Guidance for reduced faculty appointment to pursue outside opportunities

Duke University supports faculty pursuits of opportunities outside of the University environment that allow faculty to further their research or scholarly interests, enable translation of the results of their research for the public good, or otherwise contribute to their academic unit and society. These outside opportunities serve the purpose of increasing the contribution to their profession and to the University, through enabling the faculty to gain invaluable experiences that can be brought back to Duke and build productive relationships outside of the University community.

When a faculty member chooses to pursue an opportunity outside of the University and is engaged in sponsored research activities at Duke, it is important that the opportunity be structured appropriately so that the faculty member’s and Duke’s obligations to sponsoring agencies can be fulfilled. Using the guidance provided below, departmental and institutional research leadership can advise on the most appropriate path to fulfilling obligations to external sponsors and supporting the faculty member’s desired level of engagement in their active research portfolio.

Principles

• Enable faculty to pursue opportunities outside of the University environment, such as with industry partners, in ways that further the research and educational missions of the University and build productive relationships, while ensuring the faculty member’s and Duke’s obligations to research sponsors can be fulfilled.
• Identify an appropriate path to support the faculty member’s desired level of engagement in their active Duke research portfolio while ensuring the time and effort committed is sufficient to complete research tasks while ensuring sponsors have a clear understanding of a faculty member’s efforts.
• Ensure clear and timely notification of collaborators, trainees, administrative support when external relationships, available effort, or other changes occur to enable appropriate disclosure and project or portfolio management.
• Support adherence to University policies, particularly those addressing Intellectual Property, Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment.

Purpose

The Duke University Faculty Handbook * describes several mechanisms by which members of the faculty may be granted leave from the university or otherwise modify their work schedules to pursue opportunities outside of Duke, beyond what is provided for in the consulting/outside activities policy in the Faculty Handbook.  

The following guidance provides considerations and expectations for those members of the faculty engaged in sponsored research activities who choose to pursue an opportunity where Duke is not a party to the outside activity/opportunity (e.g., an Intergovernmental Personnel Act [IPA], another form of secondment, or a sub-award agreement).  

Rationale

As an applicant organization, Duke University assumes responsibility for the administrative management of a research project, including the accurate tracking and reporting of effort expended on sponsored projects and the appropriate disclosure of a faculty member’s outside activities. Sponsors have increased their scrutiny of outside activities, investigator engagement, and appropriateness of the environment in which research activities take place. When a faculty member modifies their Duke work schedule in order to engage in a professional activity outside of Duke, Duke is responsible for assessing the impact of the outside activity on the faculty member’s Duke research activities. 

General guidance

The Faculty Handbook sets forth different types of modified work schedules and academic leaves of absence and the criteria associated with each.  The process for requesting a leave of absence or modified work schedule, and its impact on the faculty member’s commitment to the University, is outside the scope of this guidance and faculty members are encouraged to contact their appropriate unit leader (which includes their department chair, center/institute director, or, if applicable, the dean of the school) for further information on those processes.  This guidance also does not address circumstances or criteria related to non-academic leaves of absence, such as short-term medical or parental leave. 

Prior to requesting a modified work schedule or leave of absence, faculty members with sponsored research funding are encouraged to consult the appropriate unit leader and/or research leader for their organizational unit, if applicable, (e.g., Vice/Associate Dean for Research, divisional dean, department chair, etc.), and their grants administrator to discuss the potential impact of a modified work schedule or leave on their Duke research portfolio. If a faculty member is unsure as to the appropriate department official to consult, they should seek guidance from their department chair. These conversations should consider: 

• Characteristics of active and ongoing research activities, such as external sponsors, committed effort, and project role.  
• The faculty member’s desired level of continued participation in active and ongoing research activities. 
• Requirements of the sponsor regarding committed effort. 
• Appropriate mentorship of any trainees.
• Appropriate supervision of research personnel/activities, and oversight of the research that may continue at Duke. 
• The faculty member’s desire to continue administrative roles, or otherwise maintain access to Duke resources. 
• Nature of the outside activity, such as the type of outside entity, and role and responsibilities that will be undertaken by the faculty member. Based on the nature of the outside activity, there may be non-effort related considerations as discussed below.
• Duration of the outside activity. 

Department officials and faculty members (in coordination with their Grant Manager) may also consult with institutional officials as appropriate, including individuals from the Office of Research Support or Office of Research Administration (as applicable, “central grants administration offices”), and the Duke Office of Scientific Integrity - Conflict of Interest (DOSI-COI).  Additional review and considerations may exist, depending on the nature of the outside activity, as discussed below. 

