Outside Commitments and Outside Employment

Please work with your college to determine what is and is not considered to be part of your UArizona duties and responsibilities.  The following disclosure scenarios may be helpful:

• An Investigator receives personal compensation or an honorarium of $5,000 or more for editing journal articles. In this instance, the editing work must be disclosed as a Significant Financial Interest for conflict of interest (COI) review even though it is part of the individual’s professional service requirement.  The Investigator would not need to submit a COC form for approval if the activity is part of their professional service.

• An Investigator serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for a professional society but does not receive any remuneration.  The Investigator must disclose this board membership as a Significant Personal Interest for conflict of interest (COI) review.  The Investigator would not need to submit a COC form for approval if the activity is part of their professional service.

• An Investigator receives an honorarium of $300 from a foreign funding agency to review research proposals. In this instance, the Investigator must disclose the review work as a Foreign Interest for conflict of interest (COI) even though the remuneration is less than $5,000 and the work may be part of the individual’s professional service.  The Investigator would not need to submit a COC form for approval if the activity is part of their professional service.

Outside Commitments require prior approval.  In an ideal world, the COC form would be submitted in eDisclosure 4 weeks prior to the start date to ensure college and department reviewers have an opportunity to review the form, resolve concerns and/or implement a management plan.  Realizing that submission 4 weeks prior to the start date is not always possible, we ask that individuals email us to flag a fast-approaching start date so that we can work with the approvers to ensure all questions are answered, etc. 

If the Outside Commitment is not approved, the individual cannot engage in the Outside Commitment.

OROI is available to work with college/department approvers to discuss concerns and develop a COC management plan.  More details about the COC review process are available on our COC & COI Review Processes webpage. 

Outside Commitments require prior approval.

Both.  Outside Commitments must be disclosed in eDisclosure, at which time OROI will initiate the review process.  

More details about the COC review process are available on our COC & COI Review Processes webpage. 

When you enter into any commitment or obligation, even if it is not in writing, to Conduct Research for or on behalf of an individual or entity outside of UArizona (e.g., delivery of research results or data to the outside individual or entity) it constitutes an Outside Commitment and must be declared as such in advance of the activity, unless there is an existing signed agreement or contract between the outside individual or entity and the University of Arizona, on file with either RII Sponsored Project Services, RII Contracting Services or UAHS Research Administration, and which covers this specific commitment or obligation.

Non-sponsored research must be disclosed for conflict of interest review but is not an Outside Commitment that requires conflict of commitment approval unless you are Conducting the Research for or on behalf of an outside individual or entity.