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Seriousness of conflict is a question of degree. It involves a spectrum of

directness and significance of the conflict. Several factors may need to be weighed in

assessing the seriousness like:

i. The type of conflict (financial/ non-financial)

ii. The extent to which the conflict of interest could affect the proceedings.
iii. Whether the conflict will realistically impair the disclosing person’s capacity to

impartially participate in decision-making etc.

Conflict among Board/ Committee Members

If a conflict of interest is identified among TP/RRC, TAC or Board, the

Secretariat will share it with the chair of the respective committee, withholding the

name of the member having a potential conflict. The Chair will then call for

Board/TAC members to discuss and decide upon whether the member with COI:

 May continue to participate fully in the meeting
 May participate in the discussion but not in the final decision making.

 May be transferred to another position.

 Be requested to not participate in the meeting at all.

The approval of any of the above action may require the agreement of at least a

majority in the Board/ TAC who are present at the meeting (excluding any conflicted

member/s).

Conflict among Board/ Committee Members

If any potential conflict is identified among the Resource Hubs/ Technical
Partners the TAC will take a decision, on case to case basis, respectively as to how to

handle the conflict such as re-assigning tasks or duties to another hub or technical

partner or any other potential mitigating option, such as withholding the person with

COI from getting involved in the study.
Notes:

 While, deciding which approach to take during the mitigation of conflict, the Chair

and/ or members of the committee(s) will consider whether the conflict needs to

be managed or simply documented depending upon its seriousness. The

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