The Conflict of Commitment policy (COC) is designed to complement, not replace, MIT’s Policies and Procedures, Financial Conflicts of Interest in Research (FCOI) policy, MIT’s Employment Policy Manual or other policies. The primary goal of this policy is to define and clarify expectations for MIT officers, faculty, student employees and staff to ensure that their outside activities align with MIT’s mission, obligations to research sponsors and responsibilities to the public.
Although closely related to the FCOI policy overseen by the Vice President for Research, the Conflict of Commitment policy is jointly overseen by both the Vice President for Research and the Provost for research related matters and Human Resources for staff related matters. This collaborative oversight helps ensure thorough identification, review, and management of potential conflicts.
Updated August 2025