New Systems Information for COI, COC, HSPP, and Proposals

Implementing New Systems to Make Your Work Easier

Beginning in summer 2021, the Office of Research, Innovation and Impact (RII) will sequentially roll out and upgrade new systems designed to make your work related to Conflict of Interest and Commitment matters, the Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP), and research proposals much easier.

Latest Related Announcements:

Link: Tuesday, January 25, 2022

UAccess Research (UAR) has been updated and is now available for proposal routing, and other sponsored project modules. Thank you to the campus research community for all the cooperation and patience in completing three major system implementation projects in close succession! Thank you, especially, to the UAR Campus Experience Advisors for diligently representing the campus user perspective and providing support for campus users along with volunteer Campus Ambassadors.

For information on using UAR, please consult the following resources:

Video demos, instructional materials, and support contacts: See the Resource page for the UAccess Research Update (NetId required).

Training and office hours: See UAR Update Training (registration required).

  • Zoom training followed by virtual office hours: Days and times vary through Feb. 4
  • In-person office hours: Mondays from 10-11 a.m., Feb. 7 through Mar. 28
  • In-person office hours: Wednesdays from 2-3 p.m., Feb. 9 through Mar. 30
  • Zoom office hours: Alternating days and times, February through March 

As always, please check with your individual department and college Research Administration team for additional guidance and support.

How will the UAR update affect you?

  • New UAR location: The UAccess portal will be updated with the new UAR system at 9 a.m. on Jan. 25. To access the system now or update saved browser bookmarks, use the new URL: https://arizona.kuali.co/dashboard.
  • Fully re-route proposals in the new UAR system by 5 p.m. on March 4 if the temporary Smartsheet proposal routing tool was used for approval and sponsor submission during UAR system conversion.
  • Immediate updates: The University will receive security updates and new system features on a continuous basis. 
  • No more VPN: Say goodbye to your VPN woes. You will be able to log in with your UA NetID, password, and NetID+ authentication without having to connect through VPN. This is great for traveling faculty or those places where VPN access is blocked.
  • Fewer routing stops: Lead unit pre-approval will no longer be required. Proposals will route simultaneously and immediately to investigators and department approvers. 
  • Convenient dashboard: The new dashboard will increase transparency by providing greater visibility to work in progress. The “proposals not routing” feature enables reviewers / approvers to see which proposals include them in the route path and will be routed to them, whether they are the Lead Unit or not. 
  • Search everything: Searching for what you need just got a whole lot more flexible. The dynamic Search Records feature scours all available fields for your specified words or numbers.

For questions or more information, contact Sponsored Projects Services at sponsor@arizona.edu or UARHelp@arizona.edu.

Link: Tuesday, December 21, 2021

The UAccess Research system will be unavailable for proposal routing from 5 p.m., Friday, Jan. 14 to 8 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022 while we move from a locally hosted platform to a cloud-based platform. For an overview of the coming changes, please watch the video below from Sangita Pawar, Research, Innovation & Impact’s Vice President for Operations.

For details on timelines, proposal submission during the changeover, and training opportunities, visit the UAccess Research Update website. An additional resource page with user guides and on-demand video tutorials will be made available in early January. 

As always, please check with your individual department and college Research Administration team for additional guidance and support.

Thank you for your patience and support.​​

Link: Friday, October 29, 2021

Get to Know the New Kuali Research SaaS

New Features, Training, and Office Hours - January 2022   

The UAccess Research System (Kuali Research under the hood) will be updated to Kuali Research Software-as-a-Service on January 25, 2022. You will find below an overview of the new features and training opportunities available to you.

New Features

  • Immediate updates: The University will receive security updates and improved system functionality in real time. 
  • No more VPN: Say goodbye to your VPN woes. You will be able to log in with your UA NetID, password, and NetID+ authentication without having to connect through VPN. Great for those places where VPN access might be blocked.
  • Fewer routing stops: Lead unit pre-approval will no longer be required. Proposals will route simultaneously and immediately to investigators and department approvers. 
  • Search everything: Search functionality just got a whole lot better. Don’t worry about knowing the correct field for your search term to achieve the best results. The dynamic Search Records feature scours all available fields for your specified words or numbers.
  • Convenient dashboard: The new dashboard will increase transparency by providing greater visibility to work in progress. The “proposals not yet routing” feature enables reviewers / approvers to see which proposals include them in the route path and will be routed to them in the near future, whether they are the Lead Unit or not. 

