October 23, 2020
NOT-OD-18-115 - Maintaining Integrity in NIH Peer Review: Responsibilities and Consequences
NOT-OD-14-069 - NIH Policy for Managing Conflict of Interest in the Peer Review of Concepts and Proposals for Research and Development Contract Projects
NOT-OD-13-010 - Advance Notice: Revised Policy for Managing Conflict of Interest in the Initial Peer Review of NIH Grant and Cooperative Agreement Applications
Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health (OD)
This Notice clarifies:
Policy
Through this Notice, the NIH considers the involvement of an individual in the preparation of an NIH grant application or contract proposal as a professional association that creates a conflict of interest (COI) with any other individual who is listed on that application or proposal as having a major professional role. The COI exists for three years from the individual’s involvement in the preparation of the application or proposal, regardless of whether:
Depending on the level of involvement, such conflicts will be managed as outlined in NIH Guide Notices NOT-OD-13-010 and NOT-OD-14-069 for other professional associations.
The Notice also considers the failure of a member of an NIH Scientific Review Group (SRG) to declare any COI known to the reviewer (as explained above and in NIH Guide Notices NOT-OD-13-010 and NOT-OD-14-069) as a breach in the integrity of the NIH peer review process. Therefore, the possible consequences for a breach of review integrity outlined in NOT-OD-18-115 are applicable to the failure to declare a known COI on the part of an NIH SRG member.
Sally A. Amero, Ph.D.
NIH Review Policy Officer
ReviewPolicyOfficer@mail.nih.gov