Key Guidelines & Regulations - Key Internal Guidelines & Regulations

Conflict of Interest:

It has been and shall continue to be the policy of Temple University that all full­time and part­time faculty members avoid any conflict, or appearance of conflict, between their personal interest and the interest of the University in dealing with any organization or individual having, or seeking to have, any business relationship with the University or with any organization or individual whose objectives or interest may be adverse to University interests. The following guidelines are adopted to achieve this policy. read entire policy here

Federal Guidelines for Conflict of Interest: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Data Management Plans:

The National Science Foundation has announced new Data Management Plan requirements: Proposals submitted or due on or after January 18, 2011, must include a supplementary document of no more than two pages labeled "Data Management Plan." This supplementary document should describe how the proposal will conform to NSF policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results. See Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) Chapter II.C.2.j for full policy implementation.

A Temple University Working Group on Data Management has been established to develop model plans for use by research faculty in proposals, as well as establish a comprehensive set of resources for post-award data management, storage, security, and dissemination for use by Temple faculty, staff, and students.

Links to sample data management plans and listing of available data management resources are under development.

Disclosure of Financial Interest:

Temple University Conflict of Interest Policy:

Please address questions and concerns regarding conflict of interest to:
Michele M. Masucci
Vice Provost for Research
1801 North Broad Street,
401 Conwell Hall,
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Voice: (215) 204-6875
Fax: (215) 204-4609
E-mail: michele.masucci@temple.edu

Export Controls:

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY STATEMENT ON EXPORT CONTROLS

The University engages in research that may involve the development or use of products, goods, hardware, software or materials or technology that may be subject to U.S. export control laws. The University is committed to full compliance with all applicable export control laws and regulations.

U.S. export control laws and regulations are complex and include lists of critical controlled technologies, materials, devices, and related information, as well as lists of sanctioned persons, countries and entities, which are maintained by the U.S. Department of Commerce (EAR), the U.S. Department of State (ITAR), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (OFAC).

In general, export control regulations apply to:

  • the transfer or “export’ of specified materials, information, items or technology outside the U.S.;
  • the disclosure of certain information to certain foreign nationals inside the U.S. (“deemed exports”);
  • the training or offering of services involving controlled equipment or information to foreign nationals;
  • the design or production of items related to defense services; and
  • transactions with certain foreign countries or individuals who are on embargo or restricted lists.

The following resources are available to help you understand export controls:

Please see the export control tutorial here. If you have further questions or concerns regarding export controls, please contact Rob Gage in the Office of Grants Management (gage@temple.edu) or Michele M. Masucci, Vice Provost for Research (michele.masucci@temple.edu ).

Intellectual Property:

The Office of Technology Development and Commercialization (OTDC) within OVPR is responsible for protecting and commercializing the results of all research conducted at the University. Although this entails primarily patenting and licensing inventions developed entirely at the University, there are other important aspects of TDC's activities. For example, it is increasingly desirable to reserve, by contractual agreement in advance, the ownership of research results obtained by the University faculty in collaboration with colleagues at other universities. Additionally, it is necessary to protect not just intellectual property (the information contained in the research results), but also tangible property (the physical embodiment of the research results) such as laboratory notebooks, disks containing computer data or programs, as well as samples of novel chemical or biological materials.

Invention & Patent Policy

The University Invention and Patent Policy governs the disposition of inventions (including all patents and most software copyrights) developed by University employees and students on University time and/or using University facilities. The Patent Policy, adherence to which is a condition of employment at the University, provides that the University is the sole owner of any such inventions. It also sets forth important policies regarding ownership rights, inventorship, royalty distribution and other relevant information. The Patent Policy provides, in particular, that inventors are entitled (even after leaving the University) to 50% of all net royalty income derived from each patent.

While TDC is charged with the day-to-day management of invention-related matters, oversight of its activities rests with an eight-member Invention and Patent Committee, five of whom are faculty members. All disagreements concerning invention-related matters are resolved by the Patent Committee, whose decisions are final under the Patent Policy.

Publications

Publication or oral presentation of any kind prior to the filing of a patent application may jeopardize patent protection. However, the need for prompt dissemination and discussion of research results in the scientific community demands that publication not be unduly delayed. Determination of what constitutes a publication is not always a simple matter. For example, the abstract of a talk to be presented at a future meeting may be considered, by itself, a publication as of the date of mailing of the book of abstracts to those registered for the meeting. Except for abstracts and other rapid publications, submission of an

Invention Disclosure to TDC at the same time a manuscript is submitted for publication provides ample time for a patent application to be filed without undue haste.

In the U.S., a patent application may be filed up to one year after publication. This grace period does not exist in most foreign countries; however, publication after submission of a U.S. patent application will not preclude foreign patents, provided that the foreign applications are made within one year of the U.S. application date.

