Contracts and Agreements

A proposed funded agreement (PFA) is a grant, cooperative agreement, contract, or other transaction agreement created through the proposal process in Summit Proposals.

To initiate this type of agreement, forward the sponsor-confirmed agreement, email chain, and relevant proposal number to your pre-award associate with a copy to ospcontracts@vt.edu. The contracts team will initiate the agreement.

If a proposal is not yet in "Pending Decision" or submitted in Summit Proposals, an agreement will begin as a "funded agreement without proposal" entry. Once the proposal process is complete, it will be converted to a full PFA.

For more information about funded agreement without proposal entries or proposed funded agreements,  see the Summit Agreements User Guide or direct additional questions you may have to ospcontracts@vt.edu.

An intergovernmental personnel agreement is an agreement for the temporary assignment of personnel between Virginia Tech and an external governmental agency created through the proposal process in Summit Proposals. Intergovernmental personnel agreements are considered proposed funded agreements in Summit.

To initiate a proposed funded agreement, forward the sponsor-confirmed agreement to your pre-award associate with a copy to ospcontracts@vt.edu. The contracts team will then initiate the proposed funded agreement.

For more information about PFAs, please see the Summit Agreements User Guide.

Sponsors may request agreements and other documents in order to submit proposals, including

• Request for proposal terms and conditions reviews
• Small Business Technology Transfer allocation of intellectual property rights agreements
• National Science Foundation intern agreements
• Small business subcontracting plans

To initiate a proposal related agreement (PRA) during the proposal phase, provide the requested documents and related correspondence in Summit Proposals and alert the assigned pre-award associate. 

To initiate a proposal related agreement after the proposal has been submitted, provide the requested documents and related correspondence to ospcontracts@vt.edu. The contracts team then initiates the Proposal Related Agreement.

For more information about PRAs please see the user guide.

A subaward/subcontract agreement is used to perform a portion of the work under a Proposed Funded Agreement with an external entity.

To initiate a subaward/subcontract at the proposal phase, provide the requested documents in Summit Proposals. The subaward/subcontract is then initiated by the contracts team when the proposed funded agreement is established.

To initiate a new subaward/subcontract on an existing Office of Sponsored Programs fund, visit Summit Agreements and select Award Change Request (ACR) to create a draft to submit to the Office of Sponsored Programs. Include all requested documents when finalizing the draft. Once approved, the subaward/subcontract is then initiated by the contracts team.

For more information about subawards please see the Summit Agreements User Guide.

A Modification allows the terms and conditions of an existing agreement to be updated, as necessary.

To initiate a Modification for a Proposed Funded Agreement or Subaward/Subcontract, contact the post-award associate managing the OSP fund. They will create a Award Change Request (ACR) draft to submit to the Office of Sponsored Programs. For more information about ACRs please see the Summit Agreements User Guide.

To initiate a Modification for any non-funded agreement, visit Summit Agreements to create a draft Other--Non-Funded Modification to submit to the Office of Sponsored Programs. Please see the Summit Agreements User Guide or direct additional questions you may have to ospcontracts@vt.edu. 

A Non-Disclosure Agreement allows at least two entities to share confidential information for limited purposes and use.

To initiate a Non-Disclosure Agreement, visit Summit Agreements to create a draft to submit to the Office of Sponsored Programs. Please see the user guide, or direct additional questions you may have to ospcontracts@vt.edu.

A Material Transfer Agreement is needed when transferring materials between entities for use in research.

To initiate a Material Transfer Agreement, visit Summit Agreements to create a draft to submit to the Office of Sponsored Programs. Please see the user guide, or direct additional questions you may have to ospcontracts@vt.edu.

A Master Research Agreement allows sponsors to execute and  fund multiple projects with a single agreement to expedite the negotiation process.

To initiate a Master Research Agreement, visit Summit Agreements to create a draft to submit to the Office of Sponsored Programs. Please see the User Guide, or direct additional questions you may have to ospcontracts@vt.edu.

A Membership Agreement allows Industrial Affiliate programs, Experiential Learning programs, and other existing membership programs to add new members. Use the “Other Agreement” option for creating a new membership agreement or requesting that Virginia Tech join a membership program/consortium.

To initiate a Membership Agreement, visit Summit Agreements to create a draft to submit to the Office of Sponsored Programs. Please see the user guides linked below, or direct additional questions you may have to ospcontracts@vt.edu.

Please see the Experimental Learning Agreement and Membership Industrial Affiliate user guides for more information. 

A Data Transfer or Data Use Agreement allows the transfer of data, a dataset or software that is non-public or is otherwise subject to restrictions on its use.

To initiate a Data Use Agreement (under the “Other Agreement” option), visit Summit Agreements to create a draft to submit to the Office of Sponsored Programs. Please see the user guide, or direct additional questions you may have to ospcontracts@vt.edu.

A Letter of Guarantee is an agreement between a department and OSP to establish a fund in advance of a pending Proposed Funded Agreement.

To initiate a Letter of Guarantee to create a new fund, visit Summit Agreements to create a draft to submit to the Office of Sponsored Programs. Please see the Summit Agreements User Guide, or direct additional questions you may have to ospcontracts@vt.edu.

To initiate a Letter of Guarantee for an existing fund, visit Summit Agreements and select Award Change Request (ACR) to create a draft to submit to the Office of Sponsored Programs. Use the “Other” Change Request type. Please see the User Guide, or direct additional questions you may have to the post-award grant manager.

The Office of Sponsored Programs facilitates many different agreement types, including:

• Collaboration Agreements
• Equipment Loan Agreements
• Memoranda of Understanding
• Teaming Agreements
• Testing and Evaluation Agreements

To initiate other research-related agreement, visit Summit Agreements to create a draft to submit to the Office of Sponsored Programs. Please see the Summit Agreements User Guide, or direct additional questions you may have to ospcontracts@vt.edu.

A software license agreement allows a licensee to use the software in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

To initiate a software license agreement, visit IT Procurement and Licensing Solutions to begin your request.

An International Memorandum of Understanding is a collaborative agreement between Virginia Tech and an international entity, such as another university, a non-governmental organization, or a private sector organization.

To initiate an International Memorandum of Understanding, visit the Memoranda of Understanding page through Global Strategic Services. Research-related Memoranda of Understanding with domestic entities are managed through the Office of Sponsored Programs.