Conflict of Interest & Commitment

Reporting Conflicts and Potential Conflicts

All members of the Northeastern University community are expected to avoid actions or engagements that are in conflict with their position within the Northeastern community, or that create the appearance of a conflict of interest between personal and/or external interests and the interests of the university.  That means, among other things, that they should avoid situations where a financial or other consideration may compromise or appear to compromise their ability to carry out their responsibilities to the university.

Employees should report potential conflicts, whether financial, personal or “appearance of conflict” issues.   Faculty and staff  may not use their positions for personal advantage, and may not engage in supplemental activities that undermine their ability to perform their jobs for the university.

The university requires annual reporting on conflicts and potential conflicts.  The conflicts of interest reporting program is managed by the Compliance Department, in conjunction with Human Resources, the College Deans, and Research Enterprise Services.  Each year, eligible faculty and staff are mandated to complete the conflict of interest disclosure to ensure that potential risks are controlled, managed or eliminated.  Failure to manage conflicts of interest could result in the loss of federal research funds.

The Conflict of Interest and Commitment Policy applies to all eligible employees and can be found on the university’s policies webpage. Additionally, the university’s faculty-specific conflict of interest and commitment policy is contained in the Faculty Handbook.

The University Financial Conflict of Interest for funded research, including for public health service grants, are managed through Research Enterprise Services.

 For more information on eCD, please visit https://research.northeastern.edu/nu-res/ecd-eclaws-epaws/ecd/ or contact the Compliance Department at compliance@northeastern.edu.