Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI)
The University must adhere to OCI regulations, such as Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 9.5 and Uniform Guidance 200.318c(2) as a condition for funding from certain U.S. government agencies.
Federal Sponsor Requirements
Some federal sponsors such as the Department of Defense and ARPA-H require disclosure of OCI at the time of proposal submission.
FAR 9.5 prohibits those who consult for a government agency from applying for the same funding opportunities to which they provided input. Some RFPs cite 2 CFR 200.318(c) for similar reasons. These regulations ensure that the awardee’s objectivity is not biased because of present or planned interests which relate to the work and that the awardee does not obtain unfair competitive advantage (discussed below) in the proposal review and award process.
In accordance with these regulations proposers are required to identify and disclose all facts relevant to potential OCIs involving the proposer’s organization and any proposed team member.
unfair competitive advantage
Unequal access to information: The potential for an investigator to utilize or provide to others proprietary, confidential, or sensitive information that is not generally available to others seeking federal funding.
Impaired objectivity: The potential for an investigator to be impartial, for example when, in their service to the agency/sponsor, they are in a position to assess their own performance, evaluate their own products, or do so for another member of the University.
Biased ground rules: Situations where an investigator has provided key specifications, technical assistance, or written work requirements for a funding opportunity where someone in the same institution is an applicant.
How to Deal with OCI
Avoid: Prevent the occurrence of an actual or potential OCI through actions such as excluding sources or eliminating a segment of work from task to eliminate the potential for an OCI.
Neutralize: Negate potential or actual OCI related to (1) contractor objectivity during contract performance or (2) an unfair competitive advantage.
Mitigate: Reduce or alleviate the impact of unavoidable OCIs to an acceptable level of risk so that the Government’s interests to fair competition and/or contract performance are not prejudiced.
EXamples of Organizational OCI
- A faculty member in the College of Engineering provides DARPA with technical direction for the development of a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA).
- A faculty member at the university develops a detailed model plan for the scientific and technical training of staff at the Air Force Research Laboratory. The Laboratory adopts the curriculum and incorporates it into a request for proposal to conduct the training.
- A university researcher collaborates on a project for Homeland Security and has access to confidential government information.
University disclosure requirements
The OCI disclosure process is in addition to the campus requirement to maintain an up-to-date Disclosure Profile in accordance with the Disclosure of External Interests and Commitments Policy.
OCI disclosure requirements
When grants and contracts (including subcontracts) to the university include the requirement for disclosure of any OCI, the university is required to provide the sponsor with detailed information about its program for training, disclosure, review, and reporting of OCI.
The principal investigator, and any key personnel, subcontractor, subawardee or consultant must identify and disclose all potential OCIs by completing the Organizational Conflict of Interest Form.
OCI Management
If an OCI is identified as being related to a funding proposal or ongoing research, the conflict must be managed to mitigate or remove the conflict.
Common OCI management options include, but are not limited to:
- Notification by the COI Administrator/OSP of the OCI to the funding sponsor
- Recusal of the conflicted individual from certain research activities
- Application of specific data security measures to maintain confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, or sensitive data
- Review of the research/work by an independent third party.