- Excessive Time on Personal Consulting: Spending more than the Permitted Time on personal consulting with a company or other organizations can detract from fulfilling Institutional Responsibilities.
- Uncompensated Advisory Roles: Accepting a volunteer position on a company’s Scientific Advisory Board and having access to and/or divulging confidential information to/from the company, when the company is sponsoring the faculty member's research.
- Misuse of Institute Resources: Using MIT’s office or laboratory space and administrative support for personal consulting work can divert resources intended for Institute-related activities.
- Negative Impact on Instructional and Mentoring Duties: Engaging graduate students, other researchers, or subordinates in personal consulting projects. While graduate students may be interested in the work performed on the consulting project, their involvement mainly serves the faculty member’s personal and financial interests rather than the students' educational goals. The student’s ability to publish may also be limited or restricted due to intellectual property restrictions and confidentiality provisions included in most OPA consulting agreements.
- Lack of Separation Between Institutional and OPA Work: OPA deliverables depend on institutional resources or intellectual property, without proper institutional permissions.
Updated August 2025