Financial Conflict of Interest Agency Regulations

The regulatory landscape for financial conflicts of interest in research shifts frequently based on federal sponsoring agencies. Our team monitors these changes and shares updates with the UO research community.

Additional Guidance: National Science Foundation

Effective January 30, 2023, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is amending its definition of “significant financial interest” to include “venture or other capital financing.”

This new definition, on page IX-1 of the updated Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide, means that faculty with NSF funding who also have equity and/or an ownership interest in a non-publicly traded company or any other activity or interest for which they have received outside funding may be required to disclose additional information about the investors in the non-publicly traded company, activity, or interest.

The NSF released an updated Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide that takes effect May 20, 2024.

Additional Guidance: Department of Energy

Researchers applying for or receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) should be aware that DOE issued an Interim Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy for Financial Assistance on December 20, 2021 that has additional conflict of interest disclosure requirements that apply to all Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) issued on or after that date.

Researchers may encounter the new requirements at the time of proposal, after an award has been issued, and over the course of a sponsored project. For more information, please read the Financial Assistance Letter (FAL), which summarizes the new requirements, and read FOAs closely as requirements can vary across award types.

Additional Federal Regulations