Background
A conflict of interest (COI) arises when an individual’s personal, financial, or professional interests have the potential to compromise—or appear to compromise—their objectivity, integrity, or responsibilities in their professional role. A COI is a condition, not a behaviour, and its presence does not imply misconduct or poor practice.
As set out in the Code of good practice in research integrity, COIs can occur when a person’s judgement is influenced by a secondary interest, such as personal or institutional gain (e.g., reputational, monetary, or material). In research, this may affect decisions at various stages including study design, data interpretation, publication, peer review, and the allocation of funding or resources. Even the perception of a conflict can erode trust in research outcomes.
Recognising and managing COIs is essential to maintaining confidence in research among researchers, funders, participants, and the wider public. Researchers are expected to declare any actual or potential conflicts of interest in accordance with the Code of good practice in research integrity, including notifying senior management and making appropriate declarations in publications and other outputs.
Open acknowledgement and appropriate management of COIs help safeguard the integrity of the research process and uphold the standards expected across the research community.
For this reason, UK universities and research funders require researchers to identify, declare, and manage any potential conflicts in a transparent and proactive manner.
Reflecting on potential COI is not just a compliance task. It is a vital part of ethical research practice. By taking time to consider where personal, financial, or professional interests might overlap or compete, researchers can protect the integrity of their work, uphold their reputation, and support a research culture built on transparency and trust. This reflection also helps ensure that the impact of research is not compromised by perceived or actual conflicts
Conflicts of Interest in Research
Summary
Conflicts of interest can arise at any stage of the research process. In a university setting, these typically fall into three broad categories:
- Financial – e.g., holding shares in a company that may benefit from the research outcomes, receiving consultancy fees from an external organisation, ownership of product being investigated.
- Personal – e.g., close relationships with collaborators, students, or reviewers that could affect impartiality.
- Professional – e.g., holding multiple roles that may influence decision-making, such as being both a grant reviewer and an applicant.
Researchers should begin reflecting on potential conflicts early in the planning stages of a project. This includes considering how personal or institutional interests might intersect with the research aims, funding sources, or dissemination plans.
This will include reflection on the risk of ‘undue influence’ from external parties. Researchers should consider the interests of all parts of the ‘supply’ chain of research, from funders to collaborators. As a crucial first step, researchers should reflect on whether the interests, values, and objectives of the external partner are compatible with their own professional principles—and with the broader mission and ethical standards of the University.
Contractual agreements with external parties must be scrutinised to ensure they are free from restrictive clauses, or unfair expectations, for example, restrictions on the researcher’s right to publish results. Being proactive and transparent about conflicts of interest helps protect the credibility of the research and the researcher and supports a culture of openness and accountability.
University Expectations and Support
Expectations
At the University of Bath, researchers are expected to declare any potential or actual conflicts of interest to their Head of Department. This requirement is set out in the Code of good practice in research integrity (section 4).
The University of Bath Financial Regulations include further requirements relating to Conflicts of Interest. These set out how University staff must not engage in any University-related matters where they or close family have a financial or beneficial interest, unless they have written approval from the Vice-Chancellor. They are also prohibited from holding interests in businesses linked to the University without such approval. Senior staff must declare any potential conflicts annually in a register of interests.
The University of Bath Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) policy, sets out how when applying for, and receiving funding from, US Public Health Service (PHS) funding bodies such as the NIH, there are additional requirements for the investigator and research team to adhere to.
All researchers must familiarise themselves with these university requirements. Ultimately, adherence to these policies will strengthen the integrity of research.
University Support
The ethical review process for research is one key source of support for researchers navigating COI. As part of the university application process, researchers must declare COI and describe the measures put in place to mitigate any impacts during the ethical review process, using the Ethics@Bath platform. This ensures that any risks to research integrity are identified and managed appropriately.
Another source of support available to researchers is the due diligence process for grants including external collaborators and funders. During this process, researchers must share details of any COI that could apply in relation to the external party. This allows the full consideration of risk. Guidance on how to manage the COI may be provided during the due diligence review process.
Training on Conflicts of Interest (COI)
Researchers from the Tobacco Control Research Group, in collaboration with the Research Governance & Compliance team, have developed and evaluated bespoke training on COI. If you would like to better understand how COI may affect your research, gain confidence in how to make informed decisions, and explore practical tools to manage associated risks, you can read the published evaluation. If you would like further support on this topic, training can be provided upon request.
Case Study
- Discover how a situation involving PhD students, their supervisor, and an external company raised important questions about managing conflicts of interest in research. This situational example highlights how the dynamics of different roles and competing interests can interact to raise potential challenges to research integrity and ethics. Read more here
Further Information
Training course from Columbia University (hosted by the US Dept of Health & Human Services ‘The Office of Research Integrity’)
Developing and evaluating an educational intervention on conflicts of interest and corporate influence on science (Fabbri et al, 2025). This study (published by University of Bath researchers in collaboration with the Research Governance & Compliance team) evaluates a short training programme that improved researchers’ knowledge and confidence in identifying and mitigating financial conflicts of interest in research.