NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES (NCRSH)

SOP NO.7: Standard Operating Procedure for Declaring Conflict of Interest

Purpose

This SOP describes the process /procedure for declaring a conflict of interest by NCRSH members, secretariat, and external reviewers.

Scope

This SOP applies to NCRSH members, reviewers and secretariat in managing a conflict of interest.

Allowable Exceptions

This SOP is meant to be followed without deviation.

Specific Procedure

• NCRSH shall inform and train members, secretariat, reviewers on issues of conflict of interests
• Members, secretariat and reviewers shall declare a conflict of interests and sign a conflict of interest declaration form in respect of a protocol in which there is a conflict of interest
• In the case of a member of the committee and secretariat being in a position that can be viewed to compromise the professional ability of the NCRSH member or secretariat, such a member is required to declare the state and circumstance of his/her compromised position
• An individual who has declared a conflict of interests and/or a compromised position shall recuse oneself from deliberations and decision making on that protocol
• The declaration of a conflict of interests shall be minuted and properly recorded including the time of recusal and rejoining the meeting

Definition of Terms

Conflict of Interest (COI): a conflict between the private interests and official responsibilities of a person in a position of trust. A discrepancy between personal interests and the professional responsibilities of a person in a position of trust. A conflict of interest may arise when a NCRSH member or members holds interests with respect to specific protocol for review that may jeopardize his/her/their ability or judgment to provide a free and independent professional review/evaluation of a given research protocol. A COI may arise when a NCRSH member has personal financial, material, or social ties in the proposed research study whose protocol is under review.