The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) continues to support academic freedom and the ability of researchers and scholars to communicate, exchange ideas and collaborate with the brightest minds around the world to advance knowledge and the application of that knowledge to benefit all nations. However, we also understand that we have an ethical obligation to protect U.S. research investments from malign foreign influence and to address and mitigate risks to the security of intellectual property and the integrity of peer review.
In compliance with all applicable federal regulations and guidance, as well as The Texas A&M University System's regulations and TEES rules and procedures, TEES researchers must provide their federal sponsors with accurate reporting of all sources of research support, financial interests and affiliations.
TEES uses a disclosure system hosted by Huron Research Suite which centralizes Foreign Collaboration disclosures, Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) and Conflict of Commitment disclosures, as well as Faculty Consulting/External Employment approval requests.
- Foreign Collaborations: Federal sponsors require notification regarding any funded research projects with a foreign sponsor or paid or unpaid foreign collaborations for publications. Ongoing foreign collaborations must be disclosed on the proposals. New collaborations can be disclosed in the next progress report (RPPR) submitted to the federal sponsor. Additionally, foreign collaborations must be in compliance with all export control regulations and TEES Rule 15.02.99.E1 and System Policy 15.02. Further, activities with Countries of Concern require Pre-Approval in accordance with TEES Rule 15.05.04.E1 and System Regulation 15.05.04.
- Financial Conflicts of Interest: Annual disclosures required under TEES Rule
15.01.03.E1 Financial Conflicts of Interest in Sponsored Research and TAMUS Regulation 15.01.03 Financial Conflicts of Interest in Sponsored Research were previously submitted in Maestro. Going forward, all new disclosures will be completed in Huron. This includes existing disclosures that need to be updated as they expire in Maestro, and any new disclosures of significant financial interests (FCOI). - External Employment: Approval requests required under TEES Rule 31.05.01.E1 Faculty Consulting and External Professional Employment and TAMUS Regulations 31.05.01 Faculty Consulting and/or External Professional Employment and 31.05.02 External Employment will no longer be submitted through a Laserfiche Form. Requests for consulting and external employment will now be submitted through the Huron Pre-Approval Request module and will route for approvals within Huron.
Here are some resources to assist researchers in submitting their required Huron disclosures:
- User Guide – Submitting a Huron Disclosure Profile
- User Guide – Submitting a Huron Pre-Approval Request
- Disclosure Table – Activities to be Disclosed
- Additional Huron Resources
- Huron COI Help Center
TEES Research Compliance also provides additional outreach and resources to assist researchers in meeting their disclosure obligations. Please contact coi@tees.tamus.edu for additional information.