Develop AgreementIndustry's Process of Collaboration with the University of Maryland
Develop Agreement
Develop and Submit Agreement
All sponsored agreements need to be processed for approval through ORAA. Sponsored agreements are contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements that represent an exchange transaction, where the sponsor receives some form of consideration in return for the funding. In contracts, the University is required to provide goods or services in exchange for payment. Grants or cooperative agreements require the University to provide technical and/or financial reporting to the sponsor on the results of research or other sponsored activity.Types of Agreements
- GRANTS are financial assistance instruments that
provide the researcher with significant flexibility to determine spending
categories and research direction. Grants are usually made in support
of basic research, training, or workshop support, requiring technical
and financial reports rather than specifying definite services or product
deliverables. They typically come from a corporation, foundation or
other organization, not an individual, and are awarded in response to
a proposal submitted by the University. Unlike cooperative agreements,
grants do not require substantial programmatic involvement between the
parties. Federal grants are governed by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) Cost and Accounting Circulars and by each individual agency's
grants policy document.
A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT is an arrangement where both parties are involved in carrying out a portion of the research. Cooperative agreements generally stipulate the responsibilities of both parties. Federal cooperative agreements are governed by the same regulations as Federal grants.
In CONTRACTS, one party is buying a service or product from the other in exchange for payment. Contracts assume the production and delivery of a specific product that can be an instrument, device, or technical report. Consequently, contract requirements are more specific and less flexible than grants and agency personnel tend to maintain stricter oversight. Federal contracts are governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulations, as well as specific terms and conditions in each contract document.
Sample Industry Agreement
ORAA has created a sample agreement template for use when UM faculty and industry are ready to enter a sponsored research agreement.
This agreement can be downloaded from here.
- A Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is a contract that governs the transfer of tangible research materials between two organizations, when the recipient intends to use it for his or her own research purposes, and when no research collaboration between scientists is planned. The MTA defines the rights of the provider and the recipient with respect to the materials and any derivatives.
- Guidance to Model Transfer [.pdf]
Non-Disclosure
ORAA has developed two model agreements, approved by the University,
which are provided for researchers to use when collaborations with companies
or other sponsors involve the exchange or disclosure of proprietary information.
These agreements ensure that the proprietary information is clearly defined,
appropriately protected, and can be removed from the research results so
that results may be freely published. More information and the agreements
can be accessed here.
