Conflict of Interest | UC Berkeley

Information that Must be Disclosed to UC Berkeley

This chart summarizes required research conflicts of interest, conflict of commitment, financial or personal conflict of interest, and current and pending support disclosures. The Office of the President has also compiled a helpful compendium of laws and UC policies that are relevant to conflict of interest and commitment. Additional details and links to policy relevant to UC Berkeley are provided following the chart.

Comparison Chart

Category	Research Conflict of Interest (Research COI)	Financial or Personal Conflict of Interest (Financial COI)	Conflict of Commitment (COC)	Current and Pending Support
Purpose	To protect the integrity and objectivity of research conducted by UCB investigators, and comply with related policies and regulations Learn more the about research COI process.	To advise on potential scenarios where employees make, participate in making or in any way attempt to use their official position to influence a university decision in which they know or have reason to know they have a financial or personal interest.	To identify and manage outside professional activities of UCB faculty to ensure no interference with academic responsibilities	To ensure transparency and accountability, to prevent the funding of malign foreign talent recruitment programs. These disclosures also help prevent duplicate funding for the same research, assess an investigator's capacity to undertake new projects, and identify potential conflicts of interest, ultimately safeguarding the integrity and efficient use of federal research funds.
Who files	Principal Investigators and co-PIs listed as contacts on awards. These are usually others who share responsibility for the design, conduct or reporting of externally supported research in conjunction with: Sponsored research awards Gifts from outside donors Material transfer agreements Human Subject Protocols	Designated Employee is a UC Employee whose position is listed in the University’s Conflict of Interest Code.	Faculty appointed at 50% or more and all Health Science Compensation Plan (HSCP) participants	Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-Principal Investigators (Co-PIs) Project Directors (PDs) and Co-Project Directors (Co-PDs) Project Managers Any individual, regardless of their title, who functions in a role equivalent to a PI, PD, or Co-PI Any “Covered Individual” as defined by the sponsoring federal agencies All employees must avoid the appearance of favoritism in all of the dealings on behalf of the University.
What is filed	Depends upon source of funding: PHS Financial Disclosure Forms NASA, NSF, DOE and other Non-PHS Disclosure Forms Non-federal research funding, For-profit sponsors, MTAs, and gifts Human Subjects Financial Conflict of Interest Form	Designated Employees file the annual Form 700.	Annual reports and prior approval requests for certain activities	In the proposal application: a list of an individual's proposed and active projects and sources of support. This includes both financial support and in-kind contributions (e.g., office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, employees, students). On a continuous basis as required per terms and conditions of individual award: any changes since the last disclosure, such as any new funding received — must be disclosed through progress reports.
When is filing required	Depends upon source of funding, but usually: Prior to start of research When any award changes occur When requests for additional funding are submitted Annually (for PHS, see specific agency requirements)	Assuming Office Annual (April 1st) Leaving Office	For annual report, by September 30 each year for prior fiscal year activities For prior approval requests, before engaging in activity	Depends upon source of funding: Prior to start of research When any project changes occur When requests for additional funding are submitted Annually (in progress reports)
Filing required under policies established by	PHS (including NIH, FDA, CDC, FDA, AHQR, SAMHSA, HRSA, IHS, ATSDR, OASH, ASPR) Non-PHS (including NSF, DOE, DOD, NASA, USDA) State of California 700U (state funding, industry funding, and gifts) UCOP and UCB	California Political Reform Act	University of California: APM 025 (other than HSCP) APM 671 (HSCP) APM 240 (Deans) APM 246 (Full Time Faculty Administrators)	NIH Grants Policy NSF PAPPG NASA Grants Policy DOD instructions are often found within specific Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs).
Online systems	Phoebe	NetFile (Note: you need to create, or have, an account)	UC OATS	Phoebe (rolling out) SciENcv: Log in to create current and pending support and bio sketches that can be used on federal proposal applications.
Office with administrative responsibility	Research Administration and Compliance	Office of Ethics, Risk, and Compliance Services	Academic Personnel	Research Administration and Compliance

Note: All involvement (funded or unfunded) with foreign entities must be disclosed.

