Conflict of Interest
In Connection with Evaluating Grant Applications
To assure impartial decision-making, it is the policy of VBHRC, Virginia Catalyst to manage actual and potential conflicts of interests through transparency and by following rigorous guidelines, including:
To assure impartial decision-making, it is the policy of VBHRC, Virginia Catalyst to manage actual and potential conflicts of interests through transparency and by following rigorous guidelines, including:
Disclosure
A member of the Board of Directors (Board) or Project Management and Oversight Panel (PMOP) of Virginia Catalyst must disclose in good faith if they or any of their Related Parties (as defined below):
A “Related Party” of a Board or PMOP member means any of the following:
The disclosure should be made:
To facilitate disclosure, the Virginia Catalyst management team will:
Each conflict of interest disclosure should describe the material facts of the actual or potential conflict of interest, provided that material facts may be omitted to the extent required by contractual or legal restrictions applicable to the PMOP or Board member.
A member of the Board of Directors (Board) or Project Management and Oversight Panel (PMOP) of Virginia Catalyst must disclose in good faith if they or any of their Related Parties (as defined below):
- are an employee or officer of a company that has applied for a grant from Virginia Catalyst;
- are a member of the applicant company’s scientific advisory board or board of directors (or similar governing body);
- are a consultant or advisor to the applicant company, or to the principal investigator or co-investigator of a university that is participating with the applicant company in the application to VBHRC, whether compensated or not;
- are a principal investigator or co-investigator of a university that is participating with the applicant company in the application to Virginia Catalyst or are a direct report supervisor to such investigator or co-investigator;
- have a direct or indirect financial interest in the applicant company, including, but not limited to, being an investor, owner, debt holder, or option holder in the applicant company, or they are actively investigating obtaining such an interest; or
- have other conflicts of interest, not listed above, including one that an independent third party could reasonably believe might cause the Board or PMOP member’s decision to be tainted by self-interest.
A “Related Party” of a Board or PMOP member means any of the following:
- a member’s spouse, domestic partner, lineal ancestors, siblings, and lineal descendants (including adoptive and step- relationships), and the spouses of each of the foregoing;
- any entity or trust of or to which such member or any of their relationships described serves as a director, manager, partner, trustee, officer, employee, consultant, or advisor; or
- any entity or trust in which such member or any of their relationships described has a direct or indirect financial interest (including, but not limited to, by holding an ownership interest, debt, or options)
The disclosure should be made:
- by a PMOP member prior to any evaluation by the PMOP of the grant application; by a Board member prior to any consideration by the Board of the grant application, or
- promptly after the PMOP or Board member has knowledge of the relevant facts, if he or she has no actual knowledge prior to the relevant PMOP or Board action, as applicable
To facilitate disclosure, the Virginia Catalyst management team will:
- identify to the PMOP members all applicant companies that will be evaluated by the PMOP in a funding round prior to the commencement of the PMOP’s evaluation, and
- identify to the Board all applicant companies that will be considered by the Board for approval in a funding round prior to the commencement of the Board’s consideration
Each conflict of interest disclosure should describe the material facts of the actual or potential conflict of interest, provided that material facts may be omitted to the extent required by contractual or legal restrictions applicable to the PMOP or Board member.
Recusal
Any Board or PMOP member that is subject to a conflict of interest shall refrain from participating in or attempting to influence any evaluation of or decisions or votes regarding the corresponding applicant company or its grant application and shall retire from the meeting during any deliberations and votes by the Board or PMOP, as applicable, on the applicant company or its application. Such Board or PMOP member is not required to resign from the Board or PMOP on account of the conflict of interest.
At the request of the Chair of the Board, the Chair of the PMOP, or the CEO, the conflicted Board or PMOP member may present background information or answer questions regarding the matter under consideration prior to the evaluation of or deliberations or vote on such matter.
Recusals should be formally noted in the minutes of the corresponding Board meeting (in the case of Board members) or in another appropriate written record (in the case of PMOP members).
Any Board or PMOP member that is subject to a conflict of interest shall refrain from participating in or attempting to influence any evaluation of or decisions or votes regarding the corresponding applicant company or its grant application and shall retire from the meeting during any deliberations and votes by the Board or PMOP, as applicable, on the applicant company or its application. Such Board or PMOP member is not required to resign from the Board or PMOP on account of the conflict of interest.
At the request of the Chair of the Board, the Chair of the PMOP, or the CEO, the conflicted Board or PMOP member may present background information or answer questions regarding the matter under consideration prior to the evaluation of or deliberations or vote on such matter.
Recusals should be formally noted in the minutes of the corresponding Board meeting (in the case of Board members) or in another appropriate written record (in the case of PMOP members).
