Conflict of interest (COI) management
Introduction
Conflicts of interest at universities have raised considerable concerns, as university-industry relationships continue to expand.
Conflicts of interest are ubiquitous in various situations, many of which were caused by funds from private enterprises or other organizations. For this reason, the higher the number of university-industry collaborations, the greater the potential for financial conflicts of interest.
It has become necessary, therefore, for universities to create systems and rules to handle the problem of conflicts of interest so that they can promote university-industry collaborations without compromising the public trust.
Since formulating a Conflicts of Interest Policy in December 2004, the University of Tsukuba has created and revised various policies and rules.
In April 2016, the University formulated an Institutional Conflicts of Interest Policy, in addition to the one for individual conflicts of interest.
Recently undue foreign influence has raised concerns about conflicts of interest or commitments, or technology leakage. Major countries including the U.S. have been taking countermeasures while emphasizing international research cooperation and respecting the initiatives of universities and other research institutions. It is also vital for Japan to build a research environment that is internationally credible in order to handle these risks and promote necessary international cooperation and exchange. In 2022, we have decided to revise the rules of conflict of interests of our university, foster information disclosure in research, and further make it more transparent.
We expect that our faculty and other staff will be able to take part in university-industry cooperative activities without any anxiety under the appropriate management of conflicts of interest.
