Sponsored Programs at Penn Sponsored Project Agreement Types

Sponsored Project A “sponsored project” is an externally funded project that: Requires a specific line of inquiry Has a specific commitment of resources and deliverables or milestones as well as a fixed period of performance Requires return of unexpended funds to the sponsor at the end of the project Provides for disposition of property at end of the project

Specific Line of Inquiry The specific line of inquiry is generally documented via: Specific aims of a proposal or A written statement of work Specific aims of proposals are written to sponsor specifications that are described in the funding announcement. Statement of work requirements may vary widely by sponsor type, but should always be detailed enough that the scope of the project is clearly understood

Commitment of Resources In return for funding, the sponsor expects the University to commit resources to a sponsored project. These resources are described in the project budget. The budget should include: salary for proposed effort (including benefits) equipment cost if any supplies service center/core facility costs travel facilities & administration costs

Project Deliverables A sponsored project generally has some deliverable back to the sponsor. This deliverable may range from a written narrative of how the funds were expended or report of the results of research, to the delivery of data, information, software, or physical items to the sponsor.

Sponsored Agreement Types Grant Contract Cooperative Agreement Project conceived by Investigator(s) Sponsor Both Sponsor function Supports Procures service Supports and Assists Work Controlled by Investigator Sponsor Oversight Cognizance Monitoring Participating For all of these agreement types, the Investigator will be making an intellectual contribution to the project. There is an expectation that the activity may result in publication of the results and/or the creation of new intellectual property.

Subaward Agreements Often, a sponsored project will include multiple parties. Generally, one party will serve as the main awardee from the sponsor (called the Prime recipient) and that Prime recipient will negotiate separate agreements with the other participants. When Penn is the prime recipient, Penn will issue a sub-award agreement to each of the other collaborating institutions that includes the terms of the prime award. Conversely, Penn may receive a sub-award when another entity is the Prime recipient and Penn is participating as a collaborator.

Other related research agreements There are several types of ancillary non-financial agreements related to sponsored programs. These agreements generally require institutional signature. They include: Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) are used to govern the sharing of research materials between parties Data Use Agreements (DUAs) are used to govern the use of data shared between parties. Nondisclosure or Confidentiality Agreements (NDAs/CDAs) are used to govern the sharing of proprietary or confidential information between parties. Collaborative Research Agreements are used to govern collaborations between two or more entities where each entity is providing its own resources to the project.

A special case: Fee for Service A fee for service agreement may be used when a third party is contracting to use Penn facilities. This may include Penn personnel performing the service on behalf of the third party so long as there is: NO expectation of publication NO expectation of new intellectual property. Fee for service agreements may sometimes be called “work for hire.”