The higher education community can feel like a close-knit family. Colleagues often connect through their graduate programs, fellowships, collaborative research, and conferences. A quick Google or LinkedIn search might show just how closely linked you are to someone who seemed like a stranger at first.
So, what do you do when you're handling an internal funding opportunity at your institution and run into conflicts of interest (COI)? Whether it's an unexpected connection with an external sponsoring organization or a friendly bond with an assigned reviewer, these biases can sometimes throw a wrench in the competition management process.
Communication With Administrators
Offer both applicants and reviewers the chance to share private information that only the admins handling the opportunity will see. Applicants can mention any potential reviewers with a conflict of interest for their proposals, like mentors or former supervisors. Likewise, reviewers can inform you of any possible bias when reviewing a proposal and even suggest they be removed from the review process if needed. By providing clear instructions and expectations, you can reduce confusion and make things easier for yourself in the long run.
On the InfoReady platform, administrators can easily turn on the "Comments to the Administrator" text box in both application and review forms. This handy feature lets you communicate clearly and privately, keeping your opportunity running smoothly.
Acknowledgement Statements
Administrators can gently remind applicants and reviewers about important policies and procedures by including acknowledgment statements. Before submitting their application or review, users simply need to confirm they've read and agree to the text in the statement (like COI or terms & conditions). Hyperlinks in the text can easily guide them to specific university guidelines and policies or the full terms and conditions of the opportunity.
In InfoReady, users can simply tick a box, or multiple boxes, to show their agreement. By making this checkbox required, users won't be able to move forward without it.
BONUS: It's also a fantastic opportunity to kick off the reviewer recruitment process for the next award cycle by requesting or requiring applicants to become reviewers if they win the competition.
With InfoReady, administrators have many easy ways to gather conflict of interest details (or other info) right from the start, helping them save precious time while juggling lots of applications in the same opportunity or competition.
While handling conflicts of interest during funding opportunities can feel a bit overwhelming, administrators can tackle many of these issues right from the start by simply asking applicants and reviewers for the necessary information and including acknowledgment statements. These handy features of InfoReady make the process smooth, fair, and transparent for everyone involved.
