What Does Relatedness Mean?

In higher education research, relatedness refers to the connection between your personal/financial interests and your institutional responsibilities. It helps identify potential real or perceived conflicts of interest, particularly when your personal financial interests intersect with your Penn State research. A conflict of interest may arise if your research outcomes may affect the value of your financial interest. The greater the connection, the higher the risk of conflict.

Per policy RP06, Investigators must disclose all Significant Financial Interests (“SFI”) that are related to their institutional responsibilities. In determining relatedness, each Investigator should make a good-faith determination about whether a given SFI is related to their institutional responsibilities. Ultimately, it is up to the University to determine if the SFI is related to your research.

If you can answer “yes” or “maybe” to ANY of the following questions, the SFI is considered related and should be disclosed:

• Is the SFI in the same general area of your expertise?
• Would the SFI appear to an outside observer to be something that could influence your teaching, research, or other University responsibilities?
• Could the research or teaching that you do at Penn State impact the value of your SFI, either immediately or in the future?
• Is the SFI related to your consulting work?
• Is the SFI from an entity involved in your research or teaching, either as a sponsor, a subcontractor, or as a provider of products you work with?
• Is the SFI related to intellectual property that you use in your research or that resulted from your research?
• Does your SFI involve any Penn State equipment, facilities, or students?
• Is the SFI related to an activity part of your scholarly duties (such as work on journals or at other universities)?

Examples of relatedness:

• You start a company based on technology developed in your research lab.
• Your spouse owns a company that is related to your teaching or research at the University.
• You are a paid consultant for an entity that sponsors your research.
• You received payment for work as an editor on a scholarly journal.

Examples that would not be related and therefore do not need to be disclosed:

• You or your spouse owns a company, such as a family business, that is not related to your teaching or research the University.
• Starting a business related to a hobby and not involving University resources, students, or staff.
• Investments in mutual funds or retirement accounts, if you do not directly control the investments.
• Salary support from research awards processed through the University.

Relatedness means being mindful of any personal or financial ties that could impact your ability to conduct research impartially or make decisions without being influenced by outside factors. It is important to disclose such relationships to ensure transparency and maintain the credibility of your work in the academic and research community. As a general rule, it is always better to disclose your outside interests if you are unsure they are related.

If you are unsure about whether a connection could be a potential conflict of interest or be related to your teaching, research, or role at the University, reach out to your COI office at coinsadmin@psu.edu.