Conflict of Interest - University of Saskatchewan International - Office of the Vice-President Research

Guidelines for Conflict of Interest for International Awards

Guidelines on Conflict of Interest and Recusal Policy - International awards

University of Saskatchewan Conflict of Interest policy:

“This policy applies to everyone who is a member of the University of Saskatchewan. A University member means all faculty, staff, trainees, students, and adjuncts of the University of Saskatchewan, whether fulltime, reduced, or part-time, and any other person while acting on behalf of or at the request of the University including, but not limited to members of a University committee (including the Senate and Board of Governors), persons giving advice or providing services to the University at the request of the University, and anyone involved in a decision-making process.”

“A conflict of interest occurs when there is a divergence between a University member's private interests and professional work outside of the University and their obligations to the University such that an independent observer might reasonably question whether the University members' professional actions or decisions are determined by considerations of personal gain, financial or otherwise.”

Guidelines	Explanation
Members of the International Awards adjudication committee are ineligible to apply for the International Awards during their term of committee service.	If a member of the adjudication committee applies to an international award, they would be ineligible to participate on the adjudication committee.
Members of the International Awards adjudication committee should not directly influence nominations/applications prior to their submittal.	Members of the adjudication committee can answer general questions about applications and the terms of reference, and communications should be kept general in nature so that they do not influence the application or raise expectations about the outcome.
Members of the International Awards adjudication committee maintain confidentiality about the internal discussions of the committee.	Information about committee deliberations should not be disclosed to individuals outside of the committee, and nor should the awardee be informed until the award confirmation letter has been issued to the awardee.
Members of the International Awards adjudication committee are encouraged to self-identify any relationships or affiliations perceived as a source of potential bias.	Members of the adjudication committee should disclose information, which could affect their judgement. The presence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate impropriety.
If Conflicts of Interests (CoIs) are identified, the committee will jointly make a determination on how to proceed.	Possibilities include: i) allowing the committee member to complete the review without limitation; ii) having the committee member recuse themselves from reviewing those applications where a conflict of interest exists but allowing him or her to review all others; and iii) recusing the committee member from the entire selection process and replacing them with an alternative.
In accordance with university policies, a signed declaration of CoIs is required by individuals prior to the release of any funding	Award applicants must make themselves familiar with the University of Saskatchewan’s CoI policies described at: http://policies.usask.ca/policies/operations-and-general-administration/conflict-of-interest.php A signed declaration form (Disclosure of CoI (Word) or Disclosure of CoI (PDF)) from each applicant will be required as part of the application package.