Conflicts of interest

What is a conflict of interest? 

A conflict of interest arises when the personal interests of a Concordia community member conflict or could appear to conflict with the university's best interests or may undermine public trust and confidence.

• These conflicts can arise naturally from personal, financial and professional engagements inside and outside the university. 
• Conflicts of interest can be real, potential or perceived, and their existence does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing. 
• It is essential that all members of the university take the necessary steps to identify, disclose, assess and manage situations involving conflicts of interest.    
• Failure to disclose conflicts of interest may have serious consequences, including disciplinary measures. 

Personal interests

An individual’s personal interests may influence their professional decisions or judgment, which can lead them to take actions that result in personal benefits or advantages for those with whom they have a relationship like, for example, relatives, friends, co-workers or those with shared financial interests. 

Types of conflicts of interest: real, potential or perceived 

A conflict of interest can be real, potential, or perceived. It is not necessary to act on an interest for a conflict of interest to exist.

Real conflict of interest

Any situation where a conflict of interest actually exists. It occurs when there is a direct conflict between the current duties, responsibilities and obligations of a member of the university community towards the university and that member’s own private interests.

• Example: A supervisor at the university hires their child’s sports coach and fails to disclose their relationship with the candidate. In this situation, a conflict exists between the interests of the university – to hire qualified employees – and the interests of the employee – to give their child’s coach a job.

Potential conflict of interest

A potential conflict of interest exists when the private interests of a member of the university community do not currently conflict with their duties but it can reasonably be foreseen that such a conflict may arise in the future. 

• Example: An employee in charge of buying office supplies on behalf of the university accepts a gift from an office supply company. In this situation, there is potential that the gift may influence the employee in favour of buying from the company that provided the gift.

Perceived conflict of interest

This exists where there is an apprehension, which reasonably well-informed people could have, that a real or potential conflict of interest could exist.

• Example: A researcher needs to carry out expensive tests as part of their research and wants to choose the company their spouse works at to carry out those tests. It is possible that the spouse’s company is indeed well placed to do the tests and that the spouse will not benefit from the arrangement directly. However, there could be a perception that the spouse’s company was inappropriately favoured.

Examples of conflicts of interest

Conflicts of interest can arise in many situations. Examples of common occurrences are described below. 

Business, commercial, financial or career interests

• A teaching assistant (TA) is tempted or may be perceived to be tempted to favour, befriend or give high marks to a student who is related to an individual with whom the TA would like to work or connect professionally. In this situation, the TA’s personal interests (a career opportunity) conflict with the university’s interests in maintaining integrity in the evaluation process.

• A staff or faculty member would like to use the university’s lab equipment to carry out unsanctioned work for the benefit of a business in which they have personal interests as a founder, consultant, employee, or shareholder. In this situation, the employee’s potential personal benefits are at the expense of the university and may violate its policies on equipment and resource use. 

Relationships and private interests

• A staff or faculty member would like to hire a family member. In this situation, the appearance of favouring a relative over other prospective candidates undermines the perception of objectivity and fairness of the university. 

• An instructor is engaged in a consensual romantic or sexual relationship with a student they are advising, supervising, or teaching. In this situation, the power imbalance inherent in this relationship can heighten the vulnerability of the student. See the university’s Consensual Romantic or Sexual Relationships Guidelines for more information.

Your responsibilities

As a member of the university community, you are expected to conduct yourself in an ethical and professional manner. You must avoid placing yourself in a situation where your personal interests conflict or may appear to conflict with the best interests of the university.

The following points outline our responsibilities and obligations in relation to identifying, managing and disclosing conflicts of interest.

• All university community members are obligated to disclose situations involving a real, potential, or perceived conflict of interest.
• A conflict of interest must be disclosed as soon as possible, and before engaging in activities or services that could constitute a conflict or be perceived as a conflict.
• Certain university community members may be required to declare that they are not in a conflict of interest and update that declaration regularly.
• If you become aware of a conflict of interest involving a colleague or other university member, this should be appropriately disclosed so that the situation can be appropriately assessed and managed.
• When in doubt about a conflict of interest, contact your immediate supervisor for guidance. In the event that you do not have an immediate supervisor, refer to the section “Mechanism for Reporting Conflicts of Interest” in the Policy on Conflict of Interest (BD-4). If you are not an employee, contact the Associate Secretary-General, the Secretary-General, or the Chair of the Governance and Ethics Committee.

The applicable policies can help you determine if a conflict of interest exists and how to proceed. 

Disclosing a conflict of interest, whether it is real, potential or perceived, does not automatically mean an employee cannot pursue the activity. In many cases, disclosed conflicts can be managed or mitigated effectively, especially when identified early. 

Contact 

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