As far as anti-nepotism rules go, I believe most places would require that the PI not participate in the decision of the hiring.  (Of course, this is artificial.)  Still, there could be some rule whereby the authority for the decision is administratively delegated and this act is recorded, preferably with a statement affirming the "expert in the field" argument.

Most traditional conflict of interest policies remain tied to "financial interest" of self or "family members".  Thus, if the PI had no conflict, then the wife must not have one either.

Charlie

At 12:20 PM 11/19/2004, you wrote:
>Good afternoon,
>I was wondering if any universities have conflict of interests policies
>that address the following type of scenario.
>
>A PI wants to hire his spouse to be a consultant on a grant that he
>received. The PI claims that his spouse is one of the experts in the field.
>
>Would your institution view this as a conflict of interest, and if so, how
>would you address this issue?
>
>Susan
>
>
>Susan Metosky, MPH
>Research Compliance Coordinator
>2035 Hughes Hall
>Old Dominion University
>Norfolk, VA 23529
>Telephone: 757-683-3686
>Fax: 757-683-5902
>xxxxxx@odu.edu
>
>
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