Responsibility for handling different types of agreements for research or activities related to the conduct of research is distributed across several USD administrative offices. This matrix is intended to help clarify which office has primary responsibility for negotiating and executing such agreements. The primary office may consult with other offices as appropriate.
Contact the Office of Sponsored Programs for the current contract template.
Should any of the below contracts or agreements include international travel or the exchange of goods, services, data, or funding outside of the U.S. For additional guidance, see the Export Controls and Export Controls Guidelines on the Research Compliance webpage.
| Type of Agreement | Notes | Work Flow | Contracting Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confidentiality, Non-Disclosure or Secrecy Agreements | An agreement to protect one party's proprietary information when it is shared with a second party. Examples: 1) a company sharing confidential information to explore the possibility of research collaboration with USD; and 2) USD sharing information about an invention with a potential licensee prior to patent protection or establishing a license agreement | General Counsel | 10+ business days ahead of deadline |
| Consortium Agreement | An agreement between two or more Universities or businesses joining together to complete a project, work together to perform a contract or conduct research. | OSP with General Counsel preparation and review. Associate Provost final signatory. | 20+ business days ahead of deadline |
| Cooperative Agreements | Cooperative Agreements are financial assistance awards typically issued by governmental and no-profit sponsors when they anticipate that their programmatic personnel will have substantial involvement project activities and oversight. Some industry sponsors may call their contract a Cooperative Research Agreement, but this does not change the nature of their contract. | OSP with General Counsel preparation and review. Associate Provost final signatory. | 20+ business days ahead of deadline |
| Grant | Grants are financial assistance awards (including fellowship awards made to USD to support an individual of group of individuals) typically issued by governmental and non-profit sponsors. | OSP, Associate Provost final signatory. | 15+ business days ahead of deadline |
| Independent Contractor Agreement | An agreement entered into between USD and an individual that transfers a substantive portion of a scope of work and associated funding under a prime award to the individual. | OSP with General Counsel, Tax & Compliance and Risk Management preparation and review. Associate Provost final signatory. | 20+ business days ahead of deadline |
| License/Option Agreements | A contract that conveys certain use rights related to OSP intellectual property (e.g., patents copyrights or biological materials) to another entity, usually a for-profit company. An option Agreement transfers these rights for a limited period of time. | General Counsel | 10+ business days ahead of deadline |
| Material Use / Data Use Transfer Agreements | A Material Transfer/Data Use Agreement is a contract entered into by a provider and a recipient of research material/data that protects the intellectual and other property rights of the provider while permitting research with the material/data to proceed. | OSP and General Counsel. Associate Provost final signatory. | 20+ business days ahead of deadline |
| Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) | A written document describing the roles and responsibilities of two (or more) parties on a particular venture. An MOU is less formal than a contract, but is often signed by the parties involved to indicate their agreement to the principals contained in the MOU. | OSP with General Counsel preparation and review. Associate Provost final signatory. | 20+ business days ahead of deadline |
| Research Contracts/ Agreements | Research Agreements contain detailed terms governing the performance, funding and reporting of a research project. They may be awarded in response to a sponsor-solicited or unsolicited proposal. They may be issued by governmental, for-profit/industry and non-profit/foundation sponsors. | OSP with General Counsel preparation and review. Associate Provost final signatory. | 20+ business days ahead of deadline |
| Service Agreements | A contract for USD's performance of routine testing or standardized procedures based on a protocol developed by the requestor, where the outcomes are not likely to result in the addition of new knowledge or publishable information, and where any data collected is to be delivered without significant interpretive analysis. Generally, Service Agreements do not contain commitments regarding intellectual property. | OSP with General Counsel preparation and review. Associate Provost final signatory. | 20+ business days ahead of deadline |
| Subawards/ Subcontracts (Incoming & Outgoing) | An agreement between two entities that transfers a substantive portion of a scope of work and associated funding under a prime award to another institution or organization | OSP with General Counsel preparation and review. Associate Provost final signatory. | 20+ business days ahead of deadline |