4 ms·
Ask HN: is this ethical?
A program director of a funding agency joins a start-up formed to commercialize the research he has funded until very recently.
I am certain this is unethical. The real questions is, how common is this?
- lachyg 16y agoSorry, could you provide a little bit more detail?
- 4-2011 16y agoI don't want to identify the company or the agency...
- trevelyan 16y agoIt is only unethical if there is a conflict of interest. Not enough details to in your write-up to identify one.
- 4-2011 16y agoThe person controls government money and now reaps the benefits, conflict? Judging by your answer, this isn't considered unethical, so it must be common.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- Yana_Convelife 16y agoIt depends on what government money he controls. In California, I don't think this would be very common as it may violate some conflict of interest regulations depending on when he left the agency, when he joined/formed the start-up, and some other facts. I suspect similar regulations apply to federal agencies.