§ 910.230 Required conflict of interest (COI) and conflict of commitment (COC) policies.
(a) Any non-Federal entity that is an applicant to or recipient of a DOE Federal financial assistance award must maintain a written and enforced policy addressing actual, apparent, and potential COI and COC, both foreign and domestic. The non-Federal entity must make its written policy available within five business days following any request for the policy.
(b) The policy required under paragraph (a) of this section must:
(1) Designate a non-Federal entity official(s) to solicit and review COI and COC disclosures from each covered individual who is planning to participate in, or is participating in, the project funded under a DOE Federal financial assistance award;
(2) Require review by the designated official(s) of all covered individuals' disclosures to determine whether an actual, apparent, or potential COI or COC exists; and, if so, require the designated official(s) determine the actions that have been and shall be taken to eliminate or, where appropriate, manage or reduce the conflict. Examples of conditions or restrictions that a recipient or subrecipient might impose to manage, reduce, or eliminate a conflict include, but are not limited to:
(i) Public disclosure of the conflict (e.g., when presenting or publishing the project);
(ii) For projects involving human subjects, disclosure of the conflict directly to participants;
(iii) Appointment of an independent monitor or oversight committee capable of taking measures to protect the purpose, design, conduct, and reporting of the project against bias resulting from the conflict;
(iv) Modification of the project plan;
(v) Change of personnel or personnel responsibilities, or disqualification of personnel from participation in all or a portion of the project;
(vi) Reduction or elimination of the financial interest (e.g., sale of an equity interest) or commitment; or
(vii) Severance of relationship(s) that create the conflict;
(3) Ensure that covered individuals have provided all required disclosures to the non-Federal entity no later than the time an application is submitted to DOE. In the event a non-Federal entity seeks to add a covered individual after the time of application, the non-Federal entity must require the covered individual make such disclosures prior to participating in a project funded under a DOE Federal financial assistance award;
(4) Require each covered individual who is participating in the DOE Federal financial assistance award update those disclosures on an annual basis and as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 days after any new actual, apparent, or potential COI or COC arises;
(5) Require each disclosure be signed and dated by the covered individual and include the certification statement in appendix A to this subpart;
(6) Require each covered individual to complete COI and COC training prior to engaging in projects funded under a DOE Federal financial assistance award and complete refresher training least every two years. The training must cover the non-Federal entity's COI and COC policy and the covered individual's responsibilities regarding disclosures. The non-Federal entity must require covered individual to complete COI and COC training within 30 days of any of the following circumstances:
(i) The non-Federal entity revises its COI and COC policies or procedures in any manner that affects the responsibilities of a covered individual;
(ii) A covered individual is new to a non-Federal entity; or
(iii) A non-Federal entity finds that a covered individual is not in compliance with the non-Federal entity's COI and COC policy or applicable management plan;
(7) With regard to reimbursed or sponsored travel, the non-Federal entity's COI and COC policy must require, at a minimum, reporting the purpose of the trip, the identity of the sponsor/organizer, the destination, and the duration. In accordance with the non-Federal entity's policy, the non-Federal entity official(s) will determine if further information is needed, including a determination or disclosure of monetary value, in order to determine whether the travel constitutes a COI or COC with the project funded under the DOE Federal financial assistance award; and
(8) Include adequate enforcement mechanisms and provide for sanctions where appropriate.
(c) Any non-Federal entity that receives a DOE Federal financial assistance award must ensure that subrecipients, if any, follow the requirements of this subpart by:
(1) Incorporating as part of a written agreement with the subrecipient terms that establish either the COI and COC policy of the recipient or that of the subrecipient will apply to the subrecipient's covered individuals.
(2) If the subrecipient's covered individuals must comply with the subrecipient's COI and COC policy, the subrecipient shall certify as part of the agreement referenced in paragraph (c)(1) of this section that its policy complies with this subpart. If the subrecipient cannot provide such certification, the agreement shall state that subrecipient's covered individuals are subject to the COI and COC policy of the recipient.
(3) Additionally, if the subrecipient's covered individuals must comply with the subrecipient's COI and COC policy, the agreement referenced in paragraph (c)(1) of this section shall specify time period(s) for the subrecipient to report all identified financial COI and COC to the recipient. Such time period(s) shall be sufficient to enable the recipient to provide timely COI/COC reports, as necessary, to DOE, as required by this subpart.
(4) Alternatively, if the subrecipient's covered individuals must comply with the recipient's COI and COC policy, the agreement referenced in paragraph (c)(1) of this section shall specify time period(s) for the subrecipient to submit all covered individual's disclosures to the recipient. Such time period(s) shall be sufficient to enable the recipient to comply timely with its review, management, and reporting obligations under this subpart.