Conflicts of Interest in Research:
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Investigators at University of Rhode Island (URI) are subject to URI policies, as well as specific Rhode Island State law and federal regulations.

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 URI Conflict of Interest in Research Policy is compliant with the 2012 Public Health Service (PHS) regulations on Responsibility of Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in Research for which PHS Funding is Sought (42 C.F.R. Part 50, Subpart F) and Responsible Prospective Contractors (45 C.F.R. Part 94). 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 sponsored research will be free from bias resulting from Investigator financial conflicts of interest.

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).