While ORKTS Legal and Compliance Team endeavors to get each research contract finalized and concluded as soon as possible, the work of research contracting is a truly collaborative process between the Legal and Compliance Team and the principal investigators (PIs).
Here are selected highlights of steps that PIs are highly encouraged to take, which will help expedite or simplify the contract drafting and negotiating processes:
- Before starting collaborative research, please contact the Legal and Compliance Team (email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) as early as possible. They will offer advice and, where applicable, the University’s standard agreement template to kick-start the contract negotiation process. - Provide to ORKTS Legal and Compliance Team with all relevant information relating to the intended research project at an early stage of contract negotiation – ideally by supplying a duly completed “Statement of Work” (SOW) (standard template downloadable here), so as to allow the Legal and Compliance Team to better understand the research activities and the underlying important issues;
- Where possible, adopt the University’s standard agreement template provided by ORKTS Legal and Compliance Team as the starting point of contract negotiation, as the external counterparties’ own contract templates often contain terms and conditions not in line with the University’s relevant policies;
- Duly alert ORKTS Legal and Compliance Team on any external deadline for conclusion of the agreement once it is known to PIs and any specific expectations on the intended research project (such as arrangement on intellectual property rights, publication rights, etc.);
- Actively discuss with external counterparties or collaborators on the research project details so that all parties will be on the same page particularly in relation to project-specific variables, such as the parties’ respective rights, research contributions and research work allocation;
- Submit all duly completed, signed and endorsed CUHK’s prescribed internal forms to ORKTS Legal and Compliance Team as early as possible, which are required for their seeking of the University management’s approval and execution of the agreement (effective from 16 March 2021, PIs may submit the internal forms to ORKTS Legal and Compliance Team by email – either a scan of signatures by hand or electronic signatures will be accepted);
- Follow all relevant policies and regulations as set out in the University’s “Policy on Research” – in particular :
- persons not eligible to act as PIs should first apply for approval to serve as principal investigators (paragraph 5.1);
- the proposed research activity should be consonant with the general conditions set out in the Policy (paragraph 5.2);
- a suitable level of overhead should be charged in the research budget (paragraph 14); and
- the proposed research activity should have the requisite safety approval (paragraph 16) and ethics approval (paragraph 17), where applicable;
- Set a realistic and reasonable timeframe for parties’ conclusion of the agreement;
- (for research projects where full-cost shall be charged, e.g. when a collaborator will own intellectual property rights generated from the sponsored research) Ensure that full cost budget policy is duly observed and include PI’s time costs in the research project budget;
- (for research contracts to be entered by the related research institutes such as “Shenzhen Research Institute” and “Futian Innovation & Technology Research Institute”) Duly submit to the Human Resources Office (HRO) a time release application for the research project and supply a copy of HRO’s time release approval to ORKTS Legal and Compliance Team in compliance with the University’s policy; and
- After full execution of the agreement, deliver (or procure counterparty to deliver) one (or other number as advised by the ORKTS Legal and Compliance Team) original agreement to ORKTS’