Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment

Stanford University is an institution of public trust. Stanford personnel (Faculty, Staff, and Postdoctoral scholars) must conduct their affairs in ways that will not compromise the integrity of the university or that trust."

Stanford Research Policy Handbook 4.1

Who We Are

The Conflict of Interest and Commitment team within VPDoR helps the Stanford research community navigate policies related to potential conflict risks, understand the impact of competing interests, and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure proper disclosure and management.

Conflicts of interest are common—and often unavoidable—in a modern research university. Stanford’s policies aim to mitigate the risks associated with these conflicts to protect academic values, research integrity, and the university's mission. Even the perception of a conflict can compromise these principles.

All faculty members are expected to conduct their professional and academic activities in ways that uphold the university’s integrity and public trust. However, they may at times encounter potential conflicts of interest, conflicts of commitment, or both. Such situations do not inherently indicate wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior but are evaluated to determine how they should be managed, whether they can be reduced, or if they need to be eliminated.

Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest occurs when there is a divergence between the private interests of faculty and their professional obligations to the university such that an independent observer might reasonably question whether the actions or decisions are determined by considerations of personal financial gain.

Conflict of Commitment

Conflict of commitment usually involves issues around time allocation. Stanford faculty owe their primary professional allegiance to the university, and their primary commitment of time and intellectual energies is expected to be devoted to the education, research, and scholarship programs of the institution.

Stanford’s Policy on Conflicts of Commitment and Interest describes the potential conflict risks regarding consulting and other professional activities. It also details the requirements for how faculty, staff, and others must address these risks through disclosure, and provides information about how Stanford reviews and assesses personal financial interests related to the university responsibilities of faculty. More information is available in the Research Policy Handbook. 

Services

Stanford provides two web-based applications to facilitate the disclosure and management of potential conflicts of commitment and interest. One is the Outside Professional Activities Certification System (OPACS). The other is the PHS Travel Report module available to report travel reimbursed through Public Health Services funding including the NIH.

Pre-Approval of Outside Professional Involvement

As of Sept. 1, 2023, Stanford faculty and research personnel can seek prior approval of outside professional activities through OPACS. Use of this secure site aims to enhance, streamline, and document the process of obtaining prior approval for certain outside professional activities following Stanford's Policy on Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment (COIC).

A sampling of activities that require prior approval include certain employment and appointments outside of Stanford; formation or acquisition of a new entity where ownership interest is 5% or more, or the entity licenses Stanford intellectual property, certain services on boards outside of Stanford, and consulting activities. Learn more details of what activities require disclosure and get more information on OPACS through this FAQ. All activities that were disclosed and received approval before then, do not need to be resubmitted.

Annual Disclosure Requirements

Annually, all Stanford faculty, as well as senior and key personnel on submitted proposals or funded awards, are required to certify their understanding of and compliance with Stanford’s policy. Faculty can use the secure web-based OPACS tool to file these annual certifications and to disclose their outside professional activities.

Transactional Disclosures

In addition, whenever potential conflicts arise, individuals must submit a transactional disclosure. Transactional conflicts of interest can be triggered by any of the following:

Technology licensing arrangements or other industrial contracts including Material Transfer Agreements
The filing of a protocol for the protection of humans, stem cells, or laboratory animals in research
The submission of a proposal or contract to a research sponsor
The acceptance of gifts
Certain procurement activities

Researchers receiving Public Health Services funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can file their required travel disclosures through the PHS Travel Report site. Researchers must disclose reimbursed or sponsored travel related to institutional responsibilities at Stanford regardless of the relationship of the travel to PHS funding when the amount in total or particular entity exceeds $5,000 during the preceding 12 months. The travel report provides more details on the requirements.

Conflict of Interest Officers by School

Requirements and policies often differ depending on the type of research engagement. COI officers are available as resources throughout the Stanford campus. Find the COI officer for your school or department in this list.