CALS Research Division

Outside Activities Reports

Each spring semester, UW-Madison faculty and academic staff report outside activities and financial interests related to their field(s) of professional work at the UW-Madison to comply with federal, state, and University policy. Faculty and staff must submit reports even if the report only indicates no outside activities. The report deadline, set by State law, is April 30 annually.

Colleges, schools, divisions, departments, and units share responsibility for obtaining reports from all faculty and staff who are required to submit them and for reviewing reports. Deans, department chairs or center directors completing reviews may contact individuals to resolve any completeness issues with reports. They may also address conflict of interest or conflict of commitment issues with individuals. The target date for completion of reviews of Outside Activities Reports is May 31 annually.

A faculty-comprised, university-wide Conflict of Interest Committee reviews outside activities reports of faculty and academic staff and works to eliminate, minimize, or manage any actual or potential conflicts of interest identified by the reporting process.

Faculty and academic staff are responsible for updating their reports anytime there is a relevant change in their outside activities (e.g. new relationships with outside organizations or increased compensation for an on-going activity).

Campus Faculty and staff use a web form to report. You must have a NetID and password to login and create the report.

A more detailed description of the disclosure process with instructions for faculty and staff as well as for administrators is available on the Graduate School's web site. This site also provides a list of contact people who can answer questions concerning disclosures and their review.

CRIS Reports

The Current Research Information System (CRIS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's documentation and reporting system for ongoing and recently completed research and extension projects in agriculture, food and nutrition, and forestry. The Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station’s (WAES) CRIS projects report funding from a wide range of funding sources. Potential funding sources include, but are not limited to, Federal, Non-Federal, State, and unrestricted sources.

Since UW-Madison is a Land-Grant University and receives Federal Formula Grants, we are required to report all research funding, regardless of the funding source, using CRIS. All research projects in CALS must be inventoried under a CRIS number for reporting purposes.

CRIS projects are established by completing an AD416 report in CRIS. To reduce the amount of reporting for each PI, a general "state" (umbrella) project to inventory all 133, 233 and 144 accounts is established. A state project is established when an individual in CALS is listed as the PI on a fund 133, 233, or 144 project, an individual CRIS report is not required, and no state project exists for the PI. If a new CRIS project is required, Casey Hillmer will facilitate the initial setup and then contact the PI with instructions on how to complete the AD416 information in CRIS. If a state project exists for a PI, all new 133, 233, and 144 projects that do not require an individual CRIS report are inventoried under the existing state project. Individual CRIS project reports are required for all Formula Grant projects (fund 142), selected fund 144 projects (NRI, Special, Other, and SERD grants) and each state project.

To find the title of a CRIS project and a list of UW projects inventoried under that project, contact Casey Hillmer (clhillmer@cals.wisc.edu). If you feel that the title is too specific to accurately represent the contained projects, please contact Casey Hillmer (clhillmer@cals.wisc.eduy) to discuss an alternative title.

After a CRIS project is set up using report AD416, annual reports are required. Annual CRIS reports (AD421) are due on February 1 of each year. Formula Grants are an important part of CALS and failure to file timely CRIS reports puts our continued receipt of these funds at risk. PIs will be notified when CRIS reports are due and given instructions to complete the report. Please make every effort to complete the reports quickly and accurately. If you need assistance, please see the CRIS Forms Assistance Website or contact Casey Hillmer, clhillmer@cals.wisc.edu.

Effort Reporting

To certify effort, login to ECRT here.

This page covers the requirements for effort reporting, including:

• Who certifies effort
• Why effort must be certified
• When effort is certified
• Training requirements
• Consequences for incomplete training or certifications
• Important links and resources

Who certifies effort

Effort must be certified for individuals who have either:

• Been paid from a sponsored project
• Committed effort to a sponsored project

Effort commitments can be found in the proposal or award documents. For more information about determining and managing effort commitments please see the Effort Commitments page.

Faculty and staff certify their own effort and may also be responsible for certifying the effort of research staff. University guidelines require that:

• All faculty and staff certify their own effort
• PIs certify there own effort, regardless of position
• PIs certify for all grad students, post-docs, and non-PI classified staff

Research staff often work on multiple awards and are paid from more than one source. There are several solutions to properly certifying effort in these cases, and your department effort coordinator can help you determine the best way to do so.

Why effort must be certified

Effort certification is a federal requirement, and is separately required by many funding agencies. Likewise, it enables faculty and staff to accurately determine effort when preparing proposals.

When effort is certified

Effort is either certified twice a year (faculty, academic staff, grad students, post docs and other) or four times a year (classified staff). Please see the RSP Effort Certification Calendar for exact dates. If you are required to certify for yourself or your research staff, you will be notified via email.

Training Requirements

All certifiers are also required to complete training so that they understand the effort lifecycle and how to use ECRT, the UW effort certification program. Training sessions are offered by RSP. You have the option to complete training online at any time or to attend scheduled in-person trainings. Please see the RSP Training for Effort Certifiers page for links to online modules and registration for in-person sessions.

Consequences for incomplete training or certifications

UW policy leaders have finalized consequences for individuals who have not completed effort training or have outstanding certifications for themselves or their research staff. The ramifications, which revolve around refusal by RSP to submit proposals, execute agreements, or establish accounts for awards, will be enforced beginning in August 2008. For a complete list of responsibilities of certifiers and consequences, see Consequences for Failing to Complete Effort Training and Certify Effort.

ECRT login

Important links and resources

• UW Guidelines for Effort Reporting, 2008
• UW-Madison Effort Policy
• List of UW-Madison Effort Coordinators by department
• CALS Research Divison Effort Commitments page
• CALS Research Divison Effort Policies page
• RSP Effort Page
• Graduate School Certification Status Tool
• Graduate School Training Completion Tool

Occupational Health Program

The UW Occupational Health Program promotes health and wellness for all UW Madison personnel and works to reduce injuries and illnesses in the workplace. In addition to general safety and ergonomics information, the OHP website provides resources for animal users including:

• Safety Information
  • Animal contact risk questionnaire
  • Species specific zoonosis information
  • Animal handler guides
• Guidance on completing the Occupational Health section of animal protocol forms.
• On line training including:
  • Animal User Safety Training
  • Animal User Safety Training (En español)
  • Animal User Refresher Safety Training for Personnel with Animal Contact
  • Blood Borne Pathogens Safety Training
  • Liquid Nitrogen Safety Training
• Classroom training for Personnel with Animal Contact.

Responsible Conduct of Research

Every so often new stories appear regarding research misconduct. Most of the situations that hit the press involve blatant violations - falsification of data or images or plagiarism. It is unusual that researchers at the UW are involved in this type of misconduct, but what about the smaller things; purchasing something on grant funds that is not allowed, cleaning data a little more than you should? Ethical standards are central to ensuring the quality and integrity of research. The following is taken from the web based course "Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research", which can be found on the website of the U.S. DHHS Office of Research Integrity.

There is no one best way to undertake research, no universal method that applies to all scientific investigations. Accepted practices for the responsible conduct of research can and do vary from discipline to discipline and even laboratory to laboratory. There are, however, some important shared values for the responsible conduct of research that bind all researchers together, including honesty, accuracy, efficiency, and objectivity. There are no excuses for compromising these values. Their central role in research is the responsibility of each and every researcher.

Unclassified Staff Code of Ethics

The Unclassifed Staff Code of Ethics is a section of the Wisconsin State Statutes [Chapter UWS 8 – University of Wisconsin System statutes] that addresses research compliance issues. The statute is easy to read and not excessively long. Some particular area to emphasize are:

• UWS 8.01(1) Declaration of policy

  (1) Every member of the unclassified staff at the time of appointment makes a personal commitment to professional honesty and integrity, to seek knowledge and to share that knowledge freely with others. Such a commitment is essential for the university to perform its proper function in our society and to ensure continued confidence of the people of this state in the university of Wisconsin system and its personnel. It is a violation of this commitment for unclassified staff members to seek financial gain for themselves, their immediate families or organizations with which they are associated through activities that conflict with the interests of the university of Wisconsin system.



• UWS 8.025(1) Outside activities and interest

  (1) OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES. Members of the unclassified staff are free to engage in outside activities, whether or not such activities are remunerative or related to staff members' fields of academic interest or specialization. However, no member of the unclassified staff may engage in an outside activity if it conflicts with his or her public responsibilities to the university of Wisconsin system or the institution at which the unclassified staff member is employed.



• UWS 8.025(3) Outside activities and interest

  (3) INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES. The unclassified staff members of each institution, with the approval of the chancellor, shall develop policies and procedures which shall, at a minimum, provide:
  

  • (a) Standards concerning the use of university facilities and personnel in connection with outside activities;
  
  
  • (b) Standards concerning absence from regular duties for the purpose of engaging in outside activities;
  
  
  • (c) Guidelines identifying types or categories of outside activities which may result in a material conflict of interest; and
  
  
  • (d) For such reports of anticipated outside activities as are necessary to insure compliance with s. UWS 8.04



• UWS 8.03 Standards of conduct

  (1) Personal Gain from University Position.

  • (a) No member of the unclassified staff may, in a manner contrary to the interests of the university of Wisconsin system, use or attempt to use his or her public position or state property, including property leased by the state, to gain or attempt to gain anything of substantial value for the private benefit of the staff member, his or her immediate family or any organization with which the staff member is associated.
  
  
  • (b) No member of the unclassified staff may solicit or accept from any person or organization anything of value pursuant to an express or implied understanding that his or her conduct of university business would be influenced thereby.
  
  
  • (c) No member of the unclassified staff may intentionally use or disclose confidential university information in any way that could result in the receipt of anything of value for himself or herself, for his or her immediate family or for any other person or organization with which the staff member is associated.

Helpful Links

• NIH requires instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research for recipients of NRSA training grants. Links to a variety of ethics resources can be found on the NIH website.
• On-line training is available through CITI. If the course does not appear when you log in, click the Update Groups button to select it.
• RSP website page on Research Ethics.
• Graduate School links on Conducting Research Responsibly
• CALS ethics policy - a mechanism for students or other researchers to report suspected incidences of scientific misconduct on the part of anyone including professors.
• The U.S. DHHS Office of Research Integrity website provides a great deal of information on research misconduct and ethics.
• The Council of Graduate Schools has a Responsible Conduct of Research Initiative and produces a publication entitled "Graduate Education for the Responsible Conduct of Research".

You may also find other areas in the compliance section of our website helpful.