The NIH encourages collaborations between intramural staff and extramural scientists and has issued a policy that provides guidance on avoiding potential conflicts of interest. An intramural scientist who wishes to collaborate with a potential grant applicant must submit to his or her Scientific Director a letter describing the nature of the proposed collaboration. There are two common areas of potential conflict in these types of collaborations that must be avoided: (1) if the intramural scientist has an Outside Activity with the potential grantee, and (2) if the intramural scientist has official duties with the applicant, such as extramural funding responsibilities.
For detailed information, see the December 1, 1999, memo from the NIH Deputy Director for Intramural Research (OIR web site) and its attachment.
If you have additional questions, contact your IC's Deputy Ethics Counselor or Ethics Coordinator.
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