General ResourcesConflict of Interest Policy
Conflicts of interest may arise when the personal or financial interests of a faculty member conflict with Northwestern's commitment to objectivity and integrity in research. This can occur when a faculty member and/or members of his/her family stand to benefit from particular research outcomes; conflicts can also come from involvement in consulting that introduces the appearance of bias or may simply make excessive demands of a faculty member's time and attention.
In the McCormick School, review and management of faculty conflicts of interest, whether real or simply apparent, are the responsibility of the school’s Conflict of Interest (COI) Office/Committee, chaired by the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs.
The COI Office/Committee considers each disclosure to ensure that McCormick maintains its well-earned reputation for academic excellence and integrity.
Annual Disclosures
Disclosures are completed annually in the FASIS system during the winter quarter. All benefits-eligible faculty must disclose to the unit in which their primary appointment is housed.
Researchers will need to maintain a current research disclosure and complete an annual disclosure; however, the responses to the six research questions in the annual disclosure will be prepopulated if they have already been entered by the investigator during the research disclosure process. The researcher will be able to add and remove responses as applicable.
Any new information entered in response to the research questions during the annual disclosure process will feed back into the research disclosure. The annual disclosure has additional questions not included in the research disclosure, which is why the annual disclosure process is separate.
Research Disclosures
Investigators need to complete training once every 4 years and disclose Significant Financial Interests in the FASIS system within 30 days after they occur.