requires the highest level of protection from conflicts of interest), the COI Committee may ask you to provide a compelling circumstance why a conflicted investigator must be involved. 

See more at https://coi.utah.edu/review-process.php.