University of Southern California

Conflict of Interest Policy for USC Faculty members

                       

Summary

 

This document sets forth University policies and procedures concerning actual and apparent conflicts of interest that may arise in the course of the professional activities of members of the university community as they interact with industrial, governmental, or private partners. The document is divided into four parts.  The first three parts deal specifically with issues concerning the faculty, while the Attachments in Part 4 concern the entire community, including faculty, students, staff and other employees. The four parts are:

 

  1. A Preamble, which lists some of the fundamental rights and privileges of faculty that must be protected under any new policy that attempts to regulate behavior

 

  1. A Summary Statement, which outlines the major points of the policy and indicates the ways in which it may affect a faculty member’s conduct of research or other professional activities.  This part of the document is written in an informal manner.

 

  1. Suggested revisions to the Faculty Handbook, to insure consistency with current policy.

 

  1. The detailed statement of the policy, in two documents:

·        Conflict of Interest in Research: Policy and Procedure

·        Conflict of Interest and Ethics Policy and Procedure

 

 

 

Part 1

 

Preamble:  The Faculty Bill of Rights

 

 

The policies that follow in this document are not intended to abrogate or violate any of the fundamental rights and responsibilities of the faculty of the University, as set out in the Faculty Handbook, Section 3-2 and 3-18, which include:

 

 

  1. Academic freedom:  There will be no interference with the right of a faculty member to teach or publish as she or he considers appropriate, subject to the usual restrictions of law and human dignity.

 

  1. Respect:  Members of the faculty will be treated with respect as befits the professoriate.   The policies presume that faculty members are able to, and will, make their own responsible and independent decisions.

 

  1. Research:  The faculty principal investigator of a research project, sponsored or not, is the person primarily responsible for insuring professional integrity, objectivity and unbiased judgment in relations with sponsors, the media, or the government. 

 

  1. Interaction with outside organizations: Faculty members conducting research are encouraged to develop productive relationships with industry and other outside sponsors of their research and other projects, subject to the University’s restrictions on consulting and related activities. 

 

  1. Involvement in outside activities:  Faculty members are encouraged to be involved in community and professional activities, such as those involving professional societies, industry, or government.

 

6.   Protection of fundamental values:  The policy that follows is intended to protect the faculty from Conflicts of Interest, while assuring adherence to our fundamental values, as articulated by the AAU Task Force on Conflicts of Interest.  These values include:

 

·  Our commitment to educating students;

·  Our commitment to academic freedom;

·  Our commitment to advancing the range and depth of knowledge and understanding of the natural world and the human condition;

·  Our commitment to the safety of patients under our care and participants in research;

·  Our commitment to open and timely communication and dissemination of knowledge;

·  Our commitment to protect both the appearance and actual integrity and objectivity of research, instruction and public service; and

·  Our commitment to transfer University-developed knowledge to the private sector to fulfill one of the goals of federally funded research, by bringing the fruits of research to the benefit of society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 2.

 

A summary statement of the Conflict of Interest Policies, as it concerns members of the faculty.

 

 

Purpose:

 

While the University encourages faculty interaction with industrial, governmental or private partners, it is under increasing pressure from Federal agencies to monitor these contacts to insure that they do not lead to real or apparent conflicts of interest. The purpose of these policies is to assist faculty members in minimizing the risks of potential conflict situations and in managing them if they arise.

 

Definitions: 

 

1. Conflict of interest in this policy refers to situations in which financial or other personal considerations compromise, or have the appearance of directly and significantly compromising, an individual's professional judgment in proposing, conducting or reporting research.  In research, the bias caused by such conflicts may affect analysis and interpretation of data, hiring of staff, procurement of materials, sharing of results, choice of protocol, involvement of human participants, and the use of statistical methods. A much more specific list of conflict situations is contained in the detailed policy (Appendix 4 A, Paragraph 3.1, and Appendix 4 B, Paragraph 4.1).

 

2. Conflict of commitment refers to situations that may arise from the distribution of effort by faculty members between USC and outside activities. A more precise definition and examples of potential conflict of commitment situations are given in the policy (Appendix 4 B, Paragraph 4.2).

 

3. Close relations are defined as a family member or a “significant other”. The policy spells out these relationships in detail.  (See  also the Faculty Handbook, Section 3-21).

 

 

Principles

 

 The major principles of this policy (articulated in detail in Part 4 of this document) are:

 

1.      Identification: Individual members of the faculty have a primary responsibility to identify from among their professional activities those endeavors that could lead to or could be perceived as leading to a conflict of interest. Review by peers may be an important component of the identification process.

