Actions required through the research lifecycle

The University's conflict of interest policy places the onus on the individual involved to recognise and disclose activities that might give rise to conflicts of interest or the perception of conflicts and to ensure that such conflicts are seen to be properly managed or avoided.
 

The general rule, with the exception of committee business, is that disclosure should be made at the time the conflict first arises, or it is recognised that a conflict might be perceived, in writing to the head of department (or equivalent).
 

As described in the policy, many situations will require nothing more than a declaration and a brief written record of that declaration, which must be held in the department's or college's records.

Some instances will however need to be dealt with by agreeing how the conflict can be actively managed.

There are some instances where the general procedure is varied and further steps are required to obtain approval not only from the head of department (or equivalent) but also from a designated University official, as set out in the table at further procedural guidance of the policy.

For example, staff or students who have a financial interest in a company that may reasonably appear to be affected by the results of a proposed biomedical or clinical research must disclose that interest and submit a conflict of interest plan/approach to both the head of department and head of division.