Business Engagement Toolkit for Faculty

Contact to Contract

Building strong industry partnerships is a journey, one that becomes far more rewarding when you have clarity, support, and the right tools at your fingertips. Contact to Contract is designed to help you move from initial conversations to meaningful collaboration with confidence. The resources in this toolkit highlight proven strategies to keep momentum strong, minimize delays, and navigate common challenges with ease. You’ll also find direct links to the UGA offices ready to assist you at every step. Before diving in, be sure to connect with the appropriate leaders in your school or college, such as your department head, associate dean for research, or business manager, so your efforts align with established procedures and set you up for success.

Contact to Contract Steps

1. Company Outreach and Inquiries

2. The Conversation

3. Statement of Work and Budget

4. Contract Negotiations

5. Facilitate Your Project

5. Tap Into UIDP Resources

1. COMPANY OUTREACH AND INQUIRIES
2. THE INITIAL CONVERSATION
3. STATEMENT OF WORK AND BUDGET
4. CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
5. FACILITATE YOUR PROJECT
6. TAP INTO UIDP RESOURCES

COMPANY OUTREACH AND INQUIRIES

Before connecting with a company for the first time, a little preparation can go a long way in setting the stage for a productive interaction. Consider the following steps as you get ready to engage:

Consult with the Office of Business Engagement. Each School and College at UGA has an assigned liaison who specializes in helping faculty members build productive partnerships with industry. Your liaison can give you insights and intelligence to help you determine the best path forward.
Learn about the company and its representatives. A bit of due diligence helps you enter the conversation informed, confident, and ready to explore opportunities. This resource can guide your research.
Identify areas of alignment. Reflect on how your research program connects with the company’s priorities, challenges, or long‑term goals. The best partnerships are mutually beneficial, and it is important for you to understand how your research goals can add value to the company’s mission.

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THE INITIAL CONVERSATION

Before the Conversation

Coordinate with your Business Engagement liaison.
They can help determine whether a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) is needed before you speak with the company and ensure the conversation aligns with UGA’s established processes.
Co-create a focused agenda.
Work with your liaison to outline a productive, well-structured meeting. This tips sheet for industry meetings can help you frame the conversation effectively.
Consider who else should be involved.
Some opportunities benefit from a broader UGA presence. Consult your Department Head and think about colleagues or administrators from other departments, colleges, or units who may strengthen the discussion.

During the Conversation

Keep it simple and accessible.
Avoid diving too quickly into technical details. This short UIDP video illustrates common pitfalls and why clarity matters in early conversations.
Center the company’s needs.
Spend most of the time listening and learning — their priorities, challenges, motivations, and longterm goals. This insight will help you assess alignment between your expertise and their interests.
Avoid discussing costs.
If asked, explain that UGA’s standard process is to develop a Statement of Work before estimating project costs. This ensures accuracy and protects both parties.
Close with clear next steps.
Before ending the meeting, identify action items for both sides. Reinforce these in your followup email to demonstrate professionalism, reliability, and genuine interest in collaboration.

Following the Conversation

Send a timely thank you email.
Recap key insights you heard, confirm any decisions made, and express appreciation for the company’s time and openness.
Document action items for both sides.
Clearly restate next steps, responsible parties, and any timelines discussed. This reinforces reliability and prevents misunderstandings.
Share relevant materials with your Business Engagement liaison.
Provide notes, meeting takeaways, and any documents the company shared so your liaison can advise on next steps and ensure alignment with UGA procedures.
Assess alignment and feasibility.
Reflect on what you learned about the company’s needs and whether a collaboration makes sense. If not, consider whether another UGA colleague might be a better fit.
Avoid sharing costs prematurely.
If the company requested budget information, notify your liaison so they can guide the development of a Statement of Work before any pricing is discussed.
Determine whether additional UGA partners should be involved.
Based on the conversation, consider whether colleagues, administrators, or other units should join future discussions.
Set up the next touchpoint.
If appropriate, propose a followup meeting, share requested materials, or begin drafting a highlevel concept or problem statement to keep momentum strong.

STATEMENT OF WORK AND BUDGET

It is important to work closely with your Business Engagement liaison to determine the best path forward for a sponsored project. This flow chart will guide how the University engages the company to reach an agreement. Your liaison will help you ensure that the right individuals from UGA are included in the proposal process.
Work with your liaison and departmental leadership to draft a preliminary Statement of Work (SOW) and budget. This template provides a helpful starting point for the SOW.
Use the Sample Budget Template for the budget. At this point, it is critical to involve UGA Industry Contracting and your departmental leadership to ensure you develop a “fully burdened” budget – with IDC built into each line item – which can be presented to company representatives along with the SOW
Refrain from presenting any drafts to the company representative until your liaison, departmental leadership, and Industry Contracting or the UGA Foundation (depending on the type of partnership) have signed off.

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Contract Negotiations

UGA Industry Contracting will manage all contract negotiations with the company if the project requires an industry sponsored research agreement. That team will utilize UGA’s Industry Collaboration Pathways to determine the appropriate type of agreement.
Industry Contracting will finalize the appropriate agreement type and collaborate with you and the company to negotiate terms related to deliverables, timelines, intellectual property, publication, etc.
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.
Please note that negotiating the agreement may take a few weeks or longer.
Your Business Engagement liaison will help to move the project forward during this phase as appropriate.

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FACILITATE YOUR PROJECT

Congratulations! You’ve reached a major milestone and it’s worth taking the time to celebrate while the University sets up the project and related financial accounts.

When that is completed:

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.
Keep your company representative informed as delays and/or issues arise (with deliverables, subcontractors, etc.).
Consistent communication with the company and your collaborators will help establish a strong relationship, ensure success, and open doors to future projects.
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.

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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.

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

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

Searchable QA

Coming soon!

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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.

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