Heads of Agreement need to be signed by RPO (Technology Transfer Office) and Company and returned to Enterprise Ireland. Here the principle IP terms of the collaboration agreement to be put in place are outlined.
Company letters need to be signed by the Company. In one letter the Company makes a commitment to provide the cash and in-kind contribution (if applicable). This letter needs to be returned to Enterprise Ireland. It is known as the “Company Agreement”.
In a separate letter the Company makes a commitment to provide overheads (30%). This letter is to be returned to the RPO, not Enterprise Ireland.
2. Contract Stage
Enterprise Ireland post two copies of the grant agreement and annex documentation to the Principal Investigator with a cover letter outlining any outstanding documentation and deadlines. *It is here it will state if the Heads of Agreement and Company Agreement have not yet been received by Enterprise Ireland. The Principle Investigator needs to sign the grant agreement and annex. The original signed agreements then need to be returned to the Contracts Office for review and signature. If all is in order, the Contracts Office will require Head of School/Centre Director signature on the grant agreement before it can be signed by one of the College authorised signatories. A scanned signature is sufficient as this is for internal purposes. The Contracts Office will return the signed original documentation to Enterprise Ireland.
In order to set up the research accounts the Principal Investigator will need to complete a Contract Assessment Form* and Research Account Set Up form for the portion of funding from Enterprise Ireland and the portion of funding from the Company. *Housing Letter will also be required if award is housed outside the Principal Investigator’s school. Once the forms have been checked by the Contracts Office they will email Financial Services Division and ask for the research accounts be set up. Financial Services Division will set this up as one project with two awards as there is co-funding.
Within twelve months of the commencement of the project a collaboration agreement will need to be entered into by the RPO and Company governing the payment of the Company’s contribution, non-monetary contribution (if any) and the ownership and exploitation of IP.
Normally under the EI IPP there isn’t funding for subcontractors/consultants so no other sub agreements from the Contracts Office are required. This will depend on the proposal awarded. The Principal Investigator may need to liaise with the Technology Transfer Office should any Invention Disclosure Forms or IP agreements be required.
