Conflict of Interest (University Employee)

Starting and running a company is a large undertaking. Normally, key personnel in a start-up company can expect to work 70-80 hours per week for the first two to three years. Thus conflicts of interest can quickly arise between the commitments of a faculty member to the University and the needs of the start-up. A brief list of some of the issues that need to be addressed are:

• University Intellectual Property
• Conflict of Commitment and Conflict of Interest Issues
• Use of University Resources and Facilities
• Use of Students/Post docs
• Other University Research
• Conflict of Interest/Commitment Management Plan, including the possibility of establishing a Management Oversight Committee
• Sample letter to student/Post Doc regarding involvement in faculty start-up

It is important to work with the Conflict of Interest Committee early in the process to begin identifying these issues and develop a plan to manage foreseeable conflicts. More information on compliance related to Conflict of Interest is available on the following website of Office of Research. Conflict of Interest disclosures must be submitted. This can be done on-line or on hard-copy by accessing the following pdf document: http://research.missouri.edu/forms/files/conflict.pdf