Available Training Sessions and Office Hours

Take advantage of one of many live training sessions with Sponsored Projects to become familiar with the new system look, feel, and navigation, and to understand features and processes. We’ll also hold office hours where you can bring specific questions and challenges to be addressed by our experts.

Orientation/Overview of Changes (new features, new layout/navigation)

Proposal Development (proposal creation, submission, and routing)

PI/Co-I/Key Personnel (review, approval, coordination of changes)

Department/College/Responsible Unit (review, approval, coordination of changes)

Office Hours: To register for office hours, click on the link below to see available days and times. Once registered, you will receive an email confirmation with an ical invite along with either the in-person room location or the zoom link. Our registration tool has quotas for each session and choices only appear if there is room. If all sessions in a given week are full, you will be given the option to join a waitlist.

For questions or more information, contact Shana McClelland at shana@arizona.edu.​​

Link: Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Proposal Routing Timeline - January 2022   

The current UAccess Research System (Kuali Research under the hood) will be updated to Kuali Research Software-as-a-Service  in January. To ensure that all proposals are routed properly during the update, please take note of the timeline:

  • Jan 14, Close of Business: All UAR proposals that have not been finalized will need to be routed to the SPS route stop.
  • Jan 20, 5 p.m.: UAR access ends and the Kuali update begins. 
  • Jan 21 – 24: SPS Preaward will be submitting electronic submissions that correspond to the fully routed and approved UARs in the corresponding systems (ASSIST, Grants.gov, Research.gov, etc). 
  • Jan 25, 8 a.m.: Kuali goes live

UAR_System_Update_Proposal_Routing_Timeline_Jan_2022.png

Calendar view of project timeline; new system goes live on January 25, 2022
Calendar view of project timeline. No UAR access as of 5:00pm January 20, 2022. Kuali goes live January 25, 2022 at 8:00am.

 

In line with University Closure timelines, any UAR document that needs to be submitted to the sponsor between Jan 18 and Jan 28, will need to route the proposal in UAR and have the proposal routed to the SPS route stop in UAR by close of business on Jan 14. 

While the systems will have a lot of similar information, the interface will be different. Any UAR proposal that has not been finalized in the current UAR system by the time it shuts down to start the Kuali update will be in a saved status in Kuali and will need to be reviewed by the initiator to comply with the new interface. After that review, it will then be placed into routing. 

A system will be in place when UAR goes offline in the event there are emergent proposals that were not able to route in UAR. More information on this process will be made available once it is finalized.

Please watch for further communications as the date of the update approaches.

For questions or more information, email sponsor@email.arizona.edu.

Link: Tuesday, September 14, 2021

The new eIRB is now available for human subjects research submissions.

For information on using eIRB, please consult the following resources:

Video demos and instructional material: eIRB Information (NetID is required)

Zoom drop-in training sessions: eIRB Drop-In Office Hours (no registration required)

  • Weeks of Sept. 13 and Sept. 24: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays: 10-11 a.m. and 1-2 p.m.
  • Weeks of Sept. 27 and Oct. 8: Tuesdays, Thursdays: 10-11 a.m. and 1-2 p.m.
  • Weeks of Oct. 13 and Oct. 18: Wednesdays: 10-11 a.m. and 1-2 p.m. 

How will the move to eIRB affect you?

The new eIRB system is now being used for all human subjects research submissions, including determination of human research and external IRB requests. Submissions are no longer accepted via our general departmental email inbox.

For questions or more information, contact the Human Subjects Protection Program at vpr-irb@arizona.edu

Link: Friday, August 6, 2021

Implementing a New Institutional Review Board (IRB) System

The Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) will launch a new system, eIRB, designed to make submitting human research protocols easier and faster. For more information about the implementation process, please visit RII’s New Systems Information Webpage.

August 13th is the last day to submit to the HSPP for full committee review. August 20th is the last day to submit to the HSPP for non-committee review. 

Please note the following important dates in the implementation process:

  • Aug. 13 – Last day to submit to the HSPP for full committee review.
  • Aug. 20 – Last day to submit to the HSPP for non-committee review. Any submissions received by this date but not yet finalized or any submission received after this date may not be reviewed and will be returned to you with further instruction on how to proceed.
  • Aug. 25-Sept. 12 – Blackout period (No IRB system will be available for submissions).
  • Sept. 13 – eIRB is available to submit materials to the IRB.

How will this affect you?

The new system is relevant to all University employees and students who conduct research involving human subjects.

