The research world has lots of specialized terminology. This glossary includes some of the terms you may encounter, along with their definitions and additional resources. Note: the following entities and their abbreviations appear regularly throughout:

  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW, UW–Madison)
  • UW Department of Medicine (DOM)
  • DOM Office of Research Services (ORS)
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Advance Request

An advance in funding request can be submitted when a principal investigator (PI) needs access to funding for a project prior to the receipt and/or execution of an award agreement. 

In such cases, an “advance account” may be requested through RAMP to allow posting of charges. The PI’s division assumes responsibility for all charges allocated to the account if the award is not finalized or accepted.

Allowable Costs

Allowable costs are costs determined to be reasonable, allocable and necessary to complete the proposed aims of a sponsored project. 

Costs must be appropriate for the research, specific to and necessary for the project, adhere to all applicable laws, regulations and terms/conditions of the sponsored award, and must be consistent with the policies and practices applied uniformly to all federal, state and university funds awarded to the institution.

Animal Research

Animal research is an indispensable tool for understanding complex living organisms, and many UW research programs study animals as models of human disease and to explore basic biological processes. The university’s commitment to responsible and ethical research conducted under the attention of skilled veterinarians continues a long history of improving human and animal health and well-being.

Any use of live animals for research, teaching, or outreach requires approval and ongoing oversight by one of the UW–Madison IACUCs.

For more information, see the UW Animals in Research & Teaching website.

Application for Review of Research Oversight (ARROW)

Application for Review of Research Oversight (ARROW) at the University of Wisconsin is an online system used to review and track applications for research oversight pertaining to human and animal subjects, stem cell research and biological safety.

Researchers wishing to submit a protocol application for review must login to ARROW to create and submit an initial review application. Change of protocols and continuing reviews are also submitted through ARROW. Principal investigators and points of contact listed on protocols will receive emails from the ARROW system.

Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR)

The UW Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP) is the only office legally authorized to accept awards and agreements for sponsored programs on behalf of researchers at UW–Madison. Any document requiring an official signature must be signed by an authorized organizational representative (AOR) located in RSP.

This means that if a sponsor requests that an authorized official review, sign or certify any proposal information, this step will be completed by RSP—a principle investigator, chair, dean, or center director is not considered an authorized official for the university and may not act in this capacity.

Biosafety Research

The UW–Madison Office of Biological Safety (OBS) assists all faculty and staff in observing safe laboratory practices for biological materials as prescribed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health, and endeavors to assure that research is done in secure facilities in compliance with all local, state and federal regulations. OBS is the administrative office of the UW Institutional Biosafety Committee.

Activities Requiring Oversight

Budget Justification

A budget justification document should clearly identify how the specific costs listed in the proposal budget have been calculated. Most sponsors require this document to support the proposal line-item budget. SRA and FSURF require this document as a part of a complete proposal.

CapEx (Capital Exercise)

The CapEx (Capital Exercise) process is a mechanism by which UW returns a percentage of indirect costs associated with federally funded grant expenditures (i.e., 144 accounts) generated in the previous fiscal year to each contributing school or college across the university. 

In turn, the School of Medicine and Public Health returns a percentage of their allocation to the contributing departments. Fifty percent of DOM's allocation is returned to principal investigators while the remaining 50 percent is retained by the department to support research infrastructure and competitive pool funding to support faculty research activities.

Chemical Safety

The UW Chemical Safety Office (CSO), working in conjunction with the UW Chemical Safety Committee, establishes policies and procedures for the safe acquisition, use, storage and disposal of chemicals on campus. 

The CSO also advises campus chemical users on best practices and helps the university community comply with federal, state, and local chemical and environmental safety laws.

Clinical Trial Research Residuals

Residual funds consist of funds remaining after all direct and indirect costs incurred on a study have been deducted from the payments received from the sponsor. 

Residual funds sometimes result from fixed-price and clinical trial agreements. Although not the goal in establishing cost structures, residuals occur when the university’s actual cost of providing a good or service is lower than the price agreed upon with the sponsor. 

If an award permits the university to retain unspent funds, this balance can be transferred to an unrestricted project to further a PI’s research activities. 

