Kuali COI Module Implementation

Dear Faculty,  

As part of UMBC’s transitioning from the research management format in PeopleSoft to the cloud-based Kuali system, the Office of the Vice President for Research is ready to implement the next steps of the Kuali COI module.

Investigators who are considered “Key Persons” in grant proposal submissions to funding agencies (e.g., PHS or NSF) are required to disclose any potential significant financial conflicts of interests to ensure there is no reasonable perception of a conflict in the design, conduct, or reporting of research.  While the current UMBC policies have not changed; the procedure to disclose has changed.

What This Means For You? 

Kuali COI replaces the Office of Research Protections and Compliance (ORPC) paper document/email notification disclosure routing process. This means all COI disclosures will now be handle via the Kuali COI module. Many faculty colleagues have already been using the Kuali COI module during the transition to using Kuali Proposal Development.

Effective July 9th 2018, the Kuali COI module will be updated. For those already using Kuali COI, you will see the  COI certification question in Kuali Proposal Development has been eliminated.  All COI related questions are now housed in the Kuali COI module. The Annual Disclosure status under Key personnel in Proposal Development must state “Up to Date”. If the Annual Disclosure says “Update Needed” or “Expired”, the identified Key Personnel must go into the COI module to complete or update their COI answers before the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) can approve the proposal.  Kuali will send an automated email notification to any named Key Person once the proposal has been saved in Kuali. At a minimum, all “Key Persons” named on a proposal will be required to answer  5 core COI questions.

The ORPC will work with faculty who have submitted paper COI disclosures for previously submitted proposals (via the PeopleSoft Finance process) to ensure that all disclosures are current and up to date.

Also note, if you plan to submit a proposal to a Public Health Services (PHS) entity [e.g., NIH], the requirement to take the CITI FCOI training is still in effect.

Next Steps

Self-Study Option:  Go to COI Training page to read the Kuali COI User Guide - a Power Point presentation that includes step-by-step instructions and screen shots.  This should give you enough information to understand, certify, route, COI disclosures via workflow.

Still not comfortable?  Then sign up for one of the multiple in-person training options that are offered monthly.

Please keep an eye out for information regarding Phase Two, which will focus on OSP functionality (awards, negotiations, sub-awards), but will also  include information and modules of interest to the broader UMBC community using Kuali (protocols - IRB & IACUC, reporting, unfunded agreements – MTAs, NDAs, DUAs, etc.).  

For more detailed information regarding Kuali, please visit the OVPR Kuali page at http://research.umbc.edu/kuali-research-at-umbc/.