4300 Investigator Significant Financial Interest Disclosure

Original Date: 3/1/1998 * Last Revision Effective: 6/20/2023
Policy Contact: Vice President, Administrative Services

Policy

This policy addresses potential conflicts of interest related to projects funded by federal agencies, such as the U.S. National Institute of Health, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and others. This policy and associated procedures are intended to protect the credibility and integrity of faculty and staff members and ensure public trust and confidence in college sponsored activities.

Federal agencies mandate that recipients of their awards (grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements) manage, reduce, or eliminate any actual or potential conflicts of interest that may be presented by a financial interest of an investigator. The college requires investigators to disclose any significant interest that may represent an actual or potential conflict of interest related to research or educational activities.

Summary of Process

Federal regulations and Bellevue College’s relevant procedures are designed to reduce complications in the proposal submission and award negotiation processes. A conflict of interest must be disclosed and acknowledged during the Bellevue College proposal review and submission stage. Review of the conflict will be initiated by the vice president of administrative services (VP AS) prior to proposal submission. The review must reach a conclusion for eliminating or managing the conflict before any expenses are incurred under the award. If the VP AS concludes that the conflict cannot be eliminated or managed, the proposal must be modified or it cannot be submitted.

All institutional reports and other formal communications with external investigators or grant sponsors concerning conflicts of interest are handled by the VP AS or their designee.

Definitions

Conflict of interest: occurs when there is a divergence between an individual’s private interest and their professional obligations to the college such that an independent observer might reasonably question whether the individual’s professional actions or decisions are distorted by considerations of personal gain.

Principal Investigator: means the principal investigator (PI), co-principal investigators, and any other person who is responsible for the design, conduct, or reporting of research or educational activities funded, or proposed for funding, by an external sponsor. The term also includes the investigator’s spouse and dependent children.

Relevant Laws and Other Resources

Revision History

Original 3/1/1998
Revisions 5/10/2005; 5/21/2009; 9/11/2012; 4/7/2015; 7/20/2021 (temporary approval granted by President’s Cabinet); 01/04/2022 (second temporary approval granted by President’s Cabinet – expires on 07/04/22); 02/16/2022; 6/20/2023

Approved By

Board of Trustees

Last Updated June 28, 2023