The Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued Financial Assistance Letter (FAL) 2022-02, an interim financial and organizational conflicts interest policy for grant awardees, and Financial Assistance Letter (FAL) 2022-04, current and pending support disclosure requirements. The new policy and requirements establish standards for a reasonable expectation that the design, conduct, and reporting of projects funded wholly or in part under DOE financial assistance awards (e.g., grant, cooperative agreement, or technology investment agreements) will be free from bias resulting from financial conflicts of interest or organizational conflicts of interest.
Per these FALs, Senior or Key Personnel who are currently supporting or planning to participate in projects funded by DOE are required:
- To disclose the investigator’s significant financial interests (and those of the Investigator’s spouse and dependent children) to CU Boulder’s Conflicts of Interest & Commitment (COIC) Office.
- Update their disclosures at least annually during the period of award for projects funded by the DOE and also within thirty days of discovering or acquiring (e.g., through purchase, marriage, or inheritance) a new significant financial interest.
- Complete COI training prior to engaging in projects related to any DOE financial assistance award and at least every four years. Watching the training video required for DEPA submission meets this requirement. In addition, training videos are available on the Research & Innovation Office website.
- Follow new requirements for current and pending documents in proposal submissions (see FAL 2022-04 and DOE funding opportunity announcements).
- Update current and pending disclosures made to DOE according to award terms and conditions, including as part of reporting requirements.
Disclosures to CU Boulder’s COIC Office should be made through the Disclosure of External Professional Activities (DEPA) form.
If you have any questions regarding the DEPA, please contact CU Boulder’s COIC Office at coi@colorado.edu or 303-492-3024.
For questions related to proposal requirements, contact your OCG Proposal Analyst.