What is a Conflict of Interest?
Definition:
A conflict of interest is a situation where an investigator's outside financial interest(s) or obligation(s) bias or have the potential to bias a research project.
A financial interest is anything of economic value, including a fiduciary duty with an outside entity. Financial interests include positions such as director, officer, partner, consultant or manager of an entity (paid of unpaid); salaries; consulting income; equity interests; honoraria; gifts; loans; and travel payments.
A financial conflict of interest in research is a situation in which an objective layperson might perceive that an individual’s financial interests may compromise or bias the individual’s professional judgment in conducting or reporting research. For example, an investigator may have a financial conflict of interest if he or she is a consultant to a company sponsoring research in his or her laboratory. Another example is a faculty member who owns significant equity in a company whose product he or she wants to test.
