§ 910.200 Definitions.
For the purposes of this subpart, the following definitions are applicable:
Conflict of commitment (COC) means a situation in which an individual accepts or incurs conflicting obligations, whether foreign or domestic, between or among multiple employers or other entities. This may include conflicting commitments of time and effort, including obligations to dedicate time in excess of institutional or DOE policies or commitments. Other types of conflicting obligations, including but not limited to, obligations to improperly share information with, or to withhold information from, an employer or DOE, can also threaten research, technology or economic security and integrity. Examples of situations that may give rise to conflicts of commitment include, but are not limited to, current or pending employment; positions, appointments, or affiliations such as titled academic, professional, or institutional appointments, whether remuneration is received and whether full-time, part-time, or voluntary (including adjunct, visiting, or honorary positions); and participation in or applications to foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment or similar programs.
Conflict of interest (COI) means a situation in which a covered individual or the spouse or a child of the covered individual has a significant financial interest or financial relationship, whether with a domestic or foreign entity, that could directly and significantly affect the design, conduct, reporting or funding of a project or other Federal financial assistance award-related activities. Examples of situations that may give rise to a COI include, but are not limited to, holding an Executive position, director position, or equity over a certain dollar amount in a company that stands to benefit from Federal financial assistance award-related activities, receiving financial compensation in the form of consulting payments or payment for services from a company that stands to benefit from Federal financial assistance award-related activities, or intellectual property rights or royalties from such rights whose value may be affected by the outcome of Federal financial assistance award-related activities.
Covered individual means any individual, regardless of title or position, who:
(1) Contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the development or execution of the scope of work of a project funded by DOE or proposed for funding by DOE; and,
(2) Is designated as a covered individual by DOE.
(3) DOE designates as covered individuals any principal investigator (PI), project director (PD), co-principal investigator (Co-PI), co-project director (Co-PD), project manager, and any individual regardless of title that is functionally performing as a PI, PD, Co-PI, Co-PD, or project manager; and persons designated in the applicable Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) or terms and conditions of the Federal financial assistance award. Submission of a current and pending support disclosure and/or biosketch/resume for a particular person serves as an acknowledgement that DOE designates that person as a covered individual.
DOE means the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
Financial interest means anything of monetary value, whether or not the value is readily ascertainable.
Other support means all resources made available to a covered individual in support of and/or related to all of their professional research (including basic and fundamental research), development, demonstration, and/or deployment efforts, including resources provided directly to the covered individual rather than through the research organization, and regardless of whether or not they have monetary value (e.g., even if the support received is only in-kind, such as office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, or employees). This includes resource and/or financial support from all foreign and domestic entities, including, but not limited to, gifts provided with terms or conditions, gifts provided without terms or conditions, financial support for laboratory personnel, and participation of student and visiting researchers and visiting scholars supported by other sources of funding.
Principal investigator (PI) means an individual identified to direct a project by an applicant to or recipient of a DOE Federal financial assistance award.
Project means the interdependent activities funded wholly or in part under the DOE Federal financial assistance award. A project has a defined start and end point with objectives described in an application or in an approved scope that, when attained, signify completion and achievement of a specific goal, and creation of a unique product, service, or result. For Federal financial assistance awards that include recipient cost share as part of the approved budget, activities funded with that recipient cost share are included.
Significant financial interest means:
(1) A financial interest consisting of one or more of the following interests of the covered individual (and those of the covered individual's spouse and dependent children) that reasonably appears to be related to the covered individual's non-Federal entity responsibilities:
(i) With regard to any foreign or domestic publicly traded entity, a significant financial interest exists if the value of any remuneration received from the entity in the twelve months preceding the disclosure and the value of any equity interest in the entity as of the date of disclosure, when aggregated, exceeds $5,000. For purposes of this definition, remuneration includes salary and any payment for services not otherwise identified as salary (e.g., consulting fees, honoraria, paid authorship); equity interest includes any stock, stock option, or other ownership interest, as determined through reference to public prices or other reasonable measures of fair market value;
(ii) With regard to any foreign or domestic non-publicly traded entity, a significant financial interest exists if the value of any remuneration, not otherwise disclosed as current, pending, or other support, received from the entity in the twelve months preceding the disclosure, when aggregated, exceeds $5,000, or when the covered individual (or the covered individual's spouse or dependent children) holds any equity interest (e.g., stock, stock option, or other ownership interest); and
(iii) Intellectual property rights and interests (e.g., patents, copyrights), upon receipt of income related to such rights and interests.
(2) Any reimbursed or sponsored travel (i.e., that which is paid on behalf of the covered individual and not reimbursed to the covered individual so that the exact monetary value may not be readily available) related to their institutional responsibilities that is not otherwise disclosed in current and pending or other support disclosures, but does not include travel that is reimbursed or sponsored by a Federal, State, or local government agency of the United States; a domestic Institution of Higher Education; or a domestic research institute that is affiliated with a domestic Institution of Higher Education.
(3) The term significant financial interest does not include the following types of financial interests: salary, royalties, or other remuneration paid by the non-Federal entity to the covered individual if the covered individual is currently employed or otherwise appointed by the non-Federal entity, including intellectual property rights assigned to the non-Federal entity and agreements to share in royalties related to such rights; any ownership interest in the non-Federal entity held by the covered individual, if the non-Federal entity is a commercial or for-profit organization; income from investment vehicles, such as mutual funds and retirement accounts, as long as the covered individual does not directly control the investment decisions made in these vehicles; income from seminars, lectures, or teaching engagements sponsored by a Federal, State, or local government agency of the United States, a domestic Institution of Higher Education, or a domestic research institute that is affiliated with a domestic Institution of Higher Education; or income from service on advisory committees or review panels for a Federal, State, or local government agency of the United States, a domestic Institution of Higher Education, or a domestic research institute that is affiliated with a domestic Institution of Higher Education.