Conflict of Interest Reporting Supports Your Goals and KU’s

Dear colleague,

In an entrepreneurial community like ours at KU — where we disseminate knowledge through scholarly publications, accelerate discovery through collaboration with global partners, share expertise with outside entities, encourage employees to bring beneficial technologies to market and more — potential conflicts of interest are bound to arise.

The key to managing these situations with integrity is transparency. COI reporting helps clear the path to innovation and entrepreneurship, new research opportunities and partnerships, and faculty success and recognition.

KU’s annual conflict of interest reporting period for fiscal year 2024 begins this week for all KU faculty, unclassified academic and professional staff, and research-engaged affiliates. You will receive an email notice from disclose@certify.ku.edu prompting you to complete your disclosure profile update in our newly upgraded COI reporting system, called myDisclosures.

• Sept. 30 is the deadline to submit your online COI disclosure profile update.
• If you have previously disclosed outside interests in the old COI system, you will need to enter your disclosures anew in the myDisclosures system.
• Faculty and staff with fractional appointments are also required to submit COI certifications.
• Annual COI reporting is an obligation of employment, per university policy, and will be enforced.

If the university determines that your disclosures could be perceived to conflict with your KU responsibilities, a review committee will work with you and your supervisor to create a management plan that supports your activities while preserving the highest standards of reliability and propriety.

This process is mandated for all faculty and staff by federal regulations, state ethics statutes, and policies at the Kansas Board of Regents and at KU for a reason: It protects our collective integrity. We all want to ensure that we are conducting research fairly, using university resources appropriately, stewarding public funds responsibly and prioritizing the best interests of our students.

By fulfilling your mandatory reporting obligations, you can ensure that you are meeting these standards while limiting any legal issues that could slow down your research and innovation.

The Office of Research will host a campuswide virtual forum at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, to provide guidance on what to disclose. Please register online to receive an attendance link. A recording of the forum will be available on the KU Research website, where you can also find helpful conflict of interest FAQs and other resources. Staff in KU’s Research Integrity unit are available to provide assistance or training as well.

Thank you for taking time to understand and follow through on your responsibilities.

Respectfully,

Doug, Barb and Simon

Douglas A. Girod

Chancellor

Barbara A. Bichelmeyer

Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor

Simon Atkinson

Vice Chancellor for Research