Policies & Conflict-of-Interest (COI) Safeguards

CSI’s policies and safeguards ensure that:

• Human participants are protected
• Ethical review remains independent
• Research decisions are not influenced by funding, advocacy, or publication goals
• Conflicts of interest are disclosed, managed, and mitigated
• Research complies with accepted ethical principles

All CSI research oversight is guided by:

• Respect for Persons – honoring autonomy and informed consent
• Beneficence – minimizing risk and maximizing potential benefit
• Justice – equitable selection and protection of participants

These principles are rooted in established human-subjects protection standards and ethical research practice.

CSI maintains clear structural separation between:

• CSI Research Programs
• CSI Institutional Review Board (IRB)
• CSI Publishing and Dissemination Activities
• Fundraising, Advocacy, and Program Operations

This separation ensures that no individual or department can influence ethical review decisions for research in which they have an interest.

A conflict of interest exists when professional judgment concerning participant protection or research integrity could be influenced by secondary interests, including financial, professional, personal, or organizational relationships.

COI Disclosure Requirements:

• All IRB members must submit annual COI disclosures
• Investigators must disclose real or perceived conflicts at the time of submission
• Disclosures must be updated if circumstances change

To preserve independence:

• IRB members may not review research in which they are involved
• Members must recuse themselves from discussion and voting when conflicts exist
• The IRB includes unaffiliated community members with no ties to CSI
• An independent IRB Chair oversees ethical decision-making

When CSI is:

• The sponsor
• The funder
• The research site
• The publisher
• Or otherwise affiliated with the research

CSI may:

• Assign external, unaffiliated reviewers
• Seek independent ethical consultation
• Use additional safeguards to avoid real or perceived bias

Ethical review is separate from publication decisions.

• IRB approval does not guarantee publication
• Publication does not influence IRB approval
• All published research must disclose the IRB of record
• Editorial staff do not participate in IRB decisions

• IRB fees are not tied to approval outcomes
• Payment of review fees does not guarantee approval
• Fee structures support administrative and ethical oversight functions only

CSI maintains secure records for:

• IRB submissions and determinations
• COI disclosures and recusals
• Meeting minutes and votes
• Approval and determination letters
• Continuing review and amendment history

Records are retained in accordance with ethical and regulatory standards.

CSI is committed to:

• Publishing clear policies and procedures
• Responding to ethical concerns or complaints
• Reviewing and updating policies regularly
• Maintaining public trust in research involving vulnerable populations

Concerns regarding conflicts of interest or ethical review may be submitted to the CSI IRB Administrator or IRB Chair.

IRB@combathelp.com