You can engage with an institution in multiple ways to achieve a variety of project goals. The three
most common are through a gift to the institution, a consultancy agreement (with the investigator), or a
sponsored research project. There are distinct features with each of these arrangements with respect
to indirect costs (see Budgeting section); IP ownership (see Intellectual Property Concerns section); and
confidentiality (see Confidential/Proprietary Information section). The nature of the work to be conducted
also differs significantly among these three pathways.
Consultants typically bring high-level expertise directly to your project. However, institutions typically
maintain policies regarding consultant agreements to guide faculty accepting these roles. These policies
typically cover the terms or conditions that a faculty member must follow when providing consulting
services outside of the institution and the institution’s legal rights to inventions created by faculty. Other
common terms govern conflict of commitment/interest, use of institutional resources, and other issues.
You should be aware that the consultant, as an institutional employee, may not use the institution’s name
in formal documentation, must use personal time to perform the work, and may not use institutional
resources to complete the project. The consultant must not enter into an arrangement that constitutes a
conflict of commitment or stand in competition with the interests and purposes of the institution.
However, the exact policies, terms, and conditions for consultancy differ depending on the institution;
thus, do not assume that the prospective consultant is clear about his or her obligations. You will need
to determine whether the expert you are planning to work with needs prior approval to engage with you.
You also need to confirm whether the consultant can assign IP to your organization since policies of
this type are not uniform across institutions. Often, the consultants’ compensation can be negotiated
between you and the consultant; however, some institutions have set daily fees for consultancy activities.