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Help us put into practice UCL’s new policy for conflicts of interest

4 March 2019

Change is coming to the way we approach conflicts of interest at UCL. We need your help to make sure all staff are compliant with UCL’s new Disclosure of Conflict and Declaration of Interest Policy.

UCL has recently reviewed its existing policies around conflicts of interest and is now proposing some changes to improve the process – bringing all related matters under a new ‘UCL Disclosure of Conflict and Declaration of Interest Policy’.

Importantly, all staff (including contractors and consultants, and staff and directors of UCL’s subsidiary companies) and doctoral research students will be expected to be compliant. The previous policies only applied to academic, research and professional services staff at grade 6 or above, and only research students employed as teaching assistants/demonstrators.

The policy is an important part of the wide variety of external activities many of us take part in while at UCL. It serves to protect our staff in the course of this beneficial work – ensuring we strive for the highest standards of ethical research and collaboration.

We’re currently preparing a full suite of materials, support and online training to help you and your colleagues understand these changes and the importance of being compliant with the new policy. We’d appreciate some input so we can help make the transition as easy as possible for everyone.

You can familiarise yourself with the:

  • draft policy on disclosure of conflict and declaration of interest (pdf)
  • FAQs about the new policy (pdf)

Your input

Please complete our short anonymous survey to tell us what support might be useful for you. The questions we're asking are:

  1. How can we help UCL staff and doctoral students to understand the policy and the relevance of it?
  2. How can we support you to be compliant to the policy?
  3. What questions would you like to have in the FAQs?

Please complete the survey by 1 April 2019.

Complete the survey

Further background

As UCL receives public and other funds it has a duty to fulfil the highest standards of corporate governance. UCL is implementing a disclosure of conflict/declaration of interest policy that applies to all staff and doctoral students, and requires individuals to declare any outside interests that could conflict with, have the potential to conflict, or could be perceived to conflict with the interests of UCL. The policy sets out the types of activity that can give rise to conflicts, and the reasons why proper management of conflicts are required. Its scope includes conflicts that can occur beyond those arising from research and external interests.


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