Some links will work for NIAID staff only. |
This SOP has internal roles only.
Standard Operating Procedure Table of Contents
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Purpose
To ensure that extramural employees have NIAID approval to 1) author papers and other
documents and 2) give public
presentations when those activities are part of
their official duties.
Procedure
NIH policy requires institutes to approve publications and public
presentations involving real or apparent conflicts of interest.
Extramural federal employees can have an apparent conflict of interest under the following circumstances:
- They have close associations with awardees.
- They have influence over funding
decisions.
- They show a pattern of publications with the same
contractor or grantee.
To ensure Institute compliance with NIH policy, extramural federal employees must have their supervisor and other Institute
officials review and approve their request to publish and give public
presentations when those activities are part of
their official duties.
An activity that is not an official duty may be an outside activity, which requires approval from the NIAID
Ethics Office (not an employee's
supervisor).
Extramural
contractors should consult the terms of their
contract for guidance on publication clearance.
Other considerations
Influential scientific information that NIH issues to the public must go through peer
review. A scientific
journal's peer review fulfills this requirement. See the NIH Information
Quality Intranet for decision
trees and an exemptions
list to determine whether a publication or
presentation requires peer review.
For scientific manuscripts, you will need to comply with NIH's public access policy. Read the Public Access of Publications SOP.
NIAID Extramural Staff
To get approval for co-authoring a scientific paper with an
outside investigator, do the following:
- Fill out the correct form.
- Attach a copy of the manuscript and a bibliography of your
publications for the past three years with the clearance form.
- Get the signature of your branch chief, program director
(if applicable), and division director. Then submit two copies to the DEA
director for review and approval.
To obtain approval for other writing or
editing activities, do the following:
- Letter to the editor. Send a copy to your division
director, who will determine whether it contains any sensitive
material. If it does, your division
director must send two copies to the DEA director for clearance.
- Manuscript review, editing a textbook,
or service on a journal's editorial board. Get approval from
your supervisor.
- Consider the possibility of a conflict of
interest if a co-author is a current or likely grantee or
a collaborator within your purview.
- If an author plans to submit an
application to NIH, do not review his or her manuscript within
one year of the application. Ask your supervisor whether you should let more time pass between your manuscript review and
the application.
- Article to a scientific
journal. Submit the NIAID
Co-authorship Clearance Short Form.
- Press releases and other media
contacts. Get approval from your
supervisor and then NIAID's News and Public Information Branch.
Contact Laurie Doepel, ldoepel@niaid.nih.gov, 301-496-5717.
- Materials for Congress. Get approval from your supervisor and then NIAID's
Legislative Affairs and Correspondence Management Branch. Contact Jill Harper, jharper@niaid.nih.gov, 301-594-3961.
For a public presentation, do the
following:
- Speech at a professional organization's
event. Get approval from your
supervisor, who should review your remarks.
- Expert witness. Seek advice from the HHS Office of General Counsel; call 202-619-0153. If you receive permission to present, get approval from your supervisor.
- Responses to media inquiries. Consult with
NIAID's News and Public Information
Branch, If approved, get approval from your supervisor.
Contact Laurie Doepel, ldoepel@niaid.nih.gov, 301-496-5717.
- Responses to congressional inquiries. Consult with the Office of General Counsel. If approved, get approval from your supervisor.
Questions and Answers
Q. If my publication involves work I did before coming to
NIAID, do I need to request clearance?
A. No. You do not need clearance if your publication involves
work you did before you started working at NIAID.
Q. If I'm writing an article with other NIH staff that does
not involve outside investigators, do I need to request
clearance?
A. Yes. The basic principle is that your supervisor and
management should be aware and approve of your publishing with
others. A good rule of thumb is, when in doubt, fill out the form.
Also keep in mind that other organizations have their own processes.
For example, the Division of Intramural Research has a separate
review process for all intramural publications.
Q. If a professional organization asks me to review a book in
my area of scientific expertise, I know I need clearance for an
outside activity, but do I also need publication clearance? What if the review gets published in an organization's
magazine, e.g., ASM News?
A. You do not need publication clearance in either case.
Q. If I am publishing research I did from a previous job, do I
have to submit a form?
A. No, not unless you
have fiscal oversight of a grant or contract from that institution.
If you would rather be covered by the form, you have the option to
submit it.
Contacts
Contact
for NIAID Staff
Contact
for NIAID Staff
If you have knowledge to share or want more information on this
topic, email deaweb@niaid.nih.gov with the title of this page or its URL and your question or comment. Thanks for helping us
clarify and expand our knowledge base.
Links
NIH
Policy Manual 1184, Scientific and Professional Information
Presented by NIH Employees: Review, Approval, and Distribution
NIH Official Duty Policy
NIH Conflicts Assessment Sheet
NIH Official Duty Table
Conflict
of Interest Procedures for Extramural NIH Employees in the Conduct
of Their Official Duties
Extramural
Official Duties and Conflicts of Interest Case Studies
NIH Ethics Program
OMB
Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review
NIH Information Quality Intranet
Cooperative
Agreements (U) SOP
NIH Public-Private
Partnerships Conflicts of Interest |