Individual investigators, chairs, or deans are not authorized to negotiate or endorse sponsored agreements on behalf of the Institution. Sponsored agreements routinely include information about level of funding, period of performance, the mechanism for receiving funds, and reporting requirements. Many sponsors issue unilateral agreements that do not require institutional counter signatures. In these cases, ORSP is expected to notify the sponsor if there are terms and conditions that are not acceptable to the Institution or the investigator.
Some sponsors issue bilateral agreements, requiring an institutional countersignature.
Often, it is necessary for ORSP to negotiate changes to sponsor terms and conditions. Intellectual property rights, rights to publish, confidentiality, termination, and indemnification language often require negotiation in order to ensure appropriate protections for the investigator and the Institution.