                 

2.      Disclosure:  Once a real or apparent conflict of interest (COI) is identified, the faculty member must disclose the relevant relationship to her or his Department Head and/or Dean.

 

3.      Management: It is the responsibility of the individual faculty member to manage conflicts of interest in accordance with University policies and procedures.  The University will provide input into the management at several levels, including Dean/Department Chair and, in the case of conflicts of interest in research, the Disclosure Review Committee, formed by and reporting to the Vice Provost for Research.

 

Implementation:

 

Implementation of the three principles listed above includes the following aspects:

 

1.   Scope:   This policy applies to all University faculty members (including part-time, research and visiting faculty), postdoctoral fellows and students who propose, conduct, or report research on behalf of the University, regardless of funding source.  For conflicts relating to research, USC is required to disclose possible COIs to the US Public Health Service (PHS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a condition for receiving funding from these agencies.  In common with other leading research universities, USC proposes to apply the same principle to ALL grants and contracts, regardless of source.

 

2.      Disclosure at Proposal submission:  Prior to submitting a new research proposal, PI’s will be asked to certify with a "yes/no" declaration that they have read and understand this policy and its implications.  Such a declaration will appear in (1) the Approval Record for proposals submitted through the Department of Contracts and Grants; (2) applications to the Institutional Review Boards and/or (3) other school-specific documents approved by the Provost.

 

3.      Disclosure Review Committee:  This committee will make recommendations for management of any COI in research they encounter in the documents.  All disclosures of real or apparent COI will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, with the strictest confidence.

 

4.      Management of Conflicts of Interest in Research:  Possible options (in addition to disclosure) include divestiture of financial interests, restrictions on sale or transfer of intellectual property, severance of outside relationships, reformulation of the research plan, restrictions on use of human subjects, and others, as detailed in Part 3, Par. 5.11.  Of course, Deans or Chairs will be consulted in this connection.  The final recommendation for any action will be made to the Vice Provost for Research, who will inform the relevant Federal agencies where required.

 

 

 

5.      Management of Other Conflicts of Interest:  Conflicts of interest not relating to research will be managed under the direction of the faculty member’s Chair or Dean, after consultation with the Office of the Provost.

 

6.      Annual Disclosure:  The policy does not require any periodic disclosure of COI information, but it does not preclude Deans from imposing such requirements.

 

7.      Sanctions:  The University takes violations of the COI policy very seriously and various sanctions are possible.

 

 

 

 

 

Part 3

 

Suggested Revisions of the Faculty Handbook

 

 

In the existing Faculty Handbook Section 3-15 (A), “Conflict of Interest”, delete the current second unnumbered paragraph.

 

Rewrite paragraph numbered (1) to read:

 

(1)   The Government has published conflict of interest policies for research it supports, violations of which expose both universities and individual faculty members to sanctions including debarment from further involvement in funding and potential civil and criminal penalties.  The University complies with these Government policies and expects faculty members to do so.  Even faculty not engaged in Government-sponsored research should look to these expectations to elucidate what circumstances raise the perception of a conflict of interest, as these are nationwide ethical norms widely applicable in all research universities.  The text of these Government policies, as amended from time to time, will be posted in the University website along with a convenient summary.

 

Rewrite paragraph numbered (3) to read:

 

Circumstances that raise the perception of conflict of interest will be dealt with by disclosure by the faculty member involved to the dean of the school, or to the Provost’s office, and then by appropriate management or resolution of the conflict (for example, by recusal from decisions or abstaining from behavior involving the conflict, disclosure to all parties involved, or seeking permissions required by pertinent University policies).  Department chairs, as well as offices of Contract and Grants, Compliance, and Purchasing Services will alert faculty and deans if apparent conflicts of interest come to their attention.  The University Financial Disclosure Review Committee, with sub-committees in specific schools that so wish, will advise the Provost’s office on specific cases on request.  These requirements will be administered by the deans of the schools under supervision of the Provost.

 

 

Add new section 3-15 (F), Business Activities:

 

If a faculty member seeks to engage in business transactions involving the University, outside the scope of his or her faculty appointment, the individual should comply with the same conflict of interest requirements as govern other University employees.

 

Part 4

 

Attachment 4 A:

 

Conflict of Interest in Research:

Policy and Procedure

 

 

 

Attachment 4 B:

 

Conflict of Interest and Ethics

Policy and Procedure