Objectives: To provide practical advice to Cochrane Review Groups (CRGs) to help them manage conflict of interest (COI) confidently, in line with the commercial sponsorship policy.

Description: In April 2014 Cochrane’s Commercial Sponsorship Policy was revised in keeping with our longstanding aim of providing independent healthcare information. In December 2015, two new funding arbiters were appointed to help support Cochrane teams implement the policy.

This workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to:
- meet the new funding arbiters and gain an understanding of their role and how to refer COI issues;
- refresh their knowledge of the 2014 policy changes and the resources available to help them implement the policy;
- work through practical COI examples to strengthen their knowledge of how to implement the policy;
- feedback on areas of the policy that might be clarified further for CRGs;
- bring examples of difficult cases that have been challenging to deal with, to ask for advice (registered participants are asked to indicate their cases to the funding arbiters before the workshop).

The practical component of the workshop will cover scenarios relating to:
1. author employment;
2. other financial support for authors from commercial sponsors or sources;
3. funding or conduct by commercial sponsors or sources;
4. author involvement in the conduct of included trials.

The workshop is aimed primarily at CRG staff, but is open to all.