Key Differences Between Sponsored Research and Testing Agreements
By Jennifer Mandina Wiss and Hoda Moussa
Published December 17, 2024
Sponsored research and testing are different types of projects that require different agreements. Generally, research projects that are funded by a company or organization are referred to as sponsored research; and testing is a service that is performed to collect and send data to the company for their evaluation and analysis. This article provides the distinguishing features between these types of agreements and guidance on how to submit a request to our team.
As a reminder, please do not execute any agreement with industry partners within your scope of work at UB. You can submit a request for review via Click.
Determining whether the project is sponsored research or testing:
Sponsored research and testing can be distinguished by differences relating to the purpose of the project, performance of work, expected deliverables, publication of the results, time/budget and intellectual property.
Below is a table that highlights these differences.
| Sponsored Research | Testing | |
| Project Purpose | Industry is seeking a subject matter expert to answer a research question. | Industry is seeking specific performance-related results. Often this is tied to the industry partner’s proprietary material. |
| Performance | Industry and Principal Investigator (PI) work collaboratively to craft the scope of work. | PI uses available equipment/time to perform a known test. May be used to train a student on how to perform a test. Generally, PI is providing a service without intellectual input. |
| Results/Deliverable | PI will provide results in the form of expert analysis and interpretation. | PI will provide raw data without providing analysis. |
| Publication | PI may publish on all aspects of research project, subject to review for industry partner’s confidential information. | PI’s ability to publish is often limited to only the subject matter that does not relate to the material being tested (e.g. – improvements in testing methodology). |
| Time/Budget | Generally, sponsored research projects are over six months in duration and have budgets over $50k. | Generally, testing projects are under six months in duration and have budgets less than $50k. |
| Intellectual Property | New intellectual property may be probable due to the nature of research. | New intellectual property is unlikely because PI is using well established methods to perform service. |
How to submit Sponsored Research Agreements and Testing Agreements via Click:
- Submit your request through Click and under the “Agreements” module: https://www.buffalo.edu/research/research-services/click-implementation/modules/agreements.html.
- The information needed in Click for both types of agreements include the following:
- Type of Agreement (“Sponsored Research Agreement” or “Testing Agreement”);
- Purpose of the agreement;
- Draft agreement provided by company, if applicable;
- Scope of work (SOW);
- If you have not completed an SOW, this template will be provided by the Contracts Manager assigned to your Click entry.
- Industry Partner/Contracting Party contact information;
- Any previously developed intellectual property (Background Intellectual Property) that you developed and intend to use for the project, if applicable;
- Any third-party intellectual property or materials that you intend to use for the project; and
- Copy of approved budget from Sponsored Project Services (SPS)
- Your SPS contact depends on your department, more information can be found here.
This article was written with the help of our law student extern, Katelyn Blencowe. Please feel free to email Hoda at hodamous@buffalo.edu for more information.
If you have any general contracts related questions, please feel free to reach out to any one of our contracts team members: https://www.buffalo.edu/research/about-us/staff-directory/techtransfer.html or email us at techtransfer@buffalo.edu.