Introduction to Potential Conflicts of Interest
and Conflicts of Commitment

What is a potential conflict of commitment (COC)? 

A potential conflict of commitment would encompass situations where external relationships or activities may, or may appear to, interfere or compete with your ability to fulfill your University obligations or may compete, or may appear to compete, with the University’s mission.

An example of a potential conflict of commitment that could interfere with your ability to fulfill your University obligations is…

You are a professor in the College of Pharmacy.  Your father is getting older and has asked you to play an active role in the family newspaper business.  Doing so would involve spending several days a week at the newspaper.

An example of a potential conflict of commitment that would place you in a position of competing with the University’s mission is…

With other members of your school’s faculty, you teach in a program for corporate leaders.  You have developed a consulting business on the same subject that you would like to market to the same audience.

These circumstances constitute a COC because your business would be competing directly with the University for customers.

Other circumstances, such as those described below, would not typically create a potential conflict that requires managing. 

A scholarly press at another university has paid you a stipend for reviewing books that the press has subsequently published, or you were the editor for a series the press published for which the press pays you modest royalties.  Your contributions to this press could technically be viewed as a potential conflict of commitment because the press is a competitor of the U-M Press.  However, units would typically consider these actions to be appropriate and not to constitute a potential COI or COC because you are contributing to the scholarly development of your discipline.  However, this type of work must be done within the parameters of outside consulting allowed by your school or college.