Establishing Agreements for Industry Funding

You’ve found a partner and defined a project and now you are ready to move forward! MILO discuss the next steps with you and will negotiate the agreement on behalf of the university.

Process for Establishing an Agreement with an Industry Partner

1. Researcher/industry partner requires the preparation of a research agreement and contacts the appropriate Research Contracts Advisor at MILO and provides:
   • Project description
   • Timelines
   • Deliverables
   • Resource and facilities requirements
   • Details regarding graduate student involvement
   • Intention of applying for matching funds
   • Budget (including the appropriate indirect cost rate)
2. The Research Contracts Advisor works with the researcher and discusses the project and the appropriate terms, including intellectual property and publication, for the agreement.
3. The Research Contracts Advisor negotiates the agreement with the industry partner.
4. In parallel, the researcher seeks the required internal approvals via the project approval form by circulating the form and proposal to the signatories states on the form.
5. When the terms of the agreement are agreed on by the parties and the approvals are in place, the Research Contracts Advisor circulates the agreement for signature.
6. Finalized agreement and approvals are entered into Mosaic by the Research contracts Coordinator to initiate the opening of a research account.
7. Research Finance or the Faculty of Health Sciences Research Finance Office is notified via Mosaic that the account is ready to be established and begin the activation process.

When applying for leveraged funding, that application can be completed either in parallel with, before or after the agreement is in place. Your Research Contracts Advisor can inform you of the recommended timelines for your project.

A similar process is followed for establishing material transfer and confidentiality agreements; however, the project approval form is not required. When transferring materials other approvals may be required.

Types of Agreements and Typical Terms

McMaster enters in to many different types of agreements with sponsors of research projects and MILO has the authority to negotiate and sign these agreements. Depending on the nature of the research, different agreements are tailored to meet the needs of the parties. The most common terms that are addressed in sponsored research agreements include:

• Intellectual property
• Publication
• Confidentiality
• Liability and Insurance
• Termination
• Payment