To be completed and approved by the Conflict of Interest Officer
Conflict of Interest Management Plan
For____________________________________ with respect to _________________________
Context for need for Conflict of Interest Management Plan: ________________________ is an employee (“Employee”)
in the Department/Division of ____________________________________________ at the University of Nevada, Reno
(“University”). S/he is an
[officer, member of the board of directors, scientific advisor, owner] of
(“Company”), a (Corp., LLC, etc.) _____________________
_____________________________________ founded for the purpose of ________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________.
1. Conflict of Interest Summary – Check all those that may apply:
A conflict of interest (COI) may exist because:
Company is or may be contracting with University.
Employee’s commitment to Company activities could impact her/his commitment to University.
It is anticipated that intellectual property (“IP”) might be created as a result of
Company-funded projects or cooperative projects with Company.
Students under Employee’s supervision are working on or may work on Company-funded projects.
Company may wish to use University equipment or other resources.
Other, please describe: __________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Conflict of Interest Management Oversight
The University’s Conflict of Interest Officer (“Officer”) is responsible for this conflict of interest management plan (MP).
The responsibilities of the Officer include initial plan implementation, monitoring and reporting as specified in this MP, and
modification of the MP as needed. By December 31st of each year, the Officer will submit an annual report to the Conflicts
of Interest Committee. The report will be a summary of the documented activities in each of the MP areas outlined in
Section 3 and 4 below. The Employee’s relevant dean, vice president, or their designee, shall appoint one or more
individuals, who may change during the MP, to assist the Officer in the creation and oversight of the MP. The relevant dean
or vice president shall also be responsible for securing the cooperation of such individual or individuals.
3. Conflict of Interest Management Plan
The following MP outlines areas in which COI situations arise, and in which COI management procedures will be
implemented by the Employee and the Officer. University employees may have more than one role and it is difficult to
specify in advance all possible COI situations. The Employee shall follow the guidelines in Section 2,691 of the University
Administrative Manual.
A. Commitment to University: The Employee reasserts her/his commitment to abide by State laws, the NSHE
code, and University policies and procedures related to teaching, research, and service responsibilities. In
carrying out these responsibilities, the Employee will be alert to any real or perceived conflict of interest or
conflict of commitment. Through regular communication with the Officer, the Employee will be responsible for
disclosing in a timely fashion any changes in activities that may give rise to a perceived or actual conflict of
interest or commitment.
B. Sponsored Research Agreements: The Employee shall disclose to the Office of Sponsored Projects the
Employee’s affiliation with the Company on each University regulatory compliance protocol and sponsored
proposal submission and for each grant/contract that also involves the transfer of materials to or from the
Company and/or any collaboration with the Company. All research occurring under a sponsored research
agreement (SRA) will be performed under financial terms consistent with standard University contracts, unless
REV. March 2014
To be completed and approved by the Conflict of Interest Officer
otherwise approved by University’s Vice President for Research and Innovation. The Officer may request
additional information from the Employee and the Company, and the Employee agrees to provide any and all
such information, as necessary for the Officer to confirm that University’s waiver of the COI or potential COI
with respect to the SRA serves the public interest, including the overall disposition of any public funds received
by the Company that are associated with the research conducted under the SRA, or as otherwise may be
necessary to determine whether the Employee is in compliance with any provision of this MP and/or the
University’s policies on conflict of interest, conflict of commitment, intellectual property, or other relevant
subjects.
C. Department/Division Commitment: The Employee’s supervisor agrees to assure that the Employee’s various
responsibilities and commitments to University, including other non-Company research projects and teaching
responsibilities are not adversely affected. The Employee’s supervisor also agrees to monitor the Employee’s
commitment to the Company. In consultation with the Dean, or the Dean’s designee, the Officer shall determine
the amount of the Employee’s time commitment that must be paid to the University by the Company. Should
the Employee’s supervisor determine that the commitment to the Company is affecting the Employee’s
performance as a University employee, appropriate changes must be made in consultation with the Officer. Any
changes implemented will be documented and maintained by the Officer.
D. Invention Disclosures and Intellectual Property: The Employee is responsible for seeing that everyone
performing research under an SRA, including the Employee, maintains a lab notebook to document all
discoveries that may emerge from the sponsored research and, in a timely manner, file with University’s
Technology Transfer Office invention disclosures for any potential intellectual property developed during the
SRA. Any intellectual property developed under the SRA will need to be documented for proper ownership and
licensing according to the University Intellectual Property Policy. A copy of any invention disclosures will be
sent to the Officer and kept on file. Notwithstanding the forgoing, if the Employee is employed by University
on a full time basis, University shall own any intellectual property resulting in whole or in part from the
Employee’s efforts under the SRA, or which the Officer determines are sufficiently related to the subject matter
of the SRA, regardless of whether those efforts occurred at University or at the Company and regardless of the
allocation of funds under the SRA. The Company may be given an option to license such intellectual property
on commercially reasonable terms.
