Conflicts of Interest and Commitment (COIC)
Gonzaga University has the responsibility to ensure that external influences outside the scope of an employee's professional duties do not interfere with their institutional duties. External funders require that Gonzaga implement due diligence in developing policy and procedures to ensure conflicts of interest or commitment do not impact work being completed on externally funded research and projects.
There are various types of conflicts that may occur in research. The most common being financial conflicts of interest. These occur when individuals have a monetary stake or benefit related to their research.
In addition, other types of conflicts may affect the ethical conduct or integrity of research. These types of conflicts are generally called conflicts of commitment.
Federal and state regulations and laws have been enacted to mitigate financial conflicts of interest and to promote ethical conduct in research and externally-funded projects. Additionally, Gonzaga COIC policies are intended to provide relevant information to assist employees in responsible decision making, enable them to exercise professionalism and ethical judgment to protect themselves from potential conflicts and ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Sponsored Research & Programs Conflict of Interest Policy outlines how Gonzaga will meet the requirements of these funding guidelines and supplements the Gonzaga Conflict of Interest Policy in the university Policy and Procedures Manual (PPM). Individuals involved in the design, conduct, or reporting of research or sponsored project activities (typically Senior/Key Personnel, Project Directors and/or Investigators) must disclose external financial and personal interests to the university using the Disclosure of External Professional Activities (DEPA) and Related Matters Form to ensure that the interest will not directly and significantly impact their research or sponsored project activities.
For additional questions or concerns, please contact the Sponsored Research & Programs office at sponsoredresearch@gonzaga.edu.