External Professional Activities and Interests
External Professional Activities associated with any international entity (government, non-profit, for-profit, university/academic), must be disclosed to the University, per the Washington University External Professional Activities Policy and Research COI Policy via the External Professional Activities Disclosure, with some activities also requiring Prior Approval before they may be initiated. External Professional Activities encompass any activities or relationships that appear related to your professional, academic or scientific expertise or institutional responsibilities, whether compensated or non-compensated. Additionally, all financial interests of your spouse/partner and dependent children must also be disclosed, regardless of value, if they could appear related to your institutional responsibilities. Disclosures must be updated at least once a year, within 30 days whenever a new activity or relationship is established, or prior to initiating an activity if Prior Approval is required. Examples include, living allowances; “consulting” to be a PI on a grant; honorariums; personal activities during summer months for 9-month appointments. Detailed information and additional examples of disclosure requirements are available.
Personal Agreements with an External Entity
The University does not formally review and approve your personal agreements/contracts; however, External Professional Activities Policy requires prior approval for these activities. There are aspects of an agreement you should be mindful about when partnering with a foreign entity that you may not experience with a domestic entity. Refer to Guidance for Personal Agreements with Foreign Entities for a list of examples and best practices; some areas of concern include:
- Be careful of any contractual obligations that could put you at risk for abrogating your ability to comply with University policies, such as strict confidentiality requirements, intellectual property assignments, or over-commitment of effort.
- Some entities may be considered a restricted party, which could prohibit or limit certain activities with an entity (or country or person). A consolidated screening list search engine available online. The University can also provide a more comprehensive screening by contacting the export control office at ovcrexportcompliance@wustl.edu.
Questions
Contact the askCOI team at COI@wustl.edu or 314.747.4181.