This Conflict of Interest Policy (“Policy”) has been implemented by Xcimer Energy, Inc. (“Company”) in accordance with the Interim Conflict of Interest Policy for Financial Assistance issued by the United States Department of Energy (“DOE”).
The purpose of this Policy is to identify any possible financial conflicts of interest through reporting requirements for employees working on DOE funded projects who meet the definition of “Investigator” in Section 3 below.
A financial conflict of interest arises whenever an Investigator or the Investigator’s spouse or dependent children has a significant financial interest or financial relationship that could directly and significantly affect the design, conduct, reporting, or funding of a DOE funded project.
This Policy is applicable to all current employees who meet the definition of “Investigator” in Section 3 below and are planning to participate in, or are participating in, a project funded under a DOE financial assistance award.
A DOE funded project has a defined start and end point with objectives described in an application or in an approved scope of the award. For DOE awards that include recipient cost share as part of the approved budget, activities funded with recipient cost share are included in the scope of this Policy.
a. “Investigator” means the principal Investigator (“PI”) and any other person, regardless of title or position, who is responsible for the purpose, design, conduct, or reporting of a project funded by the DOE or proposed for funding by the DOE.
i. Some DOE awards may expand this definition to also include any person who participates in the purpose, design, conduct, or reporting of a project funded by the DOE or proposed for funding by the DOE.
b. “Reimbursed or Sponsored Travel” means travel that is paid on behalf of the Investigator and not reimbursed to the Investigator so that the exact monetary value may not be readily available.
Reimbursed or Sponsored Travel does not include the following:
i. travel that is reimbursed or sponsored by a Federal, state, or local government agency of the United States;
ii. travel that is reimbursed or sponsored by a domestic institution of higher education; and
iii. travel that is reimbursed or sponsored by a domestic research institute that is affiliated with a domestic institution of higher education.
c. “Significant Financial Interest” means a financial interest consisting of one or more of the following interests of the Investigator, and those of the Investigator’s spouse and dependent children, in any entity (other than the Company or the U.S. Government) involved or related to the DOE funded project:
i. a combination of remuneration received from a publicly traded entity in the last twelve months and/or any equity interest in the publicly traded entity that exceeds $5,000;
ii. remuneration1 received from a non-publicly traded entity in the last twelve months that exceeds $5,000 and/or any equity2 interest in the non-publicly traded company; and
iii. income related to intellectual property rights and interests (e.g., patents, copyrights).
Significant Financial Interest does not include the following:
i. income from investment vehicles, such as:
• mutual funds and retirement accounts, as long as the Investigator does not directly control the investment decisions made in these vehicles;
• certificates of deposit;
• savings or checking accounts;
• money market accounts;
• U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and bonds;
• real property; and
• transactions by and between the Investigator, their spouse or dependent child.
ii. income from seminars, lectures, or teaching engagements sponsored by a Federal, state, or local government agency of the United States, a domestic institution of higher education, or a domestic research institute that is affiliated with a domestic institution of higher education; and
iii. income from service on advisory committees or review panels for a Federal, state, or local government agency of the United States, a domestic institution of higher education, or a domestic research institute that is affiliated with a domestic institution of higher education.
Each employee who meets the definition of “Investigator” in Section 3 above must:
a. be trained on this Policy in the following circumstances:
i. prior to engaging in research related to any DOE funded project;
ii. every four years;
iii. when this Policy changes in a manner that affects the requirements; and
iv. whenever an employee is found to be noncompliant with this Policy.
b. report any Significant Financial Interest and Reimbursed or Sponsored Travel prior to participating in a DOE awarded project and update such information through the duration of the project.
i. To report:
• Fill out the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement.
• If there are no reportable Significant Financial Interests or Reimbursed or Sponsored Travel, check “None” in the corresponding sections of the table and acknowledge compliance with the Policy by signing the certification.
• Once complete, submit the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement via email to the Legal Department at contracts@xcimer.net.
• Update the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement:
o within thirty (30) days of discovering or acquiring a Significant Financial Interest or incurring Reimbursed or Sponsored Travel; and
o annually, even if no changes occur.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statements will be reviewed within 60 days of submission.
1 Remuneration includes salary and any payment for services not otherwise identified as salary (e.g., consulting fees, honoraria, paid authorship).
2 Equity interest includes any stock, stock option, or other ownership interest, as determined through reference to public prices or other reasonable measures of fair market value.