If you have received approval from a company or commodity group for sponsored research, our office will negotiate and execute the sponsored research agreement on behalf of ISU. OIPTT has developed template agreements to meet the needs of both ISU and the other parties. OIPTT prefers to use these agreements.
Our office handles sponsored research agreements with for-profit industry and commodity groups. OIPTT endeavors to negotiate research terms that permit publication of research results, appropriate ownership of intellectual property, and that do not conflict with obligations to third parties, ISU policy, or Iowa and US law, related to the research.
Sponsored Research and Specialty Agreements
A Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA) provides the terms and conditions for research funded by a company or commodity group and conducted by ISU principal investigators. An SRA provides the framework for intellectual property, public disclosure, funding, timeframes, and scope of work for a research project.
When do I need to request an SRA? Once you have agreed to a statement of work and budget with your counterpart in industry, or when you are prepared to respond to an industry or commodity funded RFP.
How do I request an SRA? Route a GoldSheet with the appropriate Statement of Work and budget for approval through the OSPA Pre-award team.
What should I expect after requesting an SRA? If you are responding to an RFP, it may be several months before you receive a notice that your proposal has been selected for funding. When that notice is received, forward that communication to industry-contracts@iastate.edu, and we will begin the negotiation process for this SRA. If your research project did not need to go through the RFP process, you can contact include a note on the GoldSheet that the project is ready for an SRA, and the appropriate Industry Contracts team member will begin the negotiation process for this SRA.
What are Specialty Agreements and when should those agreements be used? Specialty Agreements are the term used for any of the following: Consortia Membership, Field Trials, Technical Evaluations, Human Subjects Testing, and Animal Product Testing agreements. Specialty Agreements include specialized terms, and carry particular restrictions on their use. The Industry Contracts team has authority to determine if a Specialty Agreement or an SRA should be used for a sponsored project. A Specialty Agreement is limited for use in projects that fit the definition of a particular Specialty Project, including that the Principal Investigator does not anticipate developing patentable or copyrightable material from the project. Questions concerning the applicability of a Specialty Agreement to your project should be addressed with our office prior to discussion of a budget with the Industry Sponsor. Please contact industry-contracts@iastate.edu for assistance.