Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) Part 2: Training

Part 2 - FCOI Training Requirements

Since 1st January 2015, all investigators and study team members who are involved in the design, conduct or reporting of the research that is conducted under the oversight of NHG Health or its partner institutions are required to complete the Financial Conflicts of Interest (FCOI) course.

The FCOI course aims to educate investigators and study team members on how conflicting interests may adversely affect the protection of participants or the credibility of the human research protection programme.

FAQs

(1) What is the NHG Health CITI FCOI course?

The Financial Conflicts of Interest (FCOI) course is a sub-component of the CITI Program. It comprises of 2 core modules:
(1) NHG Health – Singapore. Overview of Domain Specific Review Board (DSRB) Review Process (ID: 810)
(2) Conflicts of Interest in Human Subjects Research (ID:17464)

It is important to affiliate with “National Healthcare Group – Singapore” so that you can access the FCOI Course.

Please refer to the List of Available Guides, Forms and Useful Links available for download at the end of this page.

(2) I have not obtained my CITI certification; do I need to complete the FCOI course/modules in addition to the basic set of CITI modules?

Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators who have not obtained their CITI certification as of 1st January 2015 will need to complete the full set of 10 core modules and 5 elective modules, as described in item 1.1 above. The 2 FCOI modules are encompassed within the 10 core modules in CITI. Therefore, there is no need to complete the FCOI course/modules separately.

It is not mandatory for Study Team Members to complete the full set of 10 core modules and 5 elective modules. They will only need to complete the 2 modules described in item 1.1.

Please refer to the List of Available Guides, Forms and Useful Links available for download at the end of this page.

(3) I have obtained my CITI certification; do I need to complete the FCOI course/modules?

Principal Investigators, Co-Investigators and Study Team Members who have obtained their CITI certification before 1st January 2015 will be considered to have completed the FCOI course if they had completed the 2 FCOI modules.

If they had not completed the modules, they can choose to complete the missing elective CITI module “Conflicts of Interest in Research Involving Human Subjects” or complete the FCOI course.

Please refer to the List of Available Guides, Forms and Useful Links available for download at the end of this page.

(4) Are there any alternative ways to complete the FCOI training?

Yes. If you have completed either of the following alternative methods, you will be considered as having completed the FCOI training:

Alternative method 1
(i) You have completed the CITI Conflicts of Interest Course* and
(ii) You have declared that you have read the latest FCOI Declaration Requirements in your FCOI Declaration Form.

*The CITI Conflicts of Interest Course contains the following modules:
(a) Financial Conflicts of Interest: Overview, Investigator Responsibilities, and COI Rules (COI-Basic) (ID: 15070)
(b) Institutional Responsibilities as They Affect Investigators (COI-Basic) (ID: 15072)

Alternative method 2
(i) You have completed the CITI Biomedical Basic Course which contains the Conflicts of Interest in Human Subjects Research (ID:17464) module and
(ii) You have declared that you have read the latest FCOI Declaration Requirements in your FCOI Declaration Form.

(5) How do I update my FCOI Training Status?

When you have completed the FCOI Course, you are encouraged to upload a copy of the completion report, which lists the modules that you have completed, onto your ECOS User Profile -> ‘Minimum Training Certificates' section. Please select the appropriate Training Certification i.e. 'FCOI CITI'.

Upon receipt and verification, the Minimum Training Secretariat will update your FCOI CITI Training Status in ECOS. Please allow some time for processing.

You can refer to the ECOS User Guide for Minimum Training Module here ↗ (opens in new tab).

Useful Links

• Download a step-by-step Guide to Completing the FCOI Course for Investigators here ↗ (opens in new tab).

• Download a step-by-step Guide to Completing the FCOI Course for Study Team Members here ↗ (opens in new tab).

Contact Information

For any enquiries, please contact the NHG Health Minimum Ethics Training Secretariat:
Email: nhggroup.min.ethics.training@nhghealth.com.sg ↗ (opens in new tab)
DID: 6471 3266
Office of Human Research Protection Programme (OHRPP)
NHG Health Group Research & Innovation

To contact your Institutions’ Minimum Training Secretariat (MTS) or NHG Health Research Course Admin (for HBR ERC), please refer to the following:

Updated: 17 Oct 2025