Tip Sheet Volume 4:7

New Agreements For Interacting with Third Parties — Sponsored Projects, Material Transfer, and Confidentiality

A series of standard documents are now available at www.ospa.iastate.edu. These documents are intended to facilitate interactions with third parties and include a non-disclosure agreement, two material transfer agreements, and a sponsored project agreement. These documents are in PDF format and can be shared with all potential partners. In addition, a statement of the principles and guidelines that govern ISU’s interactions with third parties is included.

Types of Standard Documents

Non-disclosure Agreement. The Non-disclosure Agreement is also referred to as a Confidentiality Agreement. This document is intended for mutual exchange of confidential information. However, the document can be easily edited if the information exchange is one way.

Material Transfer Agreements. There are currently two standard agreements for use in transferring biological material to or from a third party. A standard document for transferring non-biological material is under development.

Material Transfer Agreement—Simple Version. This agreement is recommended for transferring biological materials to or from other universities or not-for-profit research institutions.

Material Transfer Agreement—Extended Version. This agreement is recommended when transferring biological materials to or from a company. This agreement is generally more acceptable to companies than the simple version because of the extended definitions, ownership, and use of materials sections.

Sponsored Project Agreement. The Sponsored Project Agreement is intended to replace a variety of agreements including Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Contract Research Agreement, and Sponsored Research Agreement. Please remember that a Goldsheet will need to be processed prior to OSPA signing a Sponsored Project Agreement.

Using the Standard Documents

The intent of the standard documents is to facilitate interactions with third parties and hopefully decrease the amount of time spent negotiating. Faculty and staff are encouraged to share these documents with interested third parties. These can be shared by emailing the appropriate Web link to the third party.

All questions regarding the terms of the agreements should be directed to the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration (OSPA), grants@iastate.edu, 515-294-5225. OSPA will provide an editable version at the request of the third party, prepare signature documents and obtain the appropriate signatures when the negotiations are complete.

Contact Information: These documents were developed by Ken Kirkland and Nita Lovejoy, ISU Research Foundation & Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer; Thane Peterson, Office of Sponsored Programs Administration; and Lisa Lorenzen, Office of the Vice Provost for Research & Office of Biotechnology. Questions may be directed to any of these individuals.