Differences Between Organizational Conflict of Interest (“OCI”) and Conflict of Interest (“COI”)

“Organizational Conflict of Interest” means that because of other activities or relationships with other entities, the institution is unable to 1) render impartial assistance or advice to the Government, 2) cannot perform the federal contract work in an objective way, or 3) has an unfair competitive advantage compared to other entities.

“Conflict of Interest” means a potential or actual conflict of interest arises when an individual's commitments and obligations to the University or to widely recognized professional norms are likely to be compromised by a person's other interests or commitments, particularly economic, especially if those interests or commitments are not disclosed. (See the COI Office’s website for further details: http://www.coi.pitt.edu/ .)

Thus, OCI focuses on the institution (and everyone within the institution) and potential or actual conflicts, whereas COI focuses on individuals only.  Removing an individual from a project may resolve a potential COI issue, but not a potential OCI issue. 

Examples of what may be an OCI or a COI can be found on the Office of Sponsored Programs and Conflict of Interest Office websites, respectively.  Here are a few examples:

OCOI: 

• biased ground rules – preparing/writing specifications or work statements that are used in a funding opportunity
• impaired objectivity – evaluating or assessing performance of products/services of others within same organization
• unequal access to information – gaining access to non-public information (i.e., budget(s)/budget information, statements of work, evaluation criteria, etc.) through performance of a federal contract

COI:

• accepting over-scale honoraria for lectures at companies whose economic or political interests are affected by an investigator's research
• accepting a paid consultancy with a company having an interest in your research
• influencing the negotiation of contracts, including research contracts or licensing contracts, between the University and a company in which you have a financial interest
• Using students to perform services for a company in which you have a financial interest

8/9/17 Update: Please see University Policy 11-01-08 on Organizational Conflict of Interest.