Federal regulations require institutions to have policies and procedures in place to ensure that investigators disclose any significant financial interest that may present a conflict of interest in relationship to externally sponsored projects. Such interests can threaten, or seem to threaten, the integrity of educational programs and research agendas, the free dissemination of scholarship, and the appropriate use of public resources for public benefit. Disclosures of this nature must be made prior to the submission of a proposal for funding and institutions must develop specific mechanisms by which conflicts of interest will be satisfactorily managed, reduced or eliminated prior to acceptance of an award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n