E. Student Involvement in Research: Undergraduate and graduate students may be involved in Company
sponsored research. The Officer will assure that safeguards are in place to prevent undergraduate and/or
graduate students from being harmed through delayed graduation, reduction in research time, reduced
commitment to coursework, compromised academic or research program, compromised publication ability or
any other action caused by the relationship of the Employee with the Company. Examples of an adequate
process to protect the student(s) include, but are not limited to, naming an academic co-advisor or involving the
graduate student’s advisory committee. Graduate student research results will be published in a
thesis/dissertation, and the students will be strongly encouraged to publish in peer-reviewed journals and to
present results at academic conferences consistent with the terms of the SRA. Students may be employed
directly by the Company, in addition to working at University under a SRA with the Company. If a student is
employed by University, the student will need a separate conflict of interest management plan. The students
shall not use University resources for Company work, other than as explicitly set forth in a SRA. The Officer
shall work with the students and the Employee to document the scope of the students’ work at University,
including under any SRA, and with the Company. If the Officer determines that the work to be performed at the
Company is sufficiently similar to the students’ work at University under the SRA, University shall own any
intellectual property resulting in whole or in part from such overlapping work, regardless of whether those
efforts occurred at University or at the Company and regardless of the allocation of funds under any SRA. The
Company may be given an option to license such intellectual property on commercially reasonable terms.
F. Publications: In order to ensure objectivity and continued quality of the research results of the
University/Company project, research results will be presented at refereed academic conferences and published
in peer-reviewed journals as appropriate. When submitting a manuscript for review when the Employee is an
author, the association with both University and the Company will be acknowledged. A listing of all Companyrelated publications, including published patents and patent applications, will be provided by the Employee to
the Officer on an annual basis. Any agreement between University and the Company shall not inhibit or restrict
REV. March 2014
To be completed and approved by the Conflict of Interest Officer
the rights of any University personnel (including faculty and students) involved in the project to receive,
analyze, or interpret any data generated under the project.
G. Recusal: (check one)
The Employee will recuse herself/himself from participating in any University capacity associated
with negotiations or decision-making with respect to any transaction with or on behalf of the
University that involves the Company, and will request that any related responsibilities be
assigned to another individual, except as this MP may otherwise specify. When engaged in
negotiations with University on behalf of the Company, it is incumbent upon the Employee to
inform the University representative involved that the Employee is negotiating on behalf of the
Company and not on behalf of University or as part of the university position held by the
Employee.
�
The Employee and members of the Employee’s family will abstain from any Company Board
decisions involving research at University in which the Employee is involved. The abstention in
such votes will be documented in Company Board minutes, which will be sent in a timely fashion
to the UA to be kept on file. The Employee will refrain from engaging in negotiations on behalf of
the Company with University but, instead, will have professional management and/or legal
counsel for the Company perform such negotiations.
4. Use of University Resources:
The use of any University resources will be consistent with University policy and any agreements between University and the
Company. University resources, including but not limited to, space (including the Employee’s University office or laboratory
space), personnel and equipment, may not be used for the benefit of the Company without a properly documented agreement
between the Company and the University, which includes commercially reasonable compensation, consistent with standard
University practices, to University for such use, unless otherwise approved by University’s Vice President for Research and
Innovation.
5. Required Disclosure:
The following disclosure applies: “Nevada statutes, including N.R.S. §§ 281.230 and 396.255, create individual and personal
obligations for disclosing and managing conflicts of interest, including requiring employees of the Nevada System of Higher
Education to follow procedures established by their employing institution. A violation of such statutes can result in criminal
sanctions. Thus, it is recommended that the Employee seek their own legal counsel as they may deem appropriate to protect
their legal interests with respect to compliance with conflict of interest statutes.”
6. Additional Considerations:
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
All of the undersigned hereby acknowledge and agree to abide by the University’s Conflict of Interest Policy (Administrative
Manual section 2,691) and agree to abide by the above stated management plan.
Approved and Agreed:
__________________________________________________
Employee
Date: _________
__________________________________________________
Department Chair
Date: _________
__________________________________________________
Dean/VP
Date: _________
__________________________________________________
Date: _________
REV. March 2014
To be completed and approved by the Conflict of Interest Officer
Conflict of Interest Officer
After review of this Management Plan, I approve the proposed transaction as I find it serves the public interest, so long as the
Employee complies with the terms of the Management Plan.
___________________________________
Vice President for Research and Innovation
Date:_________
___________________________________
President
Date: _________
REV. March 2014