Purpose
GARC recognizes that professional, institutional, personal, academic, and financial relationships may create actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.
The objective is not necessarily to eliminate every conflict, but to identify, disclose, assess, and appropriately manage relevant conflicts.
Who This Applies To
This policy may apply to:
- Board members;
- advisory members;
- researchers;
- reviewers;
- authors;
- consultants;
- staff;
- project contributors;
- representatives acting on behalf of GARC.
Types of Conflict
Relevant conflicts may include:
- financial interests;
- employment or consultancy relationships;
- research funding;
- close professional relationships;
- family or personal relationships;
- competing institutional interests;
- intellectual property interests;
- involvement with an organization affected by a decision;
- circumstances that may reasonably affect perceived independence.
Disclosure
Individuals should disclose material conflicts that may affect, or reasonably appear to affect, their impartiality.
Disclosure should occur as early as reasonably possible.
Management
Depending on the circumstances, a conflict may be managed through:
- disclosure;
- independent review;
- limitation of participation;
- recusal from a decision;
- reassignment of responsibilities;
- additional oversight;
- public disclosure in a publication;
- non-participation where the conflict cannot be appropriately managed.
Research and Publications
Authors and contributors should disclose relevant interests where appropriate.
Funding or sponsorship should not give a funder an undisclosed right to alter research findings or suppress legitimate results.
Governance Decisions
A person with a material conflict should not exercise inappropriate influence over the relevant institutional decision.