VCU Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) Blog

The VCU HRPP is dedicated to facilitating ethically and scientifically sound research through robust review of research projects and through effective education and outreach to the VCU research community.

As a reminder, the Financial Interest Report (FIR) annual update opens on Monday, May 10th.

All COI investigators with active research studies at VCU must complete their annual update on or after May 10th. The annual update must be completed regardless of whether they have recently updated their FIR prior to May 10th or if they have no changes to make. All individuals with a FIR in the AIRS will get an email on May 10th.  The Annual Update can be completed only after the email is received.

Protocol approvals and award dispersals will not progress until the annual update has been completed.  In addition, proposals due for submission after May 10th will need an updated FIR by the PI and ‘COI investigators.’ 

If a researcher at VCU is no longer involved in research or believes this reporting no longer applies to them, please direct them to email AIRS@vcu.edu to request inactivation.

Basic Instructions for COI Investigators:

To complete the annual update of your FIR, access the Activity and Interest Reporting System (RAMS-AIRS). RAMS systems currently do not require logging into RamsVPN – use of the VPN is optional at this time.

  1. Click on “Financial Interest Report” for [your name].
    • If you last completed COI training 3 or more years ago, you will first be directed to a short training module after selecting either of the next two options.
  2. If you have no changes to make, click “Submit My Annual Disclosure Report” under “My Activities”.
  3. If you have changes to make, click “Edit Financial Interest Report” under “My Financial Interest Report Forms”. Update your FIR to reflect the last 12 months of financial interests by clicking the Add, Update, or Delete buttons.
    • You may delete interests from your FIR if the dates are older than 12 months from the date on which you are updating.
    • When your update is complete, check the box to affirm agreement AND click “Finish”.
  4. Check that the Current State indicated on your FIR workspace is Active before exiting the AIRS.
    • If it is not, click “Submit My Annual Disclosure Report” under “My Activities”.

For a visual version of the instructions, see the Annual FIR Update Video.

The Annual Updates cannot be done until the AIRS opens on 5/10 for the Annual Update.

For non-technical help or to request inactivation, email AIRS@vcu.edu.

For technical help with the AIRS, contact erahelp@vcu.edu.

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