Tuesday, June 10, 2014

How to manage conflict of interest and conflict of commitment


Researchers and staff are often faced with competing demands on time and responsibilities. A "Conflict of Interest" occurs when an individual has the opportunity to use his or her position for personal financial gain or to benefit a company in which the individual has a financial interest.

A “Conflict of Commitment” exists when an employee's outside activities demand their time and attention to the point where it interferes with the individual’s responsibilities. It may also occur when a researcher participates in competing obligations such as: working on another project, investing time in a new grant application, mentoring or peer review.

Conflicts of interests or commitments may not always be a concern; rather, the way in which the conflict is managed makes all of the difference. Researchers are expected to be transparent about how their time is spent and report any interests that may cause a potential conflict.  By doing so, objective parties can review the nature of the disclosures and determine if any actions are required to remove the appearance of a conflict.  Transparency of information combined with performance of due diligence helps protect all parties from any possible negative future actions.  

Some organizations manage this process via paper which is very ineffective and opens them up to unnecessary risks and errors. Forward thinking organizations have implemented software solutions to manage and simplify their process while protecting themselves from undue consequences.

What are the benefits managing this process with COI software?
  • Easy to use and deploy
  • Reduces risk and costs
  • Improves organizational effectiveness

How does it work?
  • Automatically identifies potential conflicts
  • Improves participant compliance levels
  • Automates disclosure and review process
  • Keeps an audit trail of actions

COI RiskManager: Disclose, Review, Report, Resolve.
  • 30 day implementation
  • No long term contracts
  • 100% client retention
  • Outstanding customer service

Contact Michael Vidoni for a demo: Phone 518-203-3995 or michael.vidoni@ospreysoftware.com

No comments:

Post a Comment