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Senate Bill 20-21-14

Bill ID: 20-21-14
Name: Review of the University of Maryland Policy and Procedures on Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment
Proposed: 10/12/2020
Sponsor: Laurie Locascio, Vice President for Research
Proposal: UMD’s existing Conflict of Interest and Commitment Policy and Procedures documents were last updated in 2003. The Policy requires faculty and staff to report Outside Professional Activities (OPA) to the unit head in a timely manner but does not provide specific guidance to unit heads on how to determine whether a potential conflict exists. The Policy requires the unit head, in consultation with the dean, to have guidelines to identify whether a potential conflict exists (C.3) that needs to be escalated to the Conflict of Interest (COI) Committee. The current lack of clarity and written guidelines for what constitutes a COI leads to inconsistencies in application of the policy across units, and may result in undeclared conflicts. This issue has become more urgent due to increased attention from federal funding agencies and federal law enforcement agencies. The goal of this proposal is to take steps to reduce the risk to individuals in our campus community and risk to campus posed by unresolved conflicts.
Active? Yes
Policy: https://policies.umd.edu/policy/13d68522-d512-427c-a50c-662f5f8b1fea/ https://policies.umd.edu/policy/dd3ca0f4-2823-4057-b130-321a222e07f8/
Related Bills:

Status

Status: Under Review
Reviewer: Research Council
Received: 2021-02-23
Next Step: SEC Review

Status: Complete
Reviewer: Senate Executive Committee (SEC)
Received: 2021-02-17
Decision Date: 2021-02-23
Decision: The SEC voted to charge the Research Council with review of the proposal.
Next Step: Research Council Review
Related Files:

Status: Complete
Reviewer: Administrative Council Review
Received: 2020-10-20
Decision: The Administrative Council proposed revisions to the policy & procedures and suggested that these changes be approved by the President on an interim basis, pending Senate due to increased attention from federal funding agencies and federal law enforcement agencies, and the risks posed by unresolved conflicts.
Next Step: SEC Review

Status: Complete
Reviewer: Senate Executive Committee (SEC)
Received: 2020-10-13
Decision Date: 2020-10-20
Decision: The SEC voted to forward the proposal to the Administrative Council for further deliberation before it is brought back to the SEC for consideration.
Next Step: Administrative Council Review
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