Investigator
For the purposes of FCOI, investigator means any person who shares responsibility for the design, conduct or reporting of the results of a sponsored project.
Institutional Responsibilities
The work that Investigators do at or on behalf of Seattle Children's is part of their institutional responsibilities. That work might include activities such as research, consultation, teaching, professional practice, management (of staff or projects), service on Children's committees or boards (for example, steering committees, Institutional Review Board, Data Safety Monitoring Boards, etc.) or any other work that they do at or on behalf of Children's.
Many investigators have appointments at more than one institution. Any work performed at or on behalf of another institution at which an investigator holds a joint appointment is subject to that institution's policies. Please see Helpful Links at the bottom right hand corner of the page for links to financial conflict of interest information for some of our partner institutions, such as University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Financial Interest
In general, a financial interest is anything of monetary value, easily determined or not, that is possessed by an investigator or their spouse, domestic partner and/or dependent children.
Significant Financial Interest
Significant Financial Interest (SFI) is an interest that appears to be related to an investigator's institutional responsibilities and meets one or more SFI criteria (as defined in ORC-003 [PDF]), after accounting for any specified exclusions.
Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI)
FCOI in research is a significant financial interest that could directly and significantly affect the design, conduct or reporting of the research.
Per federal regulations, research institutions are responsible for the management of FCOI. The Office of Research Compliance (ORC) determines if a financial interest could directly and significantly affect the design, conduct or reporting of a research project and hence qualifies as an FCOI.