About one year ago, the Executive Board began discussing conflict of interest issues as they relate to Research Committee members. An interim conflict of interest policy was developed and is described in ABRF News 6 (3) 2-3, which can be read by selecting ABRF News On-Line from the ABRF WWW Homepage.
The Executive Board has now approved a Conflict of Interest policy that will apply to everyone who serves the Association, including the Executive Board, Research Committee members, the Editorial Board, meeting organizers, and employees. The policy states that individuals who wish to serve the ABRF must complete a form that discloses any potential conflicts of interest to the President of the Executive Board. The President then treats this as a confidential disclosure: the President can discuss a potential conflict of interest with other Executive Board members only when the individual who wishes to serve agrees to this. Under no circumstances will a potential conflict of interest be discussed beyond the Executive Board. After review, the President will give notice that the individual can serve without restriction, can serve in some capacities but perhaps not others, or cannot serve.
Conflicts of interest are defined in the written policy that accompanies the disclosure form and can be obtained from the Executive Board upon request. Basically, these are similar to the conflicts normally disclosed to employers and include:
The policy also requires individuals to refrain from using the intellectual property of the ABRF in inappropriate manners.
The Executive Board feels that this policy meets the Association's need for a comprehensive policy and is unlikely to affect members already serving the Association. As always, your suggestions and comments to the Executive Board on this policy are welcome.
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