Conflicts of Interest (COI)

COI is designed to cover the U.S. Public Health Services (PHS) regulations on financial conflict of interest (FCOI).  The course is primarily tailored to investigators who receive funding from a PHS agency or who are required by their organization to be familiar with the PHS FCOI regulations.

CITI Program COI training provides comprehensive coverage on the PHS FCOI regulations. Yet, the determination on whether a particular type training, such as COI, is sufficient for the NIH should be made internally by the organization.

It is important to note that NIH requires organizations to educate investigators about their own COI policies. CITI Program has a process for creating organization-specific content for their learners.

You can contact us for details on our customization options.

There is no uniform standard regarding how frequently COI training should occur. However, with regard to the PHS FCOI regulations, investigators “must complete training prior to engaging in NIH-funded research and at least every four years, and immediately under the designated circumstances.”

COI content is also offered in Human Subjects Research (HSR) and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). COI content in HSR may be more suitable for researchers who work with human subjects but are not necessarily subject to training requirements contained within the PHS regulations. COI content in RCR may be more suitable for beginning researchers and those who are not subject to the PHS regulations.