Updates to REG 01.25.01 – Conflicts of Interest and Conflicts of Commitment

1. Academic appointments are appointments defined in an institutional policy and conveyed in a formal manner (e.g., via appointment letter, executed offer letter, or employment contract) by an entity other than NC State that relates to research, teaching, or associated scholarly activities.
2. Institutional appointments are appointments that include institutional administrative responsibilities (e.g., dean, department head, center director, chief executive officer, chief technical officer) and are conveyed in a formal manner (e.g., via appointment letter, executed offer letter, employment contract) by an entity other than NC State.
3. Professional appointments are appointments conveyed in a formal manner (e.g., via appointment letter, executed offer letter, or employment contract) by an entity other than NC State. They are undertaken owing to the Covered Individual’s professional expertise (e.g., as a consultant, physician, structural engineer, or mathematician).
4. Senior/Key Person is an individual who contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of a research and development project. This includes project directors, principal investigators, and other Senior/Key Personnel seeking or receiving sponsored research and development funding.
5. Research Security means the necessary safeguarding of the research enterprise against the misappropriation of research and development to the detriment of national or economic security related to violations of research integrity and foreign government interference.
6. Foreign Talent Recruitment Program, or “FTRP,” is an effort organized, managed, or funded by a foreign government or a foreign government instrumentality or entity to recruit science and technology professionals or students (regardless of full-/part-time status, citizenship, or national origin) or as may be defined by an applicable government or funding agency.
7. Foreign Country of Concern is any country identified by the U.S. Government in the CHIPS Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-167) and further identified by the U.S. Secretary of State as engaged in conduct that is detrimental to national security or foreign policy of the United States. Currently, this list includes The People’s Republic of China¹, Iran, North Korea, and the Russian Federation.
8. Foreign Entity of Concern is any entity that the US Government identifies in accordance with the CHIPS Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-167) as posing an unmanageable threat to the national security of the United States or of theft or loss of United States intellectual property.
9. Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program, or “MFTRP,” is defined as a Foreign Talent Recruitment Program that is 1) sponsored by, affiliated with, or based in a Foreign Country of Concern or sponsored by a Foreign Entity of Concern and 2) requires the Covered Individual to engage in activities that violate their obligations to NC State or to an applicable research sponsor, creating an unmanageable Conflict of Commitment.

 ¹ The People’s Republic of China includes Hong Kong and Macau but does not include Taiwan.

• Financial Interest (formerly COI)
  • If you have an up-to-date annual COI disclosure on file, you will not need to complete the new Financial Interest form until your existing disclosure expires.
• External Professional Activities (formerly NOI)
  • All Covered Individuals must disclose any current or proposed EPAs — whether paid or unpaid — by Jan. 30.
  • NOTE: If the EPA continues beyond June 30, you’ll need to recertify for the next fiscal year.*
    • The renewal period will begin on May 1, after which approvals are in effect for the next full fiscal year.

*Per NC State REG 01.25.01, all EPA disclosures expire at the end of each fiscal year (June 30).

1. Previously, only External Professional Activities For Pay required prior approval. With this revision, Covered Individuals are now required to seek approval for any External Professional Activities, paid or unpaid.
2. If the External Professional Activity directly involves a foreign entity, the request will be reviewed by the Research Security Officer (currently the Director of Research Compliance) to ensure the activity does not directly involve a Foreign Entity of Concern, a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program and that potential Research Security issues are addressed. 
3. External Professional Activities include activities  that would otherwise be considered within the Covered Individual’s University Employment Responsibilities if the activity includes the following:
   1. A formal Appointment (Academic, Professional, or Institutional) with an entity other than NC State. 
   2. Participation in a Foreign Talent Recruitment Program.
   3. Direct compensation for the activity from any entity other than NC State.
   4. Travel sponsored or reimbursed by an entity other than NC State, unless the travel is sponsored or reimbursed by a U.S. federal, state, or local government agency, a U.S. institution of higher education, a U.S. academic teaching hospital, a U.S. medical center, or a U.S. research institute affiliated with a U.S. institution of higher education
4. Elements of Foreign Talent Recruitment Program and Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program
   1. Disclosure of Foreign Talent Recruitment Program
   2. Limitations on direct involvement with a Foreign Entity of Concern and Participation in a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program. For more information, please visit the Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs page.

¹ Further guidance will be provided to help affected employees discern between External Professional Activities that would otherwise be considered within a Covered Individual’s University Employment Responsibilities.