Award Negotiation & Acceptance

Sponsor issues award notice to OSU

  • SPO reviews contract/award terms and conditions and negotiates if needed
  • These are some of the most common terms that may require negotiation with the sponsor: 
    • Publication restrictions  - Reviewed to ensure that you will be able to publish the results of your research
    • Intellectual property – IP language should be in accordance with university policy- the preference is to retain ownership of IP
    • Indemnification/hold harmless – This language is very problematic. When asked to agree to indemnify another party, essentially an unknown future financial liability is being taken on- this is something we are unable to do per state law.
    • Limited by state law in the ability to accept Governing law provisions from any entity other than Ohio
      • Additionally, we’ll review
        • Payment terms to ensure they aren’t too administratively burdensome
        • Report/deliverables requirements to ensure sponsor expectations are reasonable
        • Termination provisions to ensure that costs/obligations of the university are protected

Business or Industry Sponsor

  • Proposal process typically more informal
  • Contact your SPO early
  • Standard agreement templates available
  • Additional time may be needed to work through common industry issues:
    • Conflict of interest
    • Intellectual property

OSP Office of Grants and Contracts

  • Signs/accepts award on behalf of the institution
    • PIs are not authorized to sign agreements for the University
  • Ensures PI has obtained appropriate research compliance approvals (protocols, COI, RCR, export control)
  • Obtains investigator signature acknowledging that s/he has read and understands the agreement
  • Preliminary projects can be established if appropriate