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Tip Sheet Volume 1:8
Research Funding: Gift, Contract,
or Service?
Research funding comes in several
different formats. Each format results in different expectations
from the industry funding it. Three of the most common funding
formats are described below.
Gift
A gift provided to the university
to support research is the least contractually binding arrangement.
Gifts may be provided as unrestricted research for a principal
investigator, center, department, or college, or may be provided
to support an area of research, such as maize molecular biology.
This type of funding is often provided for research that
will benefit the industry as a whole, but has no strategic advantage
for an individual company. Gifts come with no strings attached,
meaning the company has no control over the funding other than
it will be applied toward research in the specified area. There
are usually no time lines or expected deliverables involved with
research gifts and no expectation of intellectual property resulting
from the research. Industry benefits from these gifts through
public relations and tax benefits.
Contract
The most common type of industry
research funding is a contract. Contracts go by many other names,
including sponsored research agreement, memorandum of understanding,
etc. These agreements contain a specific work plan, budget, and
time line. While the research is guided by the work plan, specific
action steps and protocols are left to the discretion of the
principal investigator. Industry benefits from these contracts
through access to intellectual expertise in this area, access
to potential employees (students), and research results that
will potentially form the background knowledge for a strategic
advantage for the company.
Fee for Service
Usually refers to testing or
analysis. Fee-for-service agreements go by many names, including
seed testing agreement, product evaluation agreement, or those
mentioned above under Contracts. Examples include work done at
ISU's centralized instrumentation facilities such as protein
characterization or DNA sequencing. Alternately, a faculty member
may have developed an analysis procedure or a testing system
that is made available to industry, such as testing animal health
products at the College of Veterinary Medicine. These agreements
often are accompanied with a work plan that includes specific
protocols and procedures. Intellectual property does not often
result from this type of contract. Industry benefits from these
agreements through access to analyses or services they cannot
provide in-house, independent (unbiased) research results
on potential commercial products, and/or access to individuals
with expertise in the service area.
Reminder: All research
funding must be approved by the contracts and grants office.
If you have any questions
about research funding or would like assistance in preparing
or reviewing an agreement, please contact:
Lisa Lorenzen
Biotechnology Industrial Liaison
1210 Molecular Biology Building
Phone: (515) 294-0926
Email: llorenze@iastate.edu
Acknowledgement: A special thanks to Valrey Kettner
for her assistance in preparing this Tip Sheet.
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