Grants and Contracts Compliance

Financial Conflicts of Interest for Externally Funded Research and Programs

All Principal Investigators (PIs) must comply with the MSU Denver Financial Conflict of Interest Policy (COI) for Federally Funded Research Proposals. MSU Denver provides online COI training through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). The training is administered by the Center for Faculty Excellence and is available to all faculty and staff.

As an investigator on an externally funded project you are required to disclose your significant financial interests (SFI), aggregated with those of your spouse and dependent children. Each PI must complete the MSU Denver Financial Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form prior to proposal submission; at least annually during the award, beginning with the anniversary date of the award; and within thirty days of discovering or acquiring (e.g., through purchase, marriage, or inheritance) a new significant financial interest.

Institutional Review Board

All research involving human subjects must be approved by MSU Denver’s Institutional Review Board (Human Subjects Protection Program), which is registered with the Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Any proposals involving human subjects are required to submit their proposal to the HSPP for review prior to submission. Please contact the HSPP with any questions.

Animal Care and Use in Research and Training

All research involving vertebrate animals must be approved by MSU Denver’s Institutional Care and Use Committee (IACUC) prior to initiation.

Research Safety and Ethics Policy

MSU Denver is strongly committed to ensuring that all research conducted by MSU Denver faculty, staff, and students is held to the highest standards of ethics and safety. MSU Denver’s research ethics policy assures that all allegations of research misconduct are thoroughly investigated and resolved.

Discrimination, Sexual Misconduct and Retaliation Policy

MSU Denver’s Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, Title IX Violations, and Retaliation Policy ensures that MSU Denver is in compliance with discrimination and harassment guidelines and reporting procedures for Principal Investigators and CO-Principal Investigators.

Responsible Conduct of Research

Responsible Conduct of Research training is required for all personnel and students conducting federally funded research. For National Science Foundation (NSF) grants the training is specifically mandated by the agency for all PIs and Co-PIs. Training is required before beginning a research project, and is valid for students until graduation. Also, please review the MSU Denver Research Misconduct Policy.

We use the CITI program for online training. Please visit the MSU Institutional Review Board Researcher web page and scroll down to “Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative – CITI Certification” for instructions on how to set up an account.  Please make sure to affiliate your account with Metropolitan State University of Denver. Once you have set up an account, you will need to complete the following training modules:

• Conflicts of Interest (ID: 186377)
• Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research (ID: 61363)