Emerging Issues in the Management of Conflict of Interest

The management of conflicts of interest (COIs) arising from relationships between researchers, policymakers and organisations with vested interests continues to generate international debate, including in the period of COVID-19 pandemic. In many cases, researchers have drawn attention to lack of transparency in some declarations of conflicts, and there have been several examples of government research or public health agencies having to navigate difficult COI issues (e.g., Public Health England; NHS Health Scotland; the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; the World Health Organization, etc.).

Provisional programme: •Background/Introduction (5 mins): Chair (Matej Košir) »Why are COIs a current issue in the period of (post) COVID-19?« Recent issues & examples (matej@institut-utrip.si) •Emerging Issues 1 and 2: authors/presenters (TBC) (each 7-8 mins) •Panel Discussion: 15 mins with all speakers and questions from the floor. •Presentation of ICARA Guidelines on Management of Relationships with Organizations with Vested Interests (15 mins): Prof Niamh Fitzgerald (niamh.fitzgerald@stir.ac.uk). •Scenario-Based Roundtable Interactive or Group discussion (20 mins) •Round Up of Discussion (10 mins)

Structure of the structured session: This workshop will (1) introduce emerging issues in conflict of interests and their governance for the addiction field in the (post) COVID-19 period; (2) examine three proposed principles for management of conflicts of interest; and (3) discuss realistic and thought-provoking scenarios that raise questions around management of conflicts of interest.

At ICARA, we are in the process of identifying and inviting engaging and high-profile speakers to make brief presentations on emerging issues relating to the alcohol, cannabis and/or gambling industry, and industry involvement in policy evaluation. We are also exploring links with the Governance, Ethics, and Conflicts of Interest in Public Health (GECI-PH) Network and some other international organisations with a view to shared promotion and facilitation of this session.