Research

The Research Plan

The research plan or proposal is well defined in an Appendix to the research agreement and is agreed to by the sponsor and researcher before the agreement is signed. The researcher may not deviate from the research plan without the prior written approval of the sponsor.

The scope of the research plan is very important. It defines what intellectual property the sponsor will have rights to once the agreement is signed. It is important that the industry partner understands that the DO NOT have rights to ALL the research that is being conducted in your research lab. They only have rights to what is defined and paid for within the research or collaboration agreement. Therefore the research defined under the agreement should separate and distinct from other research activities in the lab.

Budget/ Project Costs (overhead)

Unless indirect costs are specifically disallowed in the funding guidelines, all proposals for research funding should include overhead in the budget. The purpose of overhead is to reimburse the University for the Indirect Costs of a research project that cannot otherwise be specifically traced to it. For standard research contracts overhead is calculated as 40% of total direct costs, for research grants it is 20% of total direct costs. Click here for more information on differentiating a research contract from a research grant.

If you have questions about what overhead should be applied, please contact your representative at the Innovations & Partnerships Office.

Conflicts of Interest

U of T contracts and agreements sometimes contain terms and conditions that are in conflict with industry business rules and practices. Members of industry often understand these possible areas of disagreement and are allowed to negotiate with U of T to arrive at mutual agreements.

Signatures Required

The Policy on Research Contracts and the Recovery of Indirect Costs of Research states that all applications for research funding and all research related agreements must be signed by the Vice-President, Research or his/her designate. The proper contracting body for the University (i.e. the name that should be on all agreements with the University) is the “Governing Council of the University of Toronto”. For information on who may sign on behalf of the Vice-President Research, please see the signing authority memo.

Principal investigators, individual faculty members and employees are not authorized to sign on behalf of the University or to bind the University in any manner unless they have been given that specific authority by the Vice-President Research. However, when research agreements are signed, the principal investigator is often asked to sign the agreement to acknowledge that her/she has read the agreement, understands it and will endeavor to adhere to the agreement that has been made with the University. This relates to agreements for research funding, material transfer agreements, confidentially agreements and the like.

In the case of research agreements, before work can begin, all researchers on the project, including graduate students, technicians and post docs must sign a Confidential Information and Intellectual Property Agreement (CIIP). New CIIP forms must be signed whenever there is change in personnel. Graduate students and post docs must also be informed of and/ or made party to any disclosure of resulting intellectual property. Click here for more information on signing research agreements.

Ethics Approvals

For any research involving human or animal subjects, ethics approvals must be obtained before any work can begin. The Office of Research Ethics is responsible for administering the ethics review process and can answer your ethics questions.

Intellectual Property

In return for their contributions, the university often grants intellectual property rights to the sponsor for industry sponsored research and/or collaborative use. The university will negotiate the precise nature of those intellectual property rights with sponsors, taking into account several factors including level and duration of support, participation of the sponsor, the nature of the intellectual property and its potential fields of use, its stage of development or market-readiness, the duration and territory of the rights, etc. Click here for more information on intellectual property.

Publication & Confidentiality Information

Dissemination of knowledge is an essential part of the university’s mandate. Freedom of speech, academic freedom, and freedom of research underscore the Statement of Institutional Purpose. More specifically, ‘freedom’ in the university context affords faculty freedom in carrying out their activities; freedom from institutional censorship and freedom in pursuing research and scholarship and in publishing or making public the results thereof. Therefore, although publication of results can be delayed for periods of time to ensure protection of intellectual property, the results of research cannot remain confidential.

Reporting/ Compliance

Most sponsors require regular financial and project updates through formal reports. Reporting requirements for a particular award will be confirmed upon finalization of the award and will be summarized in the Funded Research Digest (FReD). In order for the University to meet its formal reporting requirement, it is imperative that all intellectual property and commercial activity be disclosed in a timely manner to IPO. Click here for more information on the disclosure process.

Please be aware that, while the entire project budget may be released by the institution in order for the research project to be completed, the University may not be paid by the Sponsor until the final report has been received. In cases where the University is not paid due to the lack of a project report, the department in which the research is being conducted is responsible for covering the loss.

Click here for additional information on the process and what happens behind the scenes at IPO.

Questions? Concerns? If you have any questions after reading our guides, the Innovations & Partnerships Office is happy to help!