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July 24, 2009
New eCOI system enables electronic reporting

eCOI, a new electronic system for reporting external activities and financial interests, has been developed by the Office of Research Administration and the Office of Information Technology, Research and Health Sciences IT division.  The eCOI system will enable electronic reporting of compensated external activities (consulting agreements, scientific advisory boards, expert witness services, etc.) and financial interests related to research.
 
Over the next few months, the Emory Conflict of Interest Office in conjunction with the IT development team will be introducing the Financial Interest in Research reporting system and the External Agreements Reporting System to individual departments throughout the University. Hands-on training will be available to departments and schools to ensure that this transition from paper to eCOI runs smoothly.

This is a phased rollout, and the team is currently working with several departments to begin introducing the system to users.  The Conflict of Interest Office will contact department directors or administrators over the summer to schedule rollout for faculty.  
 
According to David Wynes, vice president of research administration, the goal is to have the entire University research enterprise using the system for financial interests related to research by the beginning of October.  
 
The system will also allow faculty to file their annual certifications, ensuring that their external activities and financial interests in research reports are accurate and up to date.  During the campuswide rollout, the team will work with each school to address its unique needs in order to report external activities and to implement the annual certification process.