ClinicalTrials.gov

ClinicalTrials.gov is a resource that provides patients, their family members, healthcare professionals, researchers, and the public with easy access to information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies on a wide range of diseases and conditions. The website is maintained by the National Library of Medicine at the NIH.

Conflict of Interest

Conflict of interest may arise in situations in which employees use their positions for purposes that are, or give the appearance of being, motivated by a desire for private gain for themselves or others, such as those with whom they have family, business or other ties.

Contract Negotiation

Award and agreement negotiation of sponsored research projects at UW is generally handled by RSP. The Contract Negotiation Team within RSP is composed of several teams that review awards and agreements from a wide range of sponsors, including industry sponsors, non-profit organizations, state governments, the federal government, and foreign entities. 

The Contract Negotiation Team is responsible for the review and negotiation of the terms and conditions of agreements. In reviewing award agreements, each team member works to ensure that the terms and conditions of the award documentation fit with federal law, state law, UW-Madison policies, RSP Policies, and the needs of the researchers.  

For more information, see the Contract Negotiation Process.

Cost Share

Cost sharing or “matching” is the portion of project costs not borne by the sponsor and should only be requested when required by the sponsor or the competitive nature of the award. 

All proposed cost share must conform to the same requirements as the costs UW requests from the sponsor.  

For federally funded projects and federal flow-through, this means all costs must conform to 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance) and the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS). 

For more information, see the Cost Share Process.

Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMSP)

The NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMS Policy or DMSP) was created to promote the management and sharing of scientific data generated from NIH-funded or conducted research. The policy emphasizes the importance of good data management practices and establishes the expectation for maximizing the appropriate sharing of scientific data generated from NIH-funded or conducted research, with justified limitations or exceptions. This policy applies to research funded or conducted by NIH that results in the generation of scientific data.

NIH defines Scientific Data as: “The recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as of sufficient quality to validate and replicate research findings, regardless of whether the data are used to support scholarly publications. Scientific data do not include laboratory notebooks, preliminary analyses, completed case report forms, drafts of scientific papers, plans for future research, peer reviews, communications with colleagues, or physical objects, such as laboratory specimens.”

Data Security, Management and Retention

A large majority of research performed on campus generates data, procedures, observations, and other notes. Precautions should be taken to maximize security in using and storing data.

Security refers to two main areas: 1) safeguarding the integrity of the data itself and 2) restricting access to sensitive data (such as geographic, administrative, or medical information about individuals).

For more information, contact Department of Medicine IT services or visit the DSMR website. 

Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC)

UW–Madison is subject to the U.S. Government Policy for Institutional Oversight of Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC). The university must review all potential dual use research to determine whether or not it meets the criteria outlined in this policy for DURC. 

Dual use research is research conducted for legitimate purposes that generates knowledge, information, technologies and/or products that could be utilized for both benevolent and harmful purposes.

Visit the DURC website for more information on oversight, agents and training.

Effort

Effort is the amount of time, generally expressed as a percentage, of the time that a faculty or staff member spends on a sponsored project. 

No employee is allowed to spend more than 100 percent total time on all academic activities, including grant-funded projects, teaching, administration, advising and other duties.

Effort Certification and Reporting

Effort certification is the process of certifying that salaries and wages charged to sponsored project accounts are reasonable in relation to the actual work performed. It ensures that 1) the sponsor is only paid for the amount of effort that directly benefited the project, and 2) the employee met their effort commitment to the project. 

Effort certification is also required for certifying personnel expenses that are being used to meet a match/cost share requirement.

Effort Certification Compliance (ECC) is UW’s official project-based payroll certification system. It is used to certify all individuals who receive salary support from a sponsored project or who expend committed effort on a sponsored project regardless of receiving salary support from the sponsor.

Effort reporting is our means of providing assurance to sponsors that:

  • Salaries charged to sponsored projects are reasonable in relation to the work performed, and
  • Faculty and staff have met their commitments to sponsored projects.

Success in the effort realm depends on careful attention to important issues throughout the sponsored projects lifecycle.

Export Control

The UW Export Control Office (ECO) works with university researchers and administrative staff to ensure compliance with the United States export control laws and regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and Foreign Asset Control Regulations (FACR).

