The Political Reform Act of the State of California established in 1974 and UC implementing policies require that the principal investigator of a project to be funded by a non-governmental agency (generally a non-profit or a for-profit sponsor) must submit a disclosure - whether negative or positive - at the time of proposal submission. This disclosure should be made through ORCOI "Statement of Economic Interests for Principal Investigators" transactional questionnaire. This will generate the required 700-U form, which is accepted by the FPPC as an electronic signature.
The disclosure on Form 700-U is required to be completed by all principal investigators at the time of proposal submission to a non-governmental agency in connection with research gifts, research projects, material transfer agreements, tissue transfer agreements, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards (or contracts), and so forth. Principal Investigators must disclose on behalf of themselves, their spouses, their registered domestic partners, and dependent children.
A positive disclosure signals the existence of a potential conflict of interest, a situation in which financial or other personal considerations may bias, or have the appearance of biasing, an investigator's professional judgment in conducting or reporting research funded by the non-governmental agency.
Disclosures are not required for certain non-profit research sponsors that have been approved by the University of California and the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) for exemption. The exempt sponsors are found on the "List of Non-Governmental Entities Exempt From Disclosure Requirement."