Office of Research Sponsor Research - Office of Research

Sponsor Research

Industry-sponsored projects can be supported either by an individual company or by a consortium using the following award mechanisms:

  • Research Contracts define a scope of work carried out solely by UC (possibly with subcontractors) and may provide sponsor access to resulting inventions and research results within the project scope and term.
  • Clinical trials involve human testing of sponsor-owned drugs or devices using the sponsor’s protocol, with rights to results and often technology improvements accruing to the sponsor. Clinical trials are managed by UC Davis Health System Contracting.
  • Gifts are irrevocable donations to general or specific areas of campus activity that carry no obligations for deliverables or rights to results. UC may provide a courtesy report to the sponsor indicating what was accomplished with the funds.

Each industry-sponsored project is led by a University Principal Investigator (PI) who guides the research, shapes the resulting technology, and is responsible for the scientific coordination with the sponsoring company.

Resources for sponsoring research at UC Davis include:

  • Research agreement: Industry sponsored research includes grants, contracts and other types of research agreements. These agreements are necessary to ensure that all research and other extramurally funded projects conducted by university employees, or with the use of university resources or facilities, are approved by the appropriate university contract and grant office and comply with relevant university policies and guidelines. A Research Agreement Template can be found here.  Research Agreements with Industry are triaged to provide the fastest route to project initiation. Our expert Negotiation Team has successfully completed agreements, and master agreements, with numerous corporate partners.
  • Confidentiality agreements (CDAs)
    CDAs are used to protect proprietary or non-public information that is disclosed in the course of evaluating a possible business relationship. These are also referred to as Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) or as Secrecy Agreements.
  • Faculty expertise
    Faculty expertise identify potential collaborators at UC Davis based on your industry interests.

For additional information, please contact our Office of Corporate Relations at [email protected].