INSTRUCTIONS FOR MEETING FEDERAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST REGULATIONS

Investigators who seek National Science Foundation (NSF) or Public Health Service (PHS) research support must disclose to their universities all significant financial interests that would reasonably appear to be affected by this research. The University’s conflict of interest policy must specify what must be revealed by "each individual responsible for the design, conduct, or reporting of the research or educational activities funded or proposed for funding" by these agencies.

Relevant significant financial interests of investigators (including those of their spouses and dependent children) must be revealed. The terms "investigator" and "significant financial interest" are defined below (under Operating Definitions). The definitions may also be found on the online Disclosure and Attestation Statement web site. Financial or other interests that would not reasonably appear to be affected by a proposed activity need not be disclosed. Holdings in mutual funds and retirement accounts will ordinarily fall in this category. The NSF and PHS regulations also exclude interests not exceeding $10,000 that involve no more than 5% ownership interest. The conflicts associated with mandated disclosures will often be deemed innocuous or readily manageable, often by some mutually agreeable form of disclosure.

To comply with the requirements of federal agencies, the FAS Policies Relating to Research and Other Professional Activities Within and Outside the University have been amended as follows:

Every faculty member or PI who may engage in research sponsored by the NSF or PHS, or by other agencies that adopt similar requirements regarding conflicts of interest, must submit at regular intervals a statement that meets these requirements. In the FAS this statement is included in the Disclosure and Attestation Form that every FAS appointee must file. The statements shall be filed with the Secretary of the Committee on Professional Conduct (CPC) who shall hold them in confidence. (Individuals not filing such statements in advance take the chance of encountering delays that force them to miss proposal deadlines.)

On many projects, faculty, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and others may share the responsibilities for the design, conduct, and reporting of research. All such "investigators" must have filed Disclosure and Attestation Statements when proposals are submitted. PIs are best positioned to identify relevant co-workers and should have the relevant information regarding co-workers’ potential conflicts of interest for their own protection. Accordingly, PIs should remind non-faculty associates to file Disclosure and Attestation Statements to comply with agency requirements. PIs may request a report on the statements filed by their non-faculty associates from the Secretary of the Committee on Professional Conduct.

All investigators who are required to submit statements must update them promptly to reflect significant changes in relevant interests.

A special sub-committee of the CPC bears responsibility for reviewing significant Financial Interests of investigators to determine whether they "could directly and significantly affect the design, conduct or reporting of the research." The sub-committee also considers other issues relating to FAS and University conflict of interest and commitment policies raised by disclosures. Where conflicts are indicated, the sub-committee will take appropriate action to resolve or manage them, sharing information and consulting with the Dean when necessary.

Disclosures of potential conflicts of interest that are satisfactorily managed or otherwise resolved will not be reported to the NSF unless required by federal audit. In the case of PHS grants, institutions must report the existence (but not the nature or other details) of conflicting interests to PHS-funded projects along with assurances that these interests have been managed, before funds are spent. Specific information from individuals’ Disclosure and Attestation Statements will not be forwarded to agencies without consulting them.

Operating Definitions

According to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Public Health Service (PHS) regulations:

The term significant financial interest signifies anything of monetary value, including but not limited to, salary or other payments for services (e.g., consulting fees or honoraria); equity interests (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interests); and intellectual property rights (e.g., patents, copyrights and royalties from such rights). It does not include:

1. Salary, royalties, or other remuneration from Harvard University;
2. Income from seminars, lectures, or teaching engagements sponsored by public or nonprofit entities;
3. Income from service on advisory committees or review panels for public or nonprofit entities;
4. An equity interest that when aggregated for the investigator and the investigator’s spouse and dependent children, meets both of 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
5. Salary, royalties, or other payments that when aggregated for the investigator and the investigator’s spouse and dependent children over the next twelve months, are not reasonably expected to exceed $10,000.

The term investigator signifies "the principal investigator, co-principal investigators, and any other person at the institution who is responsible for the design, conduct, or reporting of research or educational activities funded or proposed for funding by NSF or PHS."

In addition:

The term associated corpus signifies any trust, organization or enterprise other than the University over which investigators, singly or collectively with members of their households and/or immediate family, exercise a controlling interest.

The term entity signifies any legal body created for profit or charitable purposes.