Sneak Preview: NASA Proposes Updated Conflict of Interest Policy

(The following was excerpted from a recent Thompson Grants Compliance Expert article.) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is requesting comments on a proposed expanded conflict of interest (COI) and conflict of commitment (COC) disclosure policy aimed at “addressing undue foreign influence in NASA-supported research and ensuring responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.” After review of comments submitted, the agency plans to finalize the policy and integrate it into the award terms and conditions for its current awardees and future NASA competitive applications.

Comments must be received by March 1 and may be emailed to christopher.e.murguia@nasa.gov. Commenters are asked to include “COI/COC Policy” in the subject line of email messages.

The proposed policy, published in the Jan. 30 Federal Register, cites a December 2020 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that concluded that federal agencies that fund research have an integral interest in ensuring that the research is scientifically rigorous and free of bias (see “GAO: Agencies Need To Do More To Protect Research From Foreign Influence”). Federal grantmaking agencies can address the threat posed to the research enterprise from, for example, foreign influence, by implementing COI policies and requiring recipients to disclose certain information, such as foreign affiliations and current and pending research support, that may indicate potential conflicts, the report noted.

In response to the GAO report, NASA’s proposed policy would require recipients of NASA financial assistance to: (1) maintain written and enforced policies that require covered individuals to disclose COI and COC to the recipient entity; (2) eliminate or, where appropriate, manage or reduce the disclosed conflict; and (3) disclose to NASA any conflict that cannot be eliminated, managed or reduced. The proposed policy further discusses actions the agency may take if a covered individual knowingly fails to disclose required information.

When finalized, the policy will be included as a revision to section 3.3 in NASA’s Grant and Cooperative Agreement Manual, and the term and condition will be added to NASA’s standard grants and cooperative agreements terms and conditions template in Appendix D of the manual.

NASA proposes to revise the term “conflict of interest” to mean “a situation in which an individual, or the individual’s spouse or dependent children, has a significant financial interest or financial relationship, whether with a domestic or foreign entity, that could directly and significantly affect the design, conduct, reporting or funding of research or other award-related activities.” Examples of potential COI include, but are not limited to, holding an executive position, director position or equity position over a certain dollar amount in a company that stands to benefit from award-related activities; receiving financial compensation in the form of consulting payments or payment for services from a company that stands to benefit from award-related activities; or having intellectual property rights in or receiving royalties from such rights whose value may be affected by the outcome of award-related activities.

(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)

Join us for our following Thompson Grants events:
Federal Grants Forum for State & Local Governments | Feb. 15-16, 2022 | Virtual Event
Nonprofit Legal, Finance, and Grants Conference | April 6-7, 2023 | Washington, D.C.