Engaging in Outside Activities

When a covered individual intends to initiate an outside activity and/or interest in an outside entity, the arrangement should be administered under a private agreement between the covered individual and the entity. JHU (Johns Hopkins University) and the Johns Hopkins Health System (JHHS) are not parties to, and therefore do not review and/or sign, private agreements. 

All outside activities and/or interests administered under private agreements must adhere to the JHU, SOM (School of Medicine) and JHM (Johns Hopkins Medicine) policies and practices. Covered individuals are personally responsible for ensuring that private agreements and outside activities comply with JHU, SOM, and JHM policies. To protect your personal interests, it is recommended that you consult your own attorney or other professional advisor before signing private agreements. 

Examples of Outside Activities Requiring Disclosure 

• Consulting or Advisory Board. 
• Data safety monitoring board or data monitoring committee legal consulting or medical-legal activities. 
• Publishing, Editing, Authoring Speaking  
• Teaching Provision of investment advice (including for venture capital firms and similar entities) 
• Adjunct/Visiting faculty positions (including at U.S (United States) institutions)  
• Other outside activities related to your institutional responsibilities. 

Specifically Prohibited Outside Activities  

• Full time School of Medicine faculty and salaried part-time School of Medicine faculty may not conduct Research outside of JHU. 
• This includes engaging in activities that will result in qualification as an author on the entity’s research publications in accordance with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) standards. Click here to review a flow chart that will help determine whether the services you intend to provide to an outside entity are appropriate to be administered under a private agreement or an institutional research agreement. 
• Outside Activities are prohibited if they involve the use of the University’s proprietary information or intellectual property without a license to such University intellectual property that is executed by Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures.  
• Covered Individuals who are full-time employed by JHU may not provide patient care at a facility or practice other than a Johns Hopkins facility or practice unless the patient care services are the subject of a contract between Johns Hopkins and the outside facility, practice, or sponsoring or funding entity.   
• Outside Activities that compromise the basic scholarly independence and Freedom of action central to university life is prohibited (including Outside Activities restricting a faculty member’s ability to conduct University Research or other academic activity). 
• Outside Activities that prevent full-time staff or faculty from fulfilling their primary responsibilities to the University are prohibited.  
• Outside Activities that involve the non-incidental use of university resources are prohibited. Non-incidental use of university resources includes but is not limited to: (i) extensive use of university electronic mail for Outside Activity purposes; (ii) any use of university laboratory space or equipment for Outside Activity purposes, and (iii) any use of university administrative services for Outside Activity purposes.  
• Covered Individuals are prohibited from providing expert witness service in litigation and other contested matters where JHU, JHHS, or a constituent entity is averse to the party who proposes to engage the Covered Individual as an expert witness.  

The JHU Rider  

You may wish to consider appending the JHU Rider to your agreement. The Rider, if entered into a private agreement without modification or editing by you or the entity to which you plan to provide the outside service, will cause your private agreement to follow applicable policies.  

Prior to signing any private agreement and/or providing outside services, you must disclose the proposed arrangement for review in eDisclose. This disclosure requirement is applicable regardless of whether you use the Rider. 

Covered Individuals are not allowed to direct their personal consulting income to any University account, including a university research or discretionary account. Direction of compensation for Outside Activity to a University account is prohibited.  

JHU Rider: download application.

FAQ:  

• Who should I contact if I anticipate authorship on the entity’s research publications? 
• We recommend reaching out to ORA (Office of Research Administration) for guidance. Click here for ORAs (Office of Research Administration) contact information.
• Is disclosure required if I use the JHU Rider? Yes, disclosure is still required regardless of whether you utilize the JHU Rider 
• Can remunerations from my services to an entity be directed to JHU or JHHS? No. Remuneration received from your personal arrangements must be directly received by you  
• I plan to serve as an author on a manuscript for a third-party research project. My contribution is limited to just reviewing the paper and providing feedback.
• Is that allowed? No. Authorship on research publications is considered a research activity by the University. Furthermore, authorship should be based on specific criteria as outlined by the ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors). If your contribution to the manuscript is strictly to review and provided feedback, you may be acknowledged as a consultant in the paper and not listed as an author. If your proposed contribution meets the ICMJE criteria for authorship, you should reach out to the Office of Research Administration to initiate an institutional agreement.