Minneapolis VA Health Care System Research Service
Travel and Leave for Professional Activities
How do I handle travel and leave for professional activities?
VA investigators are expected to present the results of their research at scientific conferences, and are often asked to serve as grant reviewers for NIH, DOD, or other Federal agencies. While conference participation and/or service on grant review panels is encouraged, there are several considerations you should keep in mind.
Leave Status
When participating in scientific conferences or other academic or professional meetings, the appropriate leave status is largely dependent upon which institution is paying for the travel. If travel is paid by the VA or by CVRE, you remain on an official VA duty status and thus should not enter any leave for this event. If the travel is paid for by the university or private industry, VA investigators should use Administrative Leave (LN in VATAS, also known as "Authorized Absence"). VA investigators should also use administrative leave when serving on a study section panel for a non-VA federal entity such as NIH or DOD.
Official duty status means that you are "on the clock" and officially representing yourself as a VA employee, conducting activities that are approved by and overseen by the VA.
While on official duty status, you can:
- Talk about your VA research
- State that your research is supported by VA
- Travel for this event, provided travel is arranged through and approved by VA Travel Office (see below)
However, while on official duty status, you cannot:
- Use university or industry funds to pay for travel
- Accept any honorarium or other payment for your participation
- Travel outside of the United States on your personal passport - an official VA passport must be used
Administrative leave means you are away from the VA without being charged for leave. Administrative leave requests are approved by your supervisor. No higher level approval is required. (For those with supervisory responsibility, approving an administrative leave request means that in your judgement, allowing the employee to be away from VA is advatageous to the organization.)
While on administrative leave, you can:
- Talk about your VA research (provided prior permission is obtained from your supervisor)
- State that your research is supported by VA
- Travel any distance from your VA facility
However, while on administrative leave, you cannot:
- Officially represent the VA or conduct activities on behalf of the VA
- State or imply that you are participating as a VA employee: You must instead state that you are participating in your capacity as University faculty or as a private citizen
- Use VA or CVRE funds to pay for travel
- Accept any honorarium or other payment for your participation
- Travel outside of the United States on your personal passport - an official VA passport must be used
Annual leave is your vacation time. You can participate in professional activities while on annual leave, but as with administrative leave, you cannot state or imply that you are representing the VA in any capacity. In most cases, use of annual leave rather than administrative leave is not recommended and may not be appropriate. Investigators should first request administrative leave, and use annual leave only if the supervisor disapproves the administrative leave request.
While on annual leave, you can:
- Talk about your VA research
- State that your research is supported by VA
- Travel any distance from your VA facility
- Accept an honorarium or other payment for your participation, provided you have consulted with OGC Ethics Specialty Team
- Travel outside of the United States on your personal passport
However, while on annual leave, you cannot:
- Officially represent the VA or conduct activities on behalf of the VA
- State or imply that you are participating as a VA employee: You must instead state that you are participating in your capacity as University faculty or as a private citizen
- Use VA or CVRE funds to pay for travel
For more details, refer to ORD Guidance: Must VA researchers take annual leave to participate on NIH Study Sections?
Travel Status
The process for obtaining travel approval for professional activities such as conferences or study section is dependent upon where funds for the travel originate. You should note that international travel requires additional forms, should be initiated at least 90 days prior to the intended travel date, and in most cases requires to you obtain and use an official VA passport rather than using your own personal passport. Contact the VA Travel Office for international travel forms and guidance.
If traveling on VA funds, you must arrange all travel through the VA Travel Office. All approvals for travel must be in place before the travel occurs.
Traveling using non-VA funds is considered "donated travel". If on official VA duty status, donated travel requires approval through the VA Travel Office. If on an approved leave status, no interaction with the VA Travel Office is needed. In most cases, you are recommended or required to consult with OGC Ethics Specialty Team prior to accepting donated travel funds. The specific requirements differ depending on which entity is paying for the travel.
- If travel is paid by CVRE: You must remain on VA duty status. Travel must be arranged through the VA Travel Office. You must complete VA Form 0893 and receive approval from OGC Ethics Specialty Team before travel will be authorized.
- If travel is paid by the university: You cannot remain on VA duty status and should instead be on leave (see above). Travel should be arranged through the university travel office. Approval from OGC Ethics Specialty Team is not required.
- If travel is paid by industry: You cannot remain on VA duty status and should instead be on leave (see above). Travel arrangements can be made by you or by the company providing the funds. You should consult with OGC Ethics Specialty Team before accepting travel funds or any honorarium. Remember that you cannot accept an honorarium unless you are on annual leave.
For more details, refer to the VA Travel Algorithm.
Additional Questions?
The information here is based on the most recent guidance from VA Office of Research & Development, the OGC Ethics Specialty Team, and the VA Travel Office. You should use this information as a guide but be aware that travel and leave requirements are subject to change. When in doubt, you are highly encouraged to consult with VA Travel (vhaminemployeetravel@va.gov) or the OGC Ethics Specialty Team (ogcmidwestethics@va.gov) well in advance of any planned travel.
