All full-time employees must complete conflict of interest disclosure in new Endeavor system

Auburn University is committed to excellence and fostering public trust. As a steward of public funds, Auburn has a responsibility to ensure that all its activities reflect its primary goals of education, scholarly inquiry, public service and economic development. The public should be confident that Auburn is a place of rigorous and open inquiry, unencumbered by potential conflicts of interest that could reasonably be considered to affect the sound judgment of Auburn employees.

Approximately 400 full-time employees have not completed their required conflict of interest (COI) disclosure in Auburn's new Electronic Research Administration System, “Endeavor”. In accordance with Auburn University policies and procedures, full-time employees are obligated to complete the electronic COI disclosure in Endeavor.

To assist you in navigating the COI disclosure process, here are some valuable tips and clarifications to address common issues:

• Disclose annually: Full-time employees are reminded to submit their disclosures annually in Endeavor. The disclosure process operates on a rolling clock basis, resetting the annual disclosure timeframe with each update.
• Within 30 days of hire: New employees will be notified by email that they must complete their Endeavor COI disclosure within 30 days of hire.
• 12 months past and future: Disclose any interests, activities and relationships that occurred in the last 12 months or are expected to occur in the next 12 months that are reasonably related to your institutional responsibilities, does business with the institution, sponsors research at the institution or could otherwise appear to create a conflict of interest or conflict of commitment.
• Foreign interests: It is important to disclose any foreign interests, which include collaborations and publications with foreign nationals, contracts/agreements, talent recruitment programs, appointments, laboratories, equipment, gifts, visiting scholars, intellectual property, travel, site visits, speaking engagements, teaching, training, mentoring, consulting, committees or boards or other foreign professional affiliations with foreign entities (non-U.S. institutions, companies, governments and individuals). New federal requirements make this increasingly important for institutional review and management.
• Only disclose organizations once: For any entity disclosed, select as many disclosure types as applicable (for example, you can select Board Service and Paid Travel for one entity; you do not need to disclose the entity twice.)
• “No Action Required”: If your disclosure profile states “Action required,” confirm that you selected the “Complete Disclosure Profile Update” button when submitting your disclosure. Your profile will show “No Action Required” once properly submitted.

For questions, concerns or assistance with disclosures, please contact the Division of Institutional Compliance & Privacy, Kristin Roberts at coi@auburn.edu. For research-specific inquiries, contact Research Integrity & Compliance, Milly Tye or Karoline Austin at research.integrity@auburn.edu. Additionally, information is available at Endeavor Help or the COI website.

If you have questions about the Endeavor System and other modules coming soon (IRB, Proposals, Agreements, IBC, IACUC and Animal Operations), please contact Martha Taylor at eraadmin@auburn.edu.