TO:	All Intramural Staff
THROUGH:	IC Directors and Scientific Directors
FROM:	Michael M. Gottesman, M.D. Deputy Director for Intramural Research, NIH
SUBJECT:	Intramural/Extramural Collaborations

DATE: December 1, 1999

The privilege of conducting research at the NIH is accompanied by responsibility for stewardship of the public funds that have been entrusted to us. On rare occasions there are breaches of the public trust by a very few individuals who do not follow rules established to prevent real and apparent conflicts of interest. Correction of these situations often leads to re-evaluation of the way we do business.

One vulnerable area involves collaborations between intramural scientists and extramural scientists who are applying for NIH grants. While collaboration with extramural scientists is central to our research, there are explicit rules that govern how intramural scientists can collaborate with extramural scientists and how those collaborations can be funded.

The main messages in this memorandum are that:

1. Scientists paid with intramural funds may not also be paid from extramural grants and,
   
   
2. NIH scientists must document outside collaborations by giving their Scientific Director copies of formal letters of collaboration that are a part of an NIH grant application.
   
   

In some cases -- where the contribution of an intramural scientist to an extramural grant is substantial -- it may be necessary to manage the grant as a cooperative agreement (UO1 instead of RO1 or PO1 grant). In addition, Scientific Directors must review, in advance, the use of NIH intramural facilities by Guest Researchers who are part of NIH-funded extramural projects. A Scientific Director must also be able to ensure that Special Volunteers working in NIH laboratories do not have a real or apparent conflict of interest because of outside funding.

More detailed rules and policies covering collaboration are detailed in our website: http://www1.od.nih.gov/oir/sourcebook/ethic-conduct.htm/fund-irp-erp-3-00.htm. Please review this information and contact your Scientific Director if you have any questions about collaborations.