Research Conflicts of Interest

Principal Investigators (PIs) and all co-PIs listed under contacts for awards on sponsored research agreements and others who share responsibility for the design, conduct, or reporting of research supported by the National Science Foundation and all other federal agencies other than PHS and DOE (see below), must disclose personal financial interests, both U.S. and foreign, that may reasonably appear to be affected by the work performed under the sponsored project. This includes salary, consulting payments, honoraria, royalty payments, dividends, loans from the entity, equity interests, or intellectual property interests in the form of a patent, patent application, or copyright of software assigned to any entity other than the UC Regents.
Principal Investigators on sponsored research agreements and others who share responsibility for the design, conduct or reporting of research supported by the Public Health Service (including the National Institutes of Health) and the U.S. Department of Energy, must disclose personal financial interests that reasonably appear to be related to their UCB responsibilities. Financial interests include income, honoraria, royalty payments for use or sale of patented or copyrighted intellectual property owned by an individual or organization other than the UC Regents, equity, and travel reimbursed by or directly purchased for the individual. While there are some exclusions for the U.S. government and institutions of higher education, all financial interests in foreign institutions must be disclosed.
Principal Investigators seeking research support through contracts, grants, gifts and material transfer agreements from non-governmental sources (for-profit and non-profit) and others who share responsibility for the design, conduct or reporting of the research, or who are the recipients of gifts for research, must disclose financial interests in the sponsor under State of California, UC, and UCB conflict of interest policies and procedures. This includes all foreign sponsors including governmental and non-governmental.

Forms, policies and procedures, and other guidance concerning disclosure of conflict of interest in research are available on this website. A summary guide and infographic are available, see the COI Disclosure Requirements Comparison and Navigating Research Conflict of Interest.

Please reach out to COI-team@berkeley.edu if you have any questions regarding research conflicts of interest.

Conflicts of Commitment

UCB faculty are required to seek prior approval for outside professional activities likely to create conflict of commitment concerns. This includes the conduct of research elsewhere, employment at another institution, and managerial or executive positions outside the University. Faculty are also expected to submit annual reports in which they disclose these kinds of activities, and any outside consulting, Board of Director memberships, industry workshops, and UC-compensated teaching above their regular course loads. (See APM 025 and 671)
UCB faculty are required to complete annual reports of outside professional activities, both those likely to create conflict of commitment concerns (listed above), and other activities including additional University-compensated teaching such as UNEX courses and programs, other continuing education programs run by the University, and self-supporting UC degree programs; consulting or testifying as an expert or professional witness; providing outside consulting services or referrals or engaging in professional practice as an individual or through a single-member professional corporation or sole proprietorship; serving on a board of directors outside of the University; providing or presenting a workshop for industry; or providing outside consulting or compensated professional activities performed for entities such as the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. (See APM 025 and 671)

Reports of outside professional activities (whether compensated or uncompensated) must include all foreign and domestic activities. The UC-wide Outside Activity Tracking System (OATS) has been developed to facilitate this reporting, and provide current information on its implementation at UC Berkeley.

Financial and Personal Conflicts of Interest

The University of California’s Standard of Ethical Conduct #6 states:
Employee members of the University community are expected to devote primary professional allegiance to the University and to the mission of teaching, research and public service. Outside employment must not interfere with University duties. Outside professional activities, personal financial interests, or acceptance of benefits from third parties can create actual or perceived conflicts between the University's mission and an individual's private interests. University community members who have certain professional or financial interests are expected to disclose them in compliance with applicable conflict of interest/conflict of commitment policies. In all matters, community members are expected to take appropriate steps, including consultation if issues are unclear, to avoid both conflicts of interest and the appearance of such conflicts.
The California Political Reform Act requires employees in designated positions follow additional rules and reporting requirements regarding financial conflict of interest.
University Policy PPSM-82: Conflict of Interest. PPSM-82 also states that University officers and employees “must avoid the appearance of favoritism in all of their dealings on behalf of the University. All University officers and employees are expected to act with integrity and good judgment and to recognize that the acceptance of personal gifts from those doing business or seeking to do business with the University, even when lawful, may give rise to legitimate concerns about favoritism depending on the circumstances.”

Please reach out to conflict@berkeley.edu if you have any questions regarding financial or personal conflicts of interest.

Related information

Navigating Research Conflict of Interest

Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment Comparison