  • Please plan your submission to the HSPP with the above dates in mind.
  • If your existing project(s) is set to expire during the planned blackout period, please submit a renewal or closure paperwork to VPR-IRB@arizona.edu as soon as possible. The HSPP will prioritize renewal submissions to ensure approval does not lapse due to system down time.
  • For urgent matters and Just-in-Time (JIT) requests that arise during the planned blackout period, please contact Christine Melton-Lopez, Director HSPP, directly at melton1@arizona.edu.  

Please forward this notice to any undergraduate students that may find this information useful.

For questions or more information, please contact the HSPP at VPR-IRB@arizona.edu.

Link: Tuesday, July 20, 2021

The Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) will launch a new system, eIRB, designed to make submitting human research protocols easier and faster. For more information about the implementation process, please visit RII’s New Systems Information Webpage.

Please note the following important dates in the implementation process:

  • Aug. 13 – Last day to submit to the HSPP for full committee review.
  • Aug. 20 – Last day to submit to the HSPP for non-committee review. Any submissions received by this date but not yet finalized or any submission received after this date may not be reviewed and will be returned to you with further instruction on how to proceed.
  • Aug. 25-Sept. 12 – Blackout period (No IRB system will be available for submissions).
  • Sept. 13 – eIRB is available to submit materials to the IRB.

How will this affect you?

The new system is relevant to all University employees and students who conduct research involving human subjects.

  • Please plan your submission to the HSPP with the above dates in mind.
  • If your existing project(s) is set to expire during the planned blackout period, please submit a renewal or closure paperwork to VPR-IRB@arizona.edu as soon as possible. The HSPP will prioritize renewal submissions to ensure approval does not lapse due to system down time.
  • For urgent matters and Just-in-Time (JIT) requests that arise during the planned blackout period, please contact Christine Melton-Lopez, Director HSPP, directly at melton1@arizona.edu.  

For questions or more information, please contact the HSPP at VPR-IRB@arizona.edu.

Link: Thursday, July 1, 2021

eDisclosure is now available for conflict of interest (COI) submissions—annual disclosures and research certifications—and conflict of commitment (COC) form submissions.

For information on using eDisclosure, the following options are available:

Video Demos and Instructional Material: eDisclosure Information (NetID required)

Zoom Drop-In Training Sessions: eDisclosure Training (No registration required)
 
  • Thursday, July 1 – 11 am; 11:30 am; 12 pm
  • Thursday, July 8 – 11 am; 11:30 am; 12 pm

How will the move to eDisclosure affect you?

eDisclosure will be used for all conflict of interest and commitment disclosures.

All Full-Time University Employees (0.50 FTE or greater) must disclose:

  • Outside Employment
  • Outside Commitments
  • Substantial Interest

University Administrators must disclose:

  • Institutional Interests
  • Outside Employment
  • Outside Commitments
  • Substantial Interests

Investigators* must disclose: 

  • Significant Financial Interests
  • Significant Personal Interests
  • Foreign Interests
  • Outside Employment
  • Outside Commitments
  • Substantial Interests

*Investigators who are University Administrators must also disclose Institutional Financial Interests.


For research Investigators, notices for submission of Research Certifications will be issued on July 1. Notifications for submission of Annual Certifications will be issued by college/center, beginning July 12. Your college/center leadership will receive information related to additional eDisclosure training opportunities.

Reminder:  The University of Arizona is implementing a new Conflicts of Interest & Commitment Policy. Investigators will be required to complete an updated version of the COI Required Disclosure Training.

For questions or more information, contact the Office for Responsible Outside Interests at coi@arizona.edu or at 520-626-6406. For questions about Substantial Interests, contact Ted Nasser at enasser@arizona.edu or at 520-621-5449.

Link: Friday, June 4, 2021

Implementing a New, Faster Conflict of Interest System

June 11 is the last day to submit Research Certifications and Annual Disclosures in the legacy COI Disclosure System.

Please note the following important dates in the implementation process:

  • June 11, 2021 - Last day to submit disclosures, research certifications, and COC Forms in the current system.
  • June 12 - 30, 2021 - Blackout period (No COI or COC system will be available for submissions.)
  • July 1, 2021 - eDisclosure available (For your first disclosure or certification in eDisclosure, you will need to disclose all entities, including those previously disclosed in the legacy COI Disclosure System.)

How will this affect you?

The new system is relevant to all University Administrators who have an Outside Interest and all University Investigators. Please visit the COI Webpage to learn how to disclose to the University whether you have any significant financial interests or significant personal interests that may be related to your research or institutional responsibilities. 