Lobbying:

The federal government requires that institutions certify that:

  • no appropriate funds were, or will be, expended to pay any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a member of Congress in connection with a specific award; and they will disclose certain information if the recipient has used, or intends to use, non-appropriated funds to pay for the lobbying activities of an individual or organization not regularly employed by the applicant.
  • Disclosure forms must be filed prior to the award, and thereafter at the end of each calendar quarter in which there occurs any event that requires disclosure or affects the accuracy of the information contained in any previously filed disclosure. Certifications are made to the funding agency. Disclosure is required if the University has made, or agreed to make, payment with non-federal funds for the purpose of influencing a specific award over $100,000. If lobbying were done, however, by a regularly employed individual, disclosure is not necessary. Remember that individuals who are paid with, or travel on, federal funds must not engage in lobbying activities while utilizing such federal funds.
  • These regulations apply to all grants and contracts. The University has a lobbying policy and procedures in place. Faculty must indicate on the SPAF if they have engaged in any lobbying activity related to the project

Principal Investigator Eligibility:

The policy of Temple University is that only full-time faculty members and designated administrative research positions may routinely serve as Principal Investigators on sponsored programs. Exceptions to this policy are available per this administrative regulation; requests for an exception may be made using the Temporary Principal Investigator Status Request linked below.

Proposal Review and Approval Timelines:

To ensure comprehensive and timely pre-award services to the growing number of research faculty throughout the University, Grants Management has modified administrative requirements for the submission and review of grant and contract proposals, effective January 1, 2011. These include 5-day and 2-day submission deadlines for specified, required proposal-related documentation.

Research Incentive - Indirect Cost Recovery (ICR):

The University receives reimbursement for facilities and administrative costs, or indirect costs, associated with external research. This reimbursement, or indirect cost recovery, is shared with the schools and colleges and acts as an incentive to further stimulate and increase external research. Indirect costs recovered will be allocated as follows:

ICR Allocation:

  • University – 53%
  • The university’s share will be used to support the operating budget.
  • Deans – 36.5%
  • Each dean may allocate their share of ICR to their principal investigators (PI) and departments at their discretion
  • Principal investigators and departments must renegotiate their ICR percentage allocation with their dean at least once every three years or once per grant cycle
  • Temple Grants Management – 10.5%. No less than 2.0% of the office’s allocation must be used to support or enhance the investment in start-ups and facilities.

Spending Plan:

  • The amount of ICR that may be accumulated by a PI is capped at $100,000 after which PI’s must submit a spending plan to their dean before any additional ICR may be accumulated.

Note: All current PIs are grandfathered and not immediately subject to the new allocation rules and will continue collecting 10% ICR for all grants active on June 30, 2009. The new ICR allocation policy applies to competing and non-competing renewals.

Responsible Conduct of Research:

Temple University has an approved Integrity Policy. The Integrity officer is Michele M. Masucci. If there is a possible violation, the charge should be brought to Michele M. Masucci's attention. Misconduct may include fabrication, plagiarism, falsification and failure to comply with the proper conduct of research. After the review of the charge made in good faith, the integrity officer will refer the situation to an inquiry committee to determine possible misconduct. If the committee considers there to be probable cause, then it is referred to an investigation committee. If they concur, that there is misconduct, the case will then be referred to the President for possible sanction. All faculty must receive training in the integrity procedures.

Online Responsible Conduct of Research Training:

Mandated training in the responsible conduct of research is available online through the CITI training program.
Link to CITI Programs Courseware: https://www.citiprogram.org

To register and gain access to the training, please follow these steps:
You will need to input your Temple University 9 digit ID during the registration process so that CITI and Temple can recognize and credit individual users. 

If you do not already have a Temple University 9 digit ID, please complete the Visitor/Courtesy Card Form located at:
http://voyager.adminsvc.temple.edu/EmployeeForms/owlcard.htm and return the form as requested.

Additional Resources:

Faculty and student researchers, and research administrators are encouraged to read the book On Being A Scientist from the National Academies Press. On Being a Scientist was designed to supplement the informal lessons in ethics provided by research supervisors and mentors. The book describes the ethical foundations of scientific practices and some of the personal and professional issues that researchers encounter in their work. It applies to all forms of research--whether in academic, industrial, or governmental settings-and to all scientific disciplines.

This third edition of On Being a Scientist reflects developments since the publication of the original edition in 1989 and a second edition in 1995. A continuing feature of this edition is the inclusion of a number of hypothetical scenarios offering guidance in thinking about and discussing these scenarios.

On Being a Scientist is aimed primarily at graduate students and beginning researchers, but its lessons apply to all scientists at all stages of their scientific careers. You can read the book at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12192

Please address questions and concerns regarding the Responsible Conduct of Research to:
Michele M. Masucci
Vice Provost for Research
1801 North Broad Street,
401 Conwell Hall,
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Voice: (215) 204-6875
Fax: (215) 204-5506
E-mail: michele.masucci@temple.edu

Tution Remission Administrative Regulation:

This administrative regulation has been established to provide the guidelines and procedures for tuition remission for Research Assistants/Graduate Externs from external research funding, with the ultimate goal of advancing the University's national standing among Doctoral/Research Universities.



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