Collaborative Agreement
GuidanceÌý
This document provides guidance for ¶®É«µÛ faculty, staff, and administrators on when and how to initiate a Collaborative Agreement for research and sponsored programs. Collaborative Agreements define the roles, responsibilities, and compliance obligations of ¶®É«µÛ and external partners when engaging in research collaborations.
When to Use the Agreement
A Collaborative Agreement must be initiated when:
- ¶®É«µÛ and one or more external institutions or organizations will jointly perform research or project activities under a grant or sponsored program.
- The collaboration involves a mutual exchange of research materials, data, or expertise, but does not take the form of a subcontract or subaward.
- The collaboration is generally unfunded or involves non-financial exchanges, such as shared data, samples, or personnel effort.
Initiating a Collaborative Agreement
This process ensures that all Collaborative Agreements at ¶®É«µÛ are compliant with federal regulations, sponsor requirements, and institutional policies, while protecting the interests of ¶®É«µÛ and its collaborators.
Timeline: Please allow 10 business days for drafting/review. Complex negotiations or agreements involving IRB/IACUC approvals may require additional time.
- Faculty/PI determines that an external partnership requires a Collaborative Agreement.
- Confirm the activity is not more appropriately covered by another agreement type (e.g., Subaward, MTA, DUA, CDA).
- A Scope of Work (SOW) will be completed by the PI and routed to OSPAR and Legal for review.
Email grants@nyit.edu with:
- Name project title and sponsor (if applicable).
- Identify the Collaborating institution/organization name and contact.
- Submit SOW.
- Provide OSPAR with a draft agreement if one was issued by the collaborator.
- OSPAR reviews the SOW and determines if a Collaborative Agreement is appropriate.
- OSPAR coordinates with the Office of General Counsel to prepare or review the agreement.
- Legal review and negotiation occur between ¶®É«µÛ and the collaborator’s legal/administrative office.
- Key issues: scope, data ownership/confidentiality, IP rights, publication, and compliance.
- Faculty/staff are NOT authorized to sign on behalf of ¶®É«µÛ.
- Final agreements must be signed by ¶®É«µÛ’s authorized institutional officials.
- Collaboration may begin only after full execution.
Key Contacts
- Office of Sponsored Programs and Research (OSPAR): grants@nyit.edu
- Office of General Counsel: ogc@nyit.edu