For Industry

While large federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, typically use grants as a vehicle to support university research projects, other federal agencies, such as the Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Department of Energy, as well as commercial sponsors, state agencies, and non-profits often use contracts to procure goods and research services.

As an awarding vehicle, grants usually provide financial assistance to investigators and have relatively few restrictions on the performance and spending for a funded project. Contracts are used to purchase particular goods and services and often include detailed specifications for the delivery of performance objectives, federal acquisition regulation clauses that govern the federal procurement process, and other terms and conditions that may affect the ownership of Virginia Tech intellectual property and/or the publishing rights of investigators. If contract terms and conditions are in conflict with university and/or state laws, policies, or principles, modifications must be negotiated.

Terms and Conditions

Types of agreements routinely reviewed by the contracts and agreements team:

• Contracts from any sponsor
• Cooperative agreements and memorandums of understanding
  
• Grants or IPAs from the following sponsors:
• Commercial
• International
• Department of Defense
• Department of Homeland Security
  
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
  
• Department of Energy
• Intelligence Agencies (e.g., Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, Metropolitan Planning Organization, National Security Agency, etc.)
• Inter-institutional agreements from Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, VT-ARC, Carilion Clinic, etc.
• Agreements for flow-through dollars from any federal, commercial, foundation, or international sponsor
• Modifications of any the above type of agreements