Contact to Contract Steps
Contact to Contract
It is not unusual to encounter obstacles and delays on the road from initial contact with a company to a signed contract. The menu items on the right are provided to help you minimize the delays and overcome the obstacles. Links to the UGA offices that are available to assist are included as well. Prior to getting started, be sure to consult with the appropriate leadership in your school or college, such as your department head, associate dean for research, or business manager, to ensure you are following established procedures. Links to the UGA offices that are available to assist are included in the content below.
COMPANY OUTREACH AND INQUIRIES
Before making initial contact with a company or responding to a company inquiry:
- Consult with the appropriate leadership in your school or college, such as your department head, associate dean for research, or business manager, to ensure you are following established procedures.
- Conduct due diligence research on company and representative
- Identify areas of alignment between your research program and the company’s core business
- If a collaboration makes sense from your perspective, move forward. If not, consider other faculty colleagues who might be a better fit. The Office of Business Engagement – Staff List is available to assist if you have questions.
TAP INTO UIDP RESOURCES
UGA is a member of the University Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP), a solutions-oriented organization where academic and industry members collaborate to develop new approaches to working together. The UIDP web site contains abundant resources that you will find helpful as you develop collaborations with industry partners.
- The Insights for Researchers Learning Path is a great place to start.
- Many UIDP resources are available only to members. To gain member access, use your UGA email address and register here.
- All UIDP resources are copyright protected and should be treated accordingly.
THE INITIAL CONVERSATION
Before the conversation
- Consult with the appropriate leadership in your school or college, such as your department head, associate dean for research, or business manager, to ensure you are following established procedures.
- Contact Innovation Gateway to determine if a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) should be completed before you have the conversation.
- Determine if a collaboration might benefit by involving other UGA colleagues in the conversation. Consult your Department Head and consider faculty and administrators from other departments, colleges, units, etc.
- Develop an outline to refer to during the conversation. This list of questions may help you understand the company’s partnership priorities and interests.
During the conversation
- It is best to keep the initial conversation simple and avoid getting too technical. This 2-minute UIDP (University Industry Demonstration Partnership) video demonstrates the pitfalls you want to avoid.
- Focus as much of the discussion as possible on understanding the needs, interests, and motivations of the company. This information will help you determine alignment between your expertise and interests and the company’s needs.
- Do not attempt to estimate project costs at this time. If the company asks, politely and firmly state that UGA’s standard procedure is to develop a Statement of Work prior to discussing costs.
- Try to establish clear action items for both parties prior to ending the meeting and share these action items in your follow-up correspondence with the company contact. This will help demonstrate your commitment, professionalism, and interest in collaboration.
- If the company requests a campus visit, this UIDP resource will help you manage expectations and maximize the outcomes.
Following the conversation
If there is mutual interest in collaboration:
- Consult with the appropriate leadership in your school or college, such as your department head, associate dean for research, or business manager, to ensure you are familiar with your unit’s proposal review and approval process as you move forward with the following steps.
- Be familiar with your college/school’s proposal review and approval process as you move forward with the following steps.
- Use this decision tree and collaborate with the appropriate UGA points of contact (listed in the decision tree document) to determine if the activity will be Corporate Philanthropy, Sales & Service, or a Sponsored Project.
- If the activity will be Corporate Philanthropy, contact the Office of Business Engagement – Staff List and your unit’s Development Officer and/or Industry Liaison. This document will help to generate and clarify your ideas for a proposal for a corporate donation.
- If the activity will be Sales & Service, contact your unit’s Chief Business Officer.
STATEMENT OF WORK
If UGA has determined the activity will be a Sponsored Project:
- Consult with the appropriate leadership in your school or college, such as your department head, associate dean for research, or business manager, to ensure you are following established procedures.
- Work with the company representative to draft a preliminary Statement of Work (SOW)
- Consult this UIDP publication for tips on preparing your SOW and visit this page for a SOW template
- If a Materials Transfer Agreement will be needed, contact Innovation Gateway for assistance
- When SOW draft is complete, forward it to Industry Contracting for review
BUDGET PROPOSAL
If UGA has determined the activity will be a Sponsored Project:
- Consult with the appropriate leadership in your school or college, such as your department head, associate dean for research, or business manager, to ensure you are following established procedures.
- Contact Industry Contracting to assist with development and approval of an INTERNAL budget proposal. It is not necessary or advisable to share this level of detail with the company (unless they request it).
- This Sample Budget Template was created to help you estimate Direct and Indirect Costs (IDC). The IDC rate is based on project type, location of project activity, and funding source (visit this page for additional information on IDC Rates).
- Based on the Sample Budget Template, Industry Contracting will help you develop a “fully burdened” budget – with IDC built into each line item – which can be presented to company representatives along with the Statement of Work.
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
Consult with the appropriate leadership in your school or college, such as your department head, associate dean for research, or business manager, and work with industry contracting to negotiate the contract terms.
- Review the Industry Collaboration Pathways web page and become familiar with various agreement types (e.g., basic or applied research, proprietary testing, clinical trials) and related IP, project data, and publishing terms.
- Industry Contracting will finalize the appropriate agreement type and collaborate with you and the company to negotiate terms.
- Discuss project deliverables, timeline, and reporting procedures with SPA and your company representative.
- As the agreement is being negotiated, you may wish to identify project managers & primary points of contact for UGA & the company.
FINALIZE THE AGREEMENT
Finalizing the agreement may take a few weeks or longer. Industry Contracting will work with you to:
- Facilitate development and negotiation of the agreement
- Engage Innovation Gateway to review intellectual property (IP), data ownership, and publication terms
- Enlist legal counsel, when necessary, as negotiations proceed
- Engage compliance offices when appropriate
- Execute the agreement
FACILITATE YOUR PROJECT
Congratulations! You’ve reached a major milestone and it’s worth taking the time to celebrate while SPA sets up the project and related financial accounts. When that is completed:
- Contact your college’s HR Liaison to help recruit project staff, research assistants, etc.
- Work with your college’s or unit’s business manager to ensure all financial aspects of the project are managed appropriately.
- Oversee the project to ensure it remains on track and on time.
- Complete all deliverables and report results as promised and on schedule.
- As delays and/or issues arise (with deliverables, subcontractors, etc.), do not hesitate to seek help through Industry Contracting.
- Consistent communication with the company and your collaborators will help establish a strong relationship, ensure success, and open doors to future projects.
- As you learn more about the company’s interests, consider other avenues for collaboration with UGA, including additional faculty and departments that may add depth and breadth to the relationship.
PROMOTE YOUR PARTNERSHIP (AS APPROPRIATE)
Research collaborations with industry often involve proprietary information. Be familiar with the confidentiality and publicity provisions in your agreement. Discuss the project with your company representative and unit communications director to determine if it is appropriate and desirable to promote the collaboration. If so:
- Contact your unit communications director for assistance.
- Confirm both UGA and Company approval processes and note that neither the company nor the university may use the other’s name or marks in publicity without prior written approval.
- Avenues for promotion include:
- Media releases
- Social media posts
- Celebrations and photo opportunities on campus and/or at company site
This UIDP publication contains helpful tips and suggestions: Communicating Research Collaborations Quick Guide