For more information about the implementation process, please visit RII’s New Systems Information webpage.

Please also note that beginning July 1, the Conflict of Interest Program will be called the Office for Responsible Outside Interests to more closely focus on the program’s goal: to align outside interests with the University’s mission to disseminate knowledge through teaching, research, and public service in a way that ensures transparency, integrity and public trust.

For questions or more information, contact the COI Program at coi@arizona.edu or at (520) 626-8266.

Link: Friday, May 28, 2021

The Conflict of Interest (COI) Program will launch a new system, eDisclosure, designed to make submitting COC Forms (Requests for Approval of Outside Employment and Commitments) easier and faster. For more information about the implementation process, please visit RII’s New Systems Information webpage.

Please note the following important dates in the implementation process:

  • June 11, 2021 - Last day to submit disclosures, research certifications, and COC Forms in the current system.
  • June 12 - 30, 2021 - Blackout period (No COI or COC system will be available for submissions.)
  • July 1, 2021 - eDisclosure available (For your first disclosure or certification in eDisclosure, you will need to disclose all entities, including those previously disclosed in the legacy COI Disclosure System.)

How will this affect you?

The new system is relevant to full-time University Employees who are employed or have a professional commitment outside of the University. Please visit the COI webpage to learn more about who should submit a COC form. 

Please also note that beginning July 1, the Conflict of Interest Program will be called the Office for Responsible Outside Interests to more closely focus on the program’s goal: to align outside interests with the University’s mission to disseminate knowledge through teaching, research, and public service in a way that ensures transparency, integrity and public trust.

For questions or more information, contact the COI Program at coi@arizona.edu or at (520) 626-8266.

Link: Thursday, May 6, 2021

Implementing New Systems to Make Your Work Easier

Beginning this summer, the Office of Research, Innovation and Impact will sequentially roll out and upgrade new systems designed to make your work related to Conflict of Interest and Commitment matters, the Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP), and research proposals much easier. Because these changes are relevant to all of campus, from students to staff to faculty, please check your email inboxes in the coming weeks and months for information about training sessions and transitioning to the new systems.

Conflict of Interest (COI) and Conflict of Commitment (COC)

The COI Program is implementing a new electronic system, called eDisclosure, which will be used by the University community to submit COI disclosure information and COC forms for approval. The emails you will begin receiving will provide information on what you can expect as we transition to the new system. Once the go-live date is finalized, there will be a two-week blackout period during which COI and COC information cannot be submitted. We will update you on specific dates soon. Please work to ensure your COI disclosure, research certifications and COC forms are updated by the end of May. Some of the benefits of eDisclosure include: 

  • A single point of disclosure for COI and COC matters using a progressive smart form that will open and hide pages based on the answers you provide.
  • Ability to view the progress of your disclosure as it makes its way through the COI and COC review processes.

For more information, contact the COI Program at coi@arizona.edu.

New electronic Institutional Review Board (IRB) system

Additionally, HSPP is implementing a new electronic IRB system called eIRB, which is a platform where researchers will submit and manage their human subject protocols. Details regarding the rollout of this new system, which will increase productivity and provide researchers with a greater level of transparency during IRB reviews, include:

  • Going live in August 2021.
  • There will be a planned blackout period where no IRB submissions will be accepted. This will be approximately two weeks before the go-live date. Please check your email inboxes for updates on timing. 
  • IRB Meetings will be held on the first and second Tuesdays of June, July, and August. Ad hoc meetings may be scheduled. 
  • For projects that expire July-August 2021, please get your renewal paperwork in ASAP. If the project expires during the planned blackout period, please submit renewal paperwork at least two weeks before the planned blackout period. Otherwise, reapproval is not guaranteed and the project will expire. The project will also be expired in the new eIRB system after the system goes live. 
  • For projects that expire after the system goes live, please use eIRB to submit Continuing Reviews. User guides will be published when the system is launched. 
  • Submissions to the VPR-IRB@arizona.edu inbox will not be accepted starting approximately one to two weeks before the planned blackout period. Urgent submissions will be handled on a case-by-case basis. IRB inquiries should still be submitted to VPR-IRB@arizona.edu

Those with questions about eIRB are asked to contact Christine Melton-Lopez, HSPP director, at melton1@email.arizona.edu.

Research system upgrade

This fall, following implementation of the COI and HSPP systems, the current UAccess Research (UAR) system will be updated to a newer version called Kuali Research. 

Here are some highlights: 

  • The updated system will go live about a month after eIRB is active.
  • Familiar content will have a more modern look and feel.
  • The system will deliver new features and fixes on a continuous basis.
  • Adjusted proposal routing will shorten approval times.
  • The research system will be unavailable from close of business on a Friday evening and will be live again the next Tuesday morning.
  • To prepare for routing changes, all proposals that start routing in UAR must be fully approved and submitted by Sponsored Projects and Contracting Services (SPCS) before UAR goes down. Any proposals still routing can be canceled, copied and rerouted by the proposal initiator when Kuali Research goes live. Additional details about proposal deadlines will follow.
  • Responses to proposal questions will flow from proposals through awards to facilitate more accurate campus and institutional reporting. 
  • The University VPN will no longer be required to access the research system.

For more information, contact Susan Mundt, SPCS assistant director of operations, at mundts@arizona.edu.
 

[Complete] - UAccess Research (UAR) system update

This winter, following implementation of the COI and HSPP systems, the current UAccess Research (UAR) system will be updated to a newer version of the Kuali Research application.

Here are some highlights: 

  • The updated system will go live Jan. 25, 2022.
  • The University VPN will no longer be required to access the research system.
  • Proposal routing will eliminate lead unit pre-approval, routing immediately to investigators and department approvers simultaneously.
  • The research system will be unavailable from close of business on Jan. 20 until the morning of Jan. 25.
  • To prepare for routing changes, all proposals with deadlines from Jan. 18 to Jan. 28 must be fully approved and finalized in UAR by Sponsored Projects Services (SPS) before the UAR transition. Other proposals that began routing in the past can be canceled, copied and rerouted by the proposal initiator when the new UAR goes live. Additional details about proposal deadlines will follow.
  • Responses to proposal questions will flow from proposals through awards to facilitate more accurate campus and institutional reporting. 
  • The system will deliver new features and fixes on a continuous basis.
  • Familiar content will have a more modern look and feel.

For more information, contact Susan Mundt, SPCS assistant director of operations, at mundts@arizona.edu.

[Complete] Implementing a New Institutional Review Board (IRB) System

The Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) will launch a new system, eIRB, designed to make submitting human research protocols easier and faster.

Please note the following important dates in the implementation process:

  • Aug. 13 – Last day to submit to the HSPP for full committee review.
  • Aug. 20 – Last day to submit to the HSPP for non-committee review. Any submissions received by this date but not yet finalized or any submission received after this date may not be reviewed and will be returned to you with further instruction on how to proceed.
  • Aug. 25-Sept. 12 – Blackout period (No IRB system will be available for submissions).
  • Sept. 13 – eIRB is available to submit materials to the IRB.

How will this affect you?

The new system is relevant to all University employees and students who conduct research involving human subjects.

  • Please plan your submission to the HSPP with the above dates in mind.
  • If your existing project(s) is set to expire during the planned blackout period, please submit a renewal or closure paperwork to VPR-IRB@arizona.edu as soon as possible. The HSPP will prioritize renewal submissions to ensure approval does not lapse due to system down time.
  • For urgent matters and Just-in-Time (JIT) requests that arise during the planned blackout period, please contact Christine Melton-Lopez, Director HSPP, directly at melton1@arizona.edu.  

For questions or more information, please contact the HSPP at VPR-IRB@arizona.edu.

[Complete] New COI & COC system launched July 1, 2021!

How will this affect you?

The new system is relevant to individuals who submit COI disclosures and/or COC Forms (Requests for Approval of Outside Employment and Commitments):

  1. University research Investigators
  2. University Administrators who have an Outside Interest
  3. Full-time University Employees who are employed or have a professional commitment outside of the University. Please visit the COI webpage to learn more about who should submit a COC form.

Please also note that beginning July 1, the Conflict of Interest Program will be called the Office for Responsible Outside Interests to more closely focus on the program’s goal: to align outside interests with the University’s mission to disseminate knowledge through teaching, research, and public service in a way that ensures transparency, integrity and public trust.

For questions or more information, contact the COI Program at coi@arizona.edu or at (520) 626-8266.

NEW COI & COC Policy:  The Conflicts of Interest & Commitment Policy (Interim) policy incorporates five of the University's conflict of interest and commitment policies into one policy to alleviate confusion and contradictions. A single conflict of commitment policy will now be applicable to full-time University employees. The policy is approved on an interim basis to address immediate concerns while the substantive policy revisions are presented for stakeholder feedback and publication.

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