Various leave options and modified work schedules

The appropriate unit leader and/or research leader has primary responsibility for assessing a faculty member’s research portfolio and potential outside activity and making a recommendation for the most appropriate modified work schedule or leave option that will allow Duke to meet its obligations to external sponsors and enable the faculty member to sustain their desired level of engagement in their active research portfolio*. 

The following considerations should be taken into account by appropriate unit leader in making a recommendation modified work schedules or leave options: 

For modified work schedules:

In Chapter 4 of the Faculty Handbook each department and/or school is charged with defining a full-time workload. Under a reduced work schedule, a faculty member seeks to reduce their Duke work schedule while retaining an agreed-upon amount of effort (which can be represented by person-months or percentages) that may be allocated to sponsored research at Duke. 

Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA):  The Faculty Handbook policy outlines the requirements for flexible work arrangements, in which Duke University faculty members may retain an agreed-upon amount of effort (person-months) that may be allocated to sponsored research at Duke for a specified period of time. 

For faculty leaves:

Academic leaves of absence without pay: Under a full leave of absence without pay, the faculty member has no responsibilities or engagement with university activities for a set period of time. Therefore, faculty members on an unpaid academic leave of absence are not permitted to remain engaged in sponsored research since their University effort is reduced to zero effort (zero-person months). 

Sabbatical Leave/other academic leaves: Per the Faculty Handbook, a sabbatical leave or other paid academic absences (such as a junior faculty leave) is taken for a set length of time (i.e. six or twelve months/academic semester or full academic year) in which the faculty member will receive either full or half pay. Therefore, a faculty member may have time available to allocate to sponsored research projects or the available time may be reduced. 

Research portfolio management considerations

If a faculty member wishes to remain engaged in sponsored research at Duke, up to and including remaining Principal Investigator of federally funded research, while utilizing any of the above options, central grants administration offices must determine that the faculty member will have sufficient time and resources to carry out proposed activities and such activities are allowed under the existing research award(s). 

If the faculty member chooses to reduce their effort or disengage from their sponsored research activities at Duke while on leave or modified work schedule, their grant manager must coordinate with the appropriate central grants administration office to obtain sponsor prior approvals, which may include seeking a reduction in effort, removal from an active award, or naming a new Principal Investigator. 

Additional considerations

The above considerations address research portfolio management and effort considerations for faculty seeking to reduce their effort at Duke to pursue an outside activity. In addition to these considerations, faculty members should be aware of non-effort related considerations that may impact their research while on a modified work schedule or leave. These include:

Intellectual Property: 

Faculty members should ensure that any Intellectual Property is assigned to the proper entity. This includes adhering to Duke University’s policies on intellectual property, which state that the rights to intellectual property developed while acting as an employee of the University or using University resources must be assigned to the University.

Trainees/mentored individuals: 

Faculty members must ensure that trainees under a faculty member’s direct supervision are appropriately advised of the faculty member’s outside professional activity and provisions are made to ensure they remain well-mentored and are maintaining progress towards publication and/or graduation. If any non-faculty member of the Duke community will be engaged in the faculty members' outside activity, these relationships must adhere to the Guidelines for Faculty/Non-Faculty Outside Relationships. 

Notifying Collaborators: 

Faculty members must ensure that any current or proposed research collaborators, within and outside Duke, are adequately notified of the outside activity.

Financial Conflict of Interest/Conflict of Commitment: 

If the faculty member is pursuing professional interests outside of Duke, the outside activity must be assessed by DOSI to determine whether the outside activity presents a potential or actual financial conflict of interest or conflict of commitment.  If the faculty member is seeking to engage with an outside entity while on a modified work schedule, the outside entity must verify that any expectation of time commitment to that outside entity is less than full time and acknowledge the faculty member’s continued commitment to Duke research activities. Additional information available here.

Additional resources

• Managing Payroll
• Proposal, JIT, and RPPR Disclosure Statements
• Effort Adjustments

*

Leaves of a non-academic nature, as described in the Faculty Handbook (Ch. 4.), are not subject to the following guidance as the leaves would not be sought in order to pursue an outside opportunity. Faculty members who are seeking leave, such as short-term parental or medical leave, must do so in accordance with the Faculty Handbook and other University/School policies.