Researcher offboarding procedures

Dependent largely upon sponsor regulations and award inclusions, there are several options for managing active awards when the principal investigator leaves the institution. If a co-investigator or other personnel on a project leaves the institution and wishes to remain engaged in the project, a subrecipient agreement will need to be issued. 

* Any change of PI, or change of institution, is subject to sponsor guidelines and approvals, and very often has an impact on the budget. PIs should not assume that their preferred plan of action will be accepted either by Duke or by the sponsor. 

Campus Schools/Provost Area agreements

Personnel from Campus Schools or the Provost Area should contact orsadminactionreq@duke.edu for assistance with any contracts or agreements that may need to be transferred. 

School of Medicine/School of Nursing agreements

Personnel from the Schools of Medicine and Nursing should contact:

• susan.hayden@duke.edu for assistance with data agreements that many need to be transferred
• curtis.bradney@duke.edu for assistance with samples/material agreements that many need to be transferred

For information on how to handle discretionary funds when leaving the institution see: 

• Faculty Discretionary Accounts Policy 

Researchers who are ending their employment must certify their effort before their termination date. For any questions about effort certification, they should consult their HR, Finance, or Grant Administrators.

Duke University personnel (faculty, staff) who have engaged in research overseen by the DUHS or Campus IRB, served as the project’s PI, and are planning to leave Duke should refer to this checklist before departing: 

• Offboarding checklist for studies with human subject research data 

* Please note: In order for this checklist to be used as intended, the researcher’s department, as well as other supporting units such as ORS/ORA and sub-units such as departmental IT, have to be properly oriented, structured and resourced to do their part in completing off-boarding processes.

Duke University personnel (faculty, staff) who have engaged in research that does not meet the definition of research with human subjects, or have served as the project’s PI/lead, and are planning to leave or disengage with Duke, should refer to this checklist before departing: 

• Offboarding checklist for studies not involving human subject research data 

For researchers within the School of Medicine, an individual's access to resources can be removed by OASIS Computing: 

• The department should fill out the request form for exiting employee IT offboarding  

For researchers within the Provost Area/Campus Schools: 

• Contact your local IT specialist to decommission computing access. Confer with your business manager and ORS for any agreements needed to maintain access to Duke data and computing resources. 

Duke University Health System IRB

Departing PIs with studies in the DUHS IRB have two options for each project:  

1. Close out completed studies (analysis and manuscript preparation must be complete). Access DUHS IRB closeout procedures; or:
2. Submit an amendment to change the PI to another faculty member prior to departure. Only a clinical research coordinator or regulatory coordinator listed on the protocol can make this change. If this PI is in another CRU, please refer to the CRU Change Policy Request in myRESEARCHpath. 

Departing researchers should also ensure they are removed as key personnel from other projects not listed as PI. To do so, contact the study’s regulatory coordinator and ask them to submit an Internal Request for Change in Key Personnel Form for each project.

Provost Area/Campus Schools IRB 

If the researcher plans to leave Duke while a project is ongoing, steps need to be taken to transfer the protocol to a new PI at Duke or approvals and agreements may be needed to transfer the project to a new institution. 

• Access Campus IRB closeout procedures.

Departing PIs with studies involving animals should follow IACUC procedures for either closing out or reassigning their protocols: 

• To close out the protocol, complete an Amendments (Non-Personnel; Changes in procedures, locations, animal numbers) and select the “Close Protocol” option.

• Contact the IBC at biosafety@duke.edu to initiate a transfer of the protocol to another PI, or to notify them that the protocol will be closed
• If an IBC protocol has a corresponding IACUC or IRB protocol, the respective IACUC or IRB closeout procedures should also be followed

• To transfer research materials to another institution, a Material Transfer Agreement will need to be in place. Access agreement guidance based on the researcher’s primary affiliation. 
• All samples, specimens, and cell lines need to be removed from the laboratory before the lab close-out is complete.
• If the researcher will not be transferring biological materials to another institution, they may transfer to another PI at Duke. 
• Permissible amounts of select toxins may only be transferred with approval from the Duke Responsible Official. Please reach out to OESO Biosafety at biosafety@duke.edu to discuss the transfer.
• If the researcher will not be taking biological materials with them, nor will another Duke PI be taking them, then the materials need to be disposed of. Please refer to SOP to determine the appropriate disinfectant and contact time. Reach out to OESO Biosafety at biosafety@duke.edu with any questions. 

For procedural guidance on closing out lab space (and any hazardous materials, X-ray producing equipment and/or lasers therein) follow the Occupational and Environmental Safety Office's Lab start-up, close-out, or relocation policies: 

• Read about the procedure for Laboratory Close-out and Relocations
• Fill out and submit the Notice of Laboratory Close/Relocation (Qualtrics Survey will open)
• Complete the Laboratory Equipment Statement of Hazard Assessment where applicable 

For additional information or help with these items, contact labsafety@duke.edu.  

Equipment Transfers 

For School of Medicine investigators, if equipment is being transferred, an itemized Equipment Transfer Request should be filled out at least one month before an investigator departs the institution. 

• School of Medicine Equipment Transfer Guidelines 

For Campus School/Provost Area researchers, if equipment is being transferred, the transfer must be approved by the Department Chair and cleared by plant accounting. 

Equipment Relinquishment 

If equipment is being relinquished, business managers should be notified, and equipment not disseminated to researchers in the PIs department will be processed through Surplus: 

• Surplus and Storage Programs 

Researchers, departmental business managers and local IT specialists should consult to determine what action needs to be taken with regards to computers and other electronic devices. Department or sponsor specific regulations may apply. 

If you hold a controlled substance research registration all stored controlled substances should be disposed and the DEA and NC-DHHS registrations should be closed. Both in accordance with the Guidelines for the Use and Management of Controlled Substances in Duke Research.

If a researcher is planning to leave Duke, they should contact the Office of Translation and Commercialization at least one month prior to departure, to discuss IP procedure and policy: 

• Contact OTC 

Researchers, in consult with their Grant Managers, should review the copyright terms of their grant contract along with the Duke Research Policies pertaining to copyright. 

To discuss issues of copyright for departing researchers: 

• Contact the Office of Copyright and Scholarly Communications
• Email scholarworks@duke.edu or copyright-questions@duke.edu with any questions