There are a number of activities that have potential export control implications. It is important to contact the ECO for guidance if you are doing any of the following activities:

  • Traveling abroad
  • Shipping items abroad
  • Working with foreign collaborators, whether in the United States or overseas.
  • Working with controlled items (examples include lasers, thermal imaging cameras, select agents, space qualified equipment and encryption. The list is long—please contact the ECO for advice on specific items.)
  • Working with a grant or other contract that has an export control clause, publication restriction or personnel restriction
  • Doing any work with a person, business or organization that is a citizen of or headquartered in Iran, Syria, Sudan, North Korea, Cuba or the Crimea.

If you have doubts about whether an activity falls within export control, please also contact the Export Control Office.

Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Rate

The Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rate is a mechanism used to reimburse UW for the infrastructure costs associated with sponsored research and other sponsored activities.

Indirect Costs

Indirect costs are incurred for common or joint objectives and cannot be readily identified with a particular grant, contract or other activity of the organization. Indirect costs allocable to sponsored programs should be reimbursed if an organization has a federally approved rate. Reimbursement, however, is subject to any administrative limitations established in the grants and/or contracts.

The indirect cost rate for UW–Madison is negotiated with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; this is the rate used on sponsored project budgets. It is extremely important that the university receives full reimbursement for indirect costs whenever possible.

MTDC (Modified Total Direct Costs)

Modified total direct costs consist of all direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials, supplies, services, travel and up to the first $25,000 of each subgrant or subcontract (regardless of the period of performance covered by the subgrant or subcontract).

Modified total direct costs exclude equipment (>$5,000), capital expenditures, charges for patient care, student tuition remission, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships, fellowships and participant support costs, as well as the portion of each subgrant and subcontract in excess of $25,000.

TDC (Total Direct Costs)

Total direct costs excludes student tuition remission only. If an agreement is funded with federal flow-through funds, the total F&A recovered cannot exceed what would have been recovered had the university’s negotiated rate been applied.

View current F&A Rate Agreement

Facts Sheet

The UW Facts Sheet contains all pertinent institutional related data and information for proposal preparation and budgeting.

Fetal Tissue Research

Research using human fetal tissue (including cells/cell lines) directly and uniquely contributes to the study of human health and an understanding of a host of illnesses and conditions. Many researchers study impacts of drugs, therapies and other treatments in mice treated with human cells and organs prior to use in human patients.

Fetal tissue and cells are different from other kinds of cells commonly used in research and scientists use them to study aspects of human biology they cannot with other cells. UW–Madison requires review of research involving human fetal tissue.

Many researchers also study the impacts of drugs, therapies, and other treatments by using mice treated with human fetal cells and organs prior to their use in human patients. This allows them to recreate human-like physiology in mice and keep patients safe from the often-unknown side effects of experimental drugs and treatments.

Definitions:

  • Fetal tissue: Composed of the specialized cells that make up developing organs.
  • Adult stem cells: Found in many organs in the human body where they can form and replenish the various specialized cell types in a particular organ. They have a limited capacity to grow and divide and may be difficult to isolate.
  • Embryonic stem cells: Obtained from excess embryos created for in vitro fertilization and donated for research. These cells are capable of growing and dividing indefinitely and have the ability to become any cell type found in the human body.
  • Induced pluripotent stem cells: These cells are generated by reprogramming cells from adult tissue, such as skin cells, to mimic embryonic stem cells.
Fringe Benefits

Fringe benefits such as health and life insurance are provided to an employee by an employer. Fringe benefits are included in sponsored project budgets using a fringe benefit rate. Rates are calculated annually and expressed by employee class. 

Current UW fringe rates

Funding Announcements

Opportunities to apply for research funding can be called several different things; however, they all provide faculty with specific criteria for submitting applications to request research funding. Some examples:

  • Solicitation Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)
  • Request for Applications (RFA)
  • Notice of Funding Availability (NFA or NOFA)
  • Program Announcement (PA or PAR)
  • Notices of Special Interest (NOSI)
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets the standard for protecting protected health information (PHI) for organizations who create, receive, maintain or transmit PHI.

Wisconsin’s Personal Information Disclosure Act (statute Section 134.98) requires an entity to notify the subject of personal information if an unauthorized acquisition of their personal information has occurred.

The university is required to comply with HIPAA laws for any system which contain PHI.

HIPAA guidance from the UW-Madison Office of Compliance

Human Research Protection Program (HRPP)

The Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) provides oversight for all research activities involving human participants at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The HRPP is not an office, but rather a collective effort of all who participate in the conduct, review, approval, and facilitation of human participants research at UW-Madison.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

Federal law requires oversight of animal use in research. Research institutions registered with the USDA and that hold an Assurance from the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare must appoint an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to perform this oversight. 

IACUCs have legal responsibilities to review, approve, monitor, and withdraw approval of animal activities on an ongoing basis.

For more information on the IACUC Committees, purpose and procedures, visit the UW-Madison Research Animal Resources and Compliance (RARC) website.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a faculty committee charged with reviewing and approving the use of human subjects in all research projects. The IRB serves as an institutional compliance committee and is responsible for reviewing reported instances of regulatory noncompliance related to the use of human subjects in research.

The IRB is also known as the Human Subjects Committee (HSC).

Intergovernmental Personnel Agreement (IPA)

Wisconsin Statue authorizes state agencies and the University of Wisconsin System to participate in the temporary interchange of employees between and among government agencies and with institutions of higher education. 

The purpose of an Intergovernmental Personnel Agreement (IPA) is to allow a UW employee to remain on UW payroll while providing services to a government agency, such as the Veterans Hospital.

DOM divisions can reach out to ORS for assistance in drafting and submitting IPA agreements.

Investigator Eligibility

All proposals for extramural funding must include a principal investigator (PI) or co-investigator holding a qualifying academic rank at UW–Madison.

View guidance for obtaining investigator status.

Just-in-Time (JIT) Proposal Action

After initial peer review, for applications that have overall impact scores of 30 or less, the NIH sends an automatic email requesting additional time-sensitive information known as “Just-in-Time” (JIT). This information is needed before the agency makes a determination of award. The JIT is not a notice of award, nor should it be construed as an indicator of possible award.

The PI must provide the requested information to ORS in a timely manner. ORS will upload the requested documents in eRA Commons and assist the PI in routing the request to RSP for review and submission.

Key Personnel

Key personnel are those considered to be of primary importance to the successful conduct of a research project. The term usually applies to the senior members of the project staff; however, sponsors may have differing definitions of key personnel. 

Effort commitments for key personnel may be changed (up to 25 percent of their current committed effort) without prior approval from the sponsor. Any changes in effort greater than or equal to 25 percent of the current committed effort must be approved by the sponsor prior to any changes.

OnCore

OnCore is a centralized Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS) that allows researchers to use one program to manage all components of clinical research while maintaining consistency and compliance across the institution.

OnCore supports a wide range of functions to enable the investigator and study team to meet study, subject, and data management expectations and financial requirements:

  • Protocol management
  • Track enrollment and safety (adverse event and deviation tracking)
  • Interface with Health Link Subject visit management supports budget development, invoicing and fiscal management
  • Reports for study teams and program managers including accrual reports and NIH progress report demographics information

OnCore is required for clinical trial and research protocols that meet certain criteria. For assistance in determining if OnCore is required for your research or study, please contact ORS.

Other Personnel

Other personnel are those necessary for the conduct of a research project. The term usually applies to individuals working as project staff. 

These individuals may/may not be named on the proposal and changes in effort commitment to the project do not need to be pre-approved by the sponsor.

Principal Investigator (PI)

The principal investigator (PI) is the individual responsible for the conduct of research or other activity, described in a proposal for an award. The PI is responsible for all programmatic and administrative aspects of a project or program.

Radiation Safety

The UW Office of Radiation Safety assists faculty and staff in observing safe laboratory practices when working with radioactive materials or radiation producing devices. This includes the lawful compliance with many state and federal regulatory agencies, including the United States Department of Health Services and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), among others. 

The Executive Radiation Safety Committee and six affiliated committees on radiation use were established to provide a diverse yet focused method of institutional oversight for the entire Radiation Safety Program.

RAMP

The Research Administration Management Portal (RAMP) is a Huron software solution tailor-made for managing the business of research. 

RAMP modules provide administrative management tools for:

  • Proposal development and submission
  • Research contracting (subawards and agreements)
  • Non-financial post-award management
  • Employee compensation compliance (payroll certification)
  • Research compliance (ARROW)
  • Financial forecasting
  • Export controls
Research Engagement

In general, an institution is considered engaged in a particular non-exempt human subjects research project when its employees or agents, for the purposes of the research, obtain: 

  1. Data about the subjects of the research through intervention or interaction with them
  2. Identifiable private information about the subjects of the research 
  3. Identifiable biological specimens from any source, or
  4. The informed consent of human subjects for the research

The institution’s employees or agents are considered “engaged in research” if they participate in the activities listed above, even if they do not directly interact or intervene with human subjects.

If UW–Madison employees or students use DOM’s version of REDCap, then they are “engaged” in a study. If an employee/student is engaged in a study, then they must be listed as study staff on the Institutional Review Board protocol in ARROW.

Research Misconduct

The Misconduct in Scholarly Research policy (Faculty Policy II-314) applies to anyone who, at the time of the alleged research misconduct, was employed by, was an agent of, or was affiliated by contract or agreement with UW–Madison. This includes faculty, staff, employees in training, students, contractors, volunteers and guests.

Research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification or plagiarism in proposing, performing or reviewing research, or in reporting research results. The activity must represent a significant departure from accepted practices of the relevant research community.

  • Fabrication is making up data or results and recording or reporting them.
  • Falsification is manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing/omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.
  • Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results or work without giving appropriate credit.

Research misconduct does not include honest error or honest differences in interpretations or judgments of data. The action must be committed intentionally, knowingly or recklessly.

Research misconduct does not encompass authorship or collaboration disputes, nor does this policy supersede or establish an alternative to existing university, state or federal regulations or procedures for handling other transgressions, such as financial improprieties, non-compliance in safety practices or the treatment of human or animal subjects, criminal matters or personnel actions.

Research Safety

Research Safety is housed within the university's Environment, Health, and Safety (EH&S) department. The mission of EH&S is to ensure the health and safety of people, buildings and the natural environment at UW–Madison and associated facilities, by providing:

Salary Cap

Since 1990, the United States Congress has legislated a limitation on direct salaries charged to sponsored research programs for individuals working on NIH grants, cooperative agreement awards, and extramural research and development contract awards. The limitation rate applies to individuals whose salaries are charged directly to awards—for both NIH awardees and sub-awardees.

If adequate funds are available in active awards, and if the salary cap increase is consistent with the institutional base salary, award recipients may re-budget funds to accommodate increases in the salary cap during award periods. However, no additional funding will be provided to cover salary cap increases for active awards.

The NIH issues an annual notice that provides the salary limit as well as the period the salary limitation is effective. View current salary cap rate and historical rates.

Scope of Work (SOW)

The scope of work (SOW) is the area in a proposal or agreement where the work to be performed is described. The SOW should contain any milestones, reports, deliverables, and end products that are expected to be provided by the performing party. The SOW should also contain a timeline for all deliverables. 

SOW components consist of:

  1. Glossary
  2. Problem Statement
  3. Goals of the Agreement
  4. Objectives of the Agreement/Deliverables
  5. Administration
  6. Timeline
Select Agent Research

Select Agents and Toxins are biological agents that have been declared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to have the “potential to pose severe threat to public, animal or plant health or to animal or plant products.” 

The Federal Select Agent Program regulates laboratories which may possess, use, or transfer select agents within the United States. The UW Select Agent Program Responsible Official (RO) oversees and facilitates research conducted with select agents and toxins to ensure compliance with 7 C.F.R. Part 331, 9 C.F.R. Part 121, and 42 C.F.R. Part 73.

The UW RO is appointed by the UW Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education (VCRGE), the administrative office of the Select Agent Program in Facilities Planning and Management.

Contact UW's Select Agent Team.

Stem Cell Research

The UW Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee (SCRO) provides oversight approval, which applies regardless of the source of funding. All other oversight approvals must be in place prior to submitting a SCRO protocol for review. Approval must be in place prior to beginning research.

Activities that require oversight approval involve:

  • The use of human embryonic cells (hESCs) or their derivatives;
  • The introduction of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) or their derivatives, obtained from a non-embryonic source, into non-human animals at any embryonic, fetal, or postnatal stage, if an expected effect is that human cells will be integrated into the central nervous system, testes or ovaries of the animal;
  • Research that (a) involves pre-implantation stages of human development, human embryos or embryo-derived cells, or (b) entails the production of human gametes in vitro when such gametes are tested by fertilization or used for the creation of embryos;
  • The storage or disposition of human embryos or gametes obtained for the purposes of stem cell research

UW–Madison and NIH hESC Registries. You may not use federal funding for research using hESC lines that are not approved by the NIH.

Subrecipient vs Vendor/Contractor

To comply with 2 CFR 200.330, UW must determine whether services provided by a person or an entity in an award, whether it is a grant or contract to UW, should be paid as a contractor/vendor or as a subrecipient.

  • Contractor/Vendor: Provides a service or good that is routinely provided to the general public and therefore is not unique to the project. Typically, the organization is for-profit and not subject to federal compliance requirements. UW issues a purchase order through Business Services for most contractors. UW collects F&A on the total amount budgeted for a contractor.
  • Subrecipient: Performs activities that will have a significant impact on the total project with distinct deliverables for work that is unique to the project, with minimal supervision from the PI at the university. Generally, a subrecipient will carry out an important portion of the federal program and can sometimes be considered a co-PI or partner in the project. UW issues a subaward to a subrecipient through RSP. UW collects F&A only on the first $25,000 budgeted per each subaward for MTDC based awards.

RSP's Outgoing Subwards page has important information on determining subawards vs. vendor/consultant roles.

Tangible Property

The tangible research property policy is intended to address the university’s responsibilities relating to the management of tangible research property. 

Tangible Research Property (TRP) is defined for purposes of this policy as tangible items produced in the course of conducting research projects at or under the auspices of UW–Madison. TRP includes such items as: biological materials, chemical compounds, physical samples, integrated circuit chips, prototype devices and equipment.

TRP does not include intangible (or intellectual) property, such as patentable inventions and original works protected by copyright or trademark, which are subject to other policies and guidelines. TRP does not include items purchased or otherwise obtained for the purpose of conducting research.

Tuition Payments

Tuition Remission

Tuition Remission (also referred to as a waiver) is a benefit to graduate and professional students holding a Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant, Program/Project Assistant or Lecturer Student Assistant appointment to help alleviate the cost of tuition. Students are responsible for paying their segregated fees and any other fees. Per UW policy, all graduate students paid by a project for a minimum of 33.3% annual effort must have tuition budgeted on the project.  

Third-Party Tuition

A division agrees to pay tuition at UW Madison on behalf of students or staff due to requirements of their fellowship or job duties. For example: a T32 fellowship,  employee taking employer-required training, or a class to maintain or improve skills required in the employee’s present work. 

For more information on determining if a course qualifies for third-party payment or tuition reimbursement, see discussion of the terms "job-related" vs. "career-related" in the HR Knowledgebase: Employee Coursework and Training Assistance Procedures.

Types of Agreements
  • Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
  • Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA)
  • Data Use Agreement (DUA)
  • Material Transfer Agreement (MTA)

Please note: All non-financial agreements are legal contracts between two parties; therefore, these agreements can only be signed by the authorized organizational representative (AOR).

Unfunded Agreements

Researchers often collaborate on research or share research tools with other scientists or institutions without receiving funding. For many unfunded collaborations, a formal agreement is beneficial or necessary. Non-financial agreements set out expectations, terms, and requirements that protect the interests of the investigators and the participating organizations. These agreements need to be entered and routed for signatures through RAMP.

Types of agreements:

  • Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
  • Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA)
  • Data Use Agreement (DUA)
  • Material Transfer Agreement (MTA)

Please Note: All non-financial agreements are legal contracts between two parties; therefore, these agreements can only be signed by the authorized organizational representative (AOR).

Uniform Guidance

Uniform Guidance, found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is located at 2 CFR 200 and contains the requirements for managing federal awards from proposal through the award stage.

It provides guidance for allowable costs, agency approval requirements, and maintaining compliance for research activities.