Staying Out of Trouble

The official name is regulatory compliance, but a simpler explanation for it might be keeping you out of trouble. While none of us like hearing about what we’re required to do, we have to follow the laws and regulations, whether we’re working with military sponsors, avoiding conflicts of interest or carrying out research involving human subjects or animals.

NC State has a Web site that can help with many of your compliance needs. It serves as a clearinghouse with contact information for each regulatory compliance section.

Here are some examples of topics that compliance staff members can help you with.

Export Controls

• Conducting research for military sponsors
• Working with collaborators in other countries
• Shipping samples, materials or supplies out of the country

Conflict of Interest/Commitment

• Inventing intellectual property that is licensed to or from the university
• External consulting or work for another company
• Owning or having a stake in a company that does business with the university or sponsors research here

Environmental Hazards

• Accessing emergency procedures and security guidelines for laboratories
• Working with hazardous materials or equipment, including chemicals, gases, biohazards or radioactive materials.

Human Subjects

• Conducting surveys, observing or interviewing people for research
• Receiving data about people from a third party for research program
• Conducting research that involves new or existing data collected from people

Animal Subjects Use

• Planning to use live vertebrate animals in research and/or teaching

Misconduct/Ethics

• Mentoring other scholars or students
• Following the standards of professional conduct
• Defending scholarly activities with organized data