Faculty Responsibilities for Consulting Activity

1. When considering an outside activity, the faculty member should first make an initial judgment on whether that activity falls into Category I, II, or III (see link below for examples of each category). Department heads or senior colleagues should be consulted in making that judgment.
2. If the activity falls into Category I then no application for approval is required. If there is any doubt then Category II should be assumed.
3. For each Category II activity, the faculty member should fill out Form 13010A (Application for Permission to Engage in an External Activity and/or Disclosure of External Activities) and submit the form to the department head for approval, then to the college dean for approval. In many cases, the 13010A is all that will be required. Form 13010A replaces the long-standing consulting approval request form.
4. There will be some situations in which the potential for perceived conflict is sufficiently great to warrant a more detailed record of the circumstances. Some specific situations are listed in Part 2 of Form 13010A. If the answer to any of the questions in Part 2 is ‘YES’ then form 13010B (Disclosure of Relationships with External Organizations) must also be completed (13010B is on the backside or page 2 of form 13010A). However, the department head or dean may request that form 13010B be completed irrespective of the responses given on form 13010A.
5. In addition to the department head and dean, Form 13010B must be approved by the Provost.
6. There will be cases where it is a prudent safeguard for both the faculty member and the university to establish mechanisms of oversight for the proposed activities. In such cases, the faculty member will be requested to prepare a Memorandum of Understanding in which he/she will propose a method of oversight and monitoring. This request may come from the department head, the dean or the provost. It is to be expected that the Memorandum of Understanding will be amended through iterative processes as it proceeds through the line of approval.

Form 13010A & B can be found here under External Activity Request: http://www.osp.vt.edu/forms/index.php

Examples and Links to policies governing Consulting Activity:

• Examples for Category I, II and III Activities
• Conflicts of Interest on the provost’s website
• Faculty Conflicts of Interest and Commitment Policy 13010
• Intellectual Property Policy 13000        
• Facilities Use Policy 5000            
• Faculty Handbook

Questions should be directed to the Office of Research & Graduate Studies in the College of Engineering.

Contact information:

Jack Lesko, Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Studies: Phone 231-7968 Email: jlesko@vt.edu

Barbara Crawford, Administrative Assistant: Phone 231-9171 Email: bcrawfrd@vt.edu