Disclosure of COI for the researcher

Disclosure is important at the earliest reasonable opportunity.

The disclosure must include:

  • Measures taken, in accordance with the conflicts of interest management policy to avoid or mitigate the conflict
  • Any ownership interest or financial interest, other than an immaterial financial interest, that the provider of representative may become eligible for
  • Explain the nature of any relationship or arrangement with a third party that gives rise to a conflict of interest
  • And lastly, which stakeholders must be informed of the conflicts of interest management policy and how it may be accessed (Field, 2009).

Disclosure for SGCs

SGC employees should be required to regularly disclose their financial assets, other sources of income, and business interests (including board memberships), and declare any past sources of income and business associations that could compromise their SGC position/perspective or influence their future decisions.

Applications for funding should disclose any associations, both current and former, between the applicants and the SGC and its members.

The SGC would also be interested in whether the researcher had any financial interest in the product they may be researching They would need to ensure the researcher declares any such interest.