At the time of proposal submission to a federal funding agency, Investigators must have an up-to-date COI certification. That means each Investigator has:
1. Submitted either an Annual Disclosure Certification or a Research Certification in the last 364 days, and
2. Does not have any changes to an existing Outside Interest or new Outside Interest.
In the past, University Employees were asked to disclose Outside Commitments in the COC database and Outside Interests in the COI database.
The Conflicts of Interest & Commitment Policy incorporated and replaced the following policies:
1. Conflict of Commitment Policy
2. Conflict of Interest (UHAP) Policy
3. Conflict of Interest in Purchasing Policy
4. Individual Conflict of Interest in Research Policy
5. Institutional Conflict of Interest Policy
Now, eDisclosure serves as a single platform to meet all policy disclosure requirements.
Conflict of interest (COI) and conflict of commitment (COC) reviews are separate because COI relates to bias in decisions and COC relates to a University employee's time & effort for UArizona, UArizona resources and UArizona Assets.
Sponsors & funders have identified the following concerns:
1. conflicts of interest
2. shadow labs
3. loss of Intellectual Property
4. conflicts of commitment, including theft of time, resources and assets
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)
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:
University Administrators must disclose:
Investigators* must disclose:
*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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
To: University Community
From: Conflict of Interest Program
Subject: Adoption of Interim Conflicts of Interest and Commitment Policy
Date: May 17, 2021
Notice of Policy Revision and Policy Repeal
Interim Conflicts of Interest & Commitment Policy
Pursuant to the authority established by Arizona Board of Regents Policy No. 1-201, et seq., and the University of Arizona's policy on University Policy-making, the following action is proposed:
ADOPTION OF INTERIM CONFLICTS OF INTEREST & COMMITMENT POLICY
SUMMARY: This 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 all 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.
The Conflicts of Interest & Commitment Policy incorporates and replaces the following policies, which can be viewed at the links below:
A copy of the revised policy is available at the University Policies website. Members of the University community are invited to submit written comments via the Policy Feedback box on the policy or by contacting the Conflict of Interest Program at 520-626-6406 or COI@email.arizona.edu. All comments must be received by close of business on June 21, 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:
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:
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:
For more information, contact Susan Mundt, SPCS assistant director of operations, at mundts@arizona.edu.