... Private Contracts

Private Agency Contracts

Private Agency Contracts refer to contracts for research services provided by UTHSC-H researchers for a specific project for a non-governmental agency. These are usually for-profit companies, often times drug and pharmaceutical companies that need clinical study research on new drugs or products. These types of projects are traditionally in FMS Fund 57001 for clinical studies or 57015 for contracts that are not related to clinical drug studies.

Terms and Conditions

Principal Investigators (PIs) for the University receive Contracts from a wide variety of private companies. As a rule these funds come with few restrictions on the allowability of expenses or rebudgeting. Any restrictions are addressed in the contract, and are typically listed in the Attributes section of the UTH Grants panels in FMS.

The investigator's primary responsibility is to conduct the research and report the findings to the contracting entity as outlined in the contract. There are, however, several critical issues that must be addressed regarding Contracts with Private Agencies. These are listed below:

Changes from the Original Contract

1. If a PI leaves the institution and another PI assumes the investigator role for a contract, an amendment to the contract must be signed by all parties. This is handled through the University’s Legal Department contact Devin Longuet.
2. If the termination or end-date is changed from that stated in the original agreement, an amendment to the contract should be promptly handled by the University’s Legal Department.
3. Any change in the scope, program, funding, or fee from what was originally contracted must be amended in a contractual form through the University’s Legal Department.

Expenses

Expenses using this fund source must (as all funds must) meet with institutional policy as set forth in the Handbook of Operating Procedure (HOOP).

Contract Termination

When the Contract has been completed the account should be immediately closed. Any unspent funds should be transferred to the PI’s gift account as soon as possible. Unspent funds should not remain in an account for a contract which has been completed. The PI should forward an e-mail to PAF@uth.tmc.edu stating the following:

• The scientific work on the contract has been completed.
• The obligations have been met (i.e.- reports submitted, expenses paid, billing invoices submitted, and payments received).
• The gift account number which to close the residual funds.

 

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Last updated February 7, 2007