M-Inform: Submit Information for a Research Initiated Certification

Overview

Upon reviewing your outside interest disclosure, the COI office may request additional information in the form of a Research Initiated Certification (RC) to help determine if a potential conflict of interest exists. This procedure outlines how to submit your responses to the COI Office via M-Inform after receiving an email notification of a Research Initiated Certification.

Navigation

The RC can be accessed via:

  • The Research Initiated Certification link in the email notification, OR
  • M-Inform Discloser Dashboard > Action Required tab

Step-by-Step Process

  1. Click the Link to M-Inform in the email.
    Notes 
  • The email Subject is ACTION REQUIRED: COI Office Needs Additional Information.
  • You may need to enter your UMICH Login ID and password. 

OR

  1. If you are already logged into M-Inform, click the Name of the Research Initiated Certification under the Action Required tab on your Discloser Dashboard.
  2. Read the instructions and click Continue.

The questions you see in the RC will vary based the type of information required to determine if there is a potential conflict of interest for the situation as reported in your outside interest disclosure. The potential conflict situation is created by the combination of the external entity, your activity with that external entity, and your sponsored research conducted at or through the University of Michigan. In general, the additional information may be about:

  • People’s roles and work on a project (e.g., you as the U-M Investigator, the outside entity, students/trainees, or junior faculty)
  • Details concerning the research project(s) involved, including specifics about intellectual property, small business innovation research (SBIR), small business technology transfer (STTR), or human subjects research

The following steps depict an example of the questions to demonstrate the system functionality. Not all possible questions on the RC are shown.

  1. Enter or select your answers to all Additional Information questions.
    Note Some 'Yes' answers may display additional questions.
  2. Click the answer the question, "Are you ready to submit your responses to the COI office?"
    Note If you select “Yes” and click Save or Finish, the system automatically submits your responses for review. If you wish to save the information you have entered and submit it at another time, select “No” and click Save.

The Research Certification workspace will display.

Last Updated: 
Tuesday, April 5, 2022