Conflict Approval Committee

The Conflict Approval Committee (CAC), established in the Outside Activities and Conflicts Policy, reviews, approves or manages Conflicts of Commitment (COC), Conflicts of Interest (COI), and Financial Conflicts of Interest (FCOI) related to employees’ outside activities. The committee listens and engages in open, honest dialogue with faculty, staff, and student employees regarding their outside activities, and inclusion and equity, by upholding equal rights and advancing institutional fairness while reviewing potential conflicts of interest.

All employees must submit an Outside Activity Approval Form to their unit before participating in an outside activity as defined by the policy. The employee’s unit is responsible for reviewing the Outside Activity Approval Form and determining, in consultation with conflict administrators, whether the unit will approve, deny, or obtain required CAC approval of the outside activity. CAC approval is required when an outside activity may:

1. Create an FCOI that could affect the design, conduct, or reporting of research;
2. interfere with the employee’s time commitment to the university;
3. compete with coursework or services that are or may be provided by the university;
4. interfere with the employee’s ability to carry out their university responsibilities;
5. improperly influence the employee’s or another individual’s university decisions;
6. create a prohibited interest in a university contract or transaction;
7. involve the use of university resources, name/other identifiers, or employees; or
8. involve the use or generation of university-owned intellectual property.

The submitting employee will be notified by email if their Outside Activity Approval Form has been sent to the CAC for review. Conflict administrators may contact the employee and their unit for further details about the outside activity when necessary. An additional notification will be sent to the employee and unit when the CAC has made a final determination.

Within seven days of receiving a CAC decision, an employee may request reconsideration by submitting a written request to the CAC chair. A request for reconsideration must show that the CAC decision was not appropriate or was based on erroneous or incomplete information. Employees may present relevant new or additional information in their reconsideration requests.

The CAC chair will make every effort to respond in writing within fourteen days to the employee requesting reconsideration. Reconsideration decisions by the CAC are final.

For questions regarding the Conflict Approval Committee or to request reconsideration of a CAC decision, contact compliance-integrity@osu.edu.