Conflicts of Interest in Research:
Policies
The Policy on Financial Conflict of Interest in Research is intended to comply with all relevant federal regulations, including those from the Public Health Service (PHS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Department of Energy (DOE). The federal requirements are intended to promote objectivity in research by establishing standards that provide a reasonable expectation that the design, conduct, and reporting of federally-sponsored research will be free from bias resulting financial conflicts of interest.
The Policy on Conflict of Commitment in Research is intended to comply with the expectations of external funding agencies regarding prevention of Conflicts of Commitment in Research.
The Policy on Ethics and Conflict of Interest ensures that Employees of the University as well as members of the University of Rhode Island Board of Trustees are aware of their obligations relative to ethics and conflicts of interest in the performance of their duties and to point to the statutes and regulations controlling such actions by state Employees and others acting in the public interest of the State of Rhode Island.
The Policy on Public-Private Partnerships in Research and Development provides guidance and standards for the University to grant exemptions (subject to certain conditions and limitations that adequately protect the interests of the University, its students, and Employees, as well as the interests of the State of Rhode Island, its citizens, and the public) that will allow the University and/or its Employees to engage in activities or transactions in which the Employee has a Conflict of Interest and that would otherwise be prohibited by the Rhode Island Ethics Code. URI’s ability to grant exemptions is granted in the Rhode Island Public/Private Partnership Act (RIGL §16-59-26).