REGULATORY COMPLIANCE FOR SPONSORED PROJECTS AT MONTANA TECH
All persons conducting research activities and other sponsored work must comply with Montana Tech and MUS policies, regulations, and procedures. Verify all questions related to Campus or University policies with the appropriate Campus Department or Office responsible for that policy. Refer to the Faculty Staff Handbook on the faculty and staff resources web page (https://mtech.edu/facultystaff/) for additional information. Montana Tech’s research-related policies are posted at https://www.mtech.edu/research/researchtools/policies-forms/index.html. Verify information related to research with the VCR.
Required Training and Certifications
Principal Investigators must be current in required trainings to act as a PI, as noted in the eligibility section above (412 Eligibility to Serve as a Principal Investigator (PI) at Montana Tech).
Ethical Conduct in Research
Montana Tech is committed to maintaining integrity and truthfulness in research and scholarship through the responsible and ethical conduct of its faculty, staff, and students. To this end, Montana Tech faculty must complete a Responsible Conduct of Research training and certification every three years.
Policy and procedures for dealing with alleged misconduct are available on-line (Research Integrity Policy and associated procedures). The Chancellor has designated the VCR as the Research Integrity Officer (RIO), responsible for handling inquiries and investigations into allegations of misconduct in research. Formal allegations of misconduct should be presented in writing and in a confidential manner to the VCR. After determining that an allegation falls under the misconduct policy, the VCR will see that the allegations are evaluated, first in an inquiry, then, if warranted, in an investigation as described in the procedures. The VCR may convene a special committee to investigate specific cases. The University is committed to investigating allegations of research misconduct objectively, treating the accused person fairly, and protecting the person who reported the potential misconduct from retaliation. Deliberately false allegations of research misconduct will be treated as research misconduct.
Conflict of Interest
In accordance with Montana University System’s Policy 770, Montana Tech employees “must endeavor to avoid actual or apparent conflicts of interest between their university system duties and obligations and their personal activities, and between their university system duties and obligations and their professional activities outside the university system.” Montana Tech faculty and staff must be alert to situations where they might have a personal interest, outside commitment, or other activities that could create a conflict. In particular employees, engaging in outside employment or activities must be familiar with and adhere to campus policy, state laws and federal laws regarding conflict of interest (COI) to ensure no questions or concerns about the quality of the research could be raised due to a COI. Thus, personnel need to note that potential conflicts involving spouses, domestic partners, and close relatives are potential conflicts for the Montana Tech employee. The first step in minimizing the influence of COI is disclosure. PIs should keep their Department Head and Dean fully informed of potential COI situations, and ensure their conflict-of-interest disclosure and management plan (if needed) are up to date. The COI policy is available at https://mtech.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/3371/policies/KB/ArticleDet?ID=156449
Annual disclosure of actual or potential conflicts is required at the beginning of each academic year or as any change in personal circumstances may dictate.
Disclosures of Conflicts of Interest
Montana Tech has a Conflict of Interest Policy, as described on the Research Office web page (Conflict of Interest and Financial Disclosure (mtech.edu)).
Faculty and staff engaging in ANY outside activities or outside employment must become familiar with Montana Tech’s Conflict of Interest Policy and they are required to acknowledge this familiarity and compliance on the PCF. The Research Office will submit annual reports to Department Heads, Deans or Supervisors, and the VCR of potential conflict of interest situations.
Outside consulting requires approval (see Faculty/Staff Handbook) and should generally be disclosed on the COI form.
Any PI that advises a graduate student with external employment that may overlap with the student’s research must also disclose this as a COI.
Any student, whether paid or unpaid, that has an influential role in designing, conducting, or reporting any of Montana Tech’s research, educational, or public service activities is required to complete a COI disclosure, and it is the responsibility of their supervisor to ensure compliance of students they oversee.