MIT and RAS have standard policies and objectives when negotiating contract terms; sponsor acceptance of these conditions greatly facilitates the acceptance of awards.
General contract terms and conditions include:
- Amount and payment
- MIT cannot undertake research except on a full cost-reimbursement basis
- Fixed-price relationships are generally not acceptable
- Payment in advance is requested
- Payment upon approval of deliverables is not acceptable
- Budget
- Research budgets must include full recovery of Facilities and Administrative Costs
- Minimize rebudgeting limitations
- Limit sponsor prior-approval requirements
- Avoid limitations on carryforward from one budget period to the next
- Key personnel
- Limit prior approval of changes in personnel to faculty and senior research staff
- MIT PI should be responsible for the conduct of research activity
- Individuals in the following roles have PI status at MIT according to Policies and Procedures:
- Faculty members
- Senior Research Scientists
- Senior Research Engineers
- Senior Research Associates
- Principal Research Scientists
- Principal Research Engineers
- Principal Research Associates
- Adjunct Professors
- Professors of the Practice
- All others must be approved by the Dean or Vice President for Research based on the Department, Lab or Center Head’s recommendation
- Statement of work
- Use “reasonable efforts” to perform the Statement of Work
- Use description of MIT’s Statement of Work, separate from that of collaborators, as attachment to agreement/contract
- Reporting requirements
- DLCI is responsible for fulfilling (or confirming that PI has fulfilled) all technical and management reporting requirements; therefore, DLCI and PI must agree to the technical and management requirements in the award
- Limit fiscal, property, and invention reporting to an annual basis
- Publication rights
- MIT must be free to publish and release results of sponsored activity
- Allow sponsor review 30 days in advance of publication to identify patentable subject matter and inadvertent disclosure of sponsor’s proprietary information
- Intellectual property (IP) rights
- MIT retains title to IP
- Agreements funded by for-profits commit licensing options to the sponsor
- Federal awards and subawards provide license rights to the federal government
- Sponsor proprietary information
- Sponsor must mark proprietary information provided to MIT
- MIT must use reasonable efforts to apply the same standard of care to the sponsor’s proprietary data as the Institute applies to its own proprietary data
- MIT will protect sponsor proprietary information from disclosure for three (3) years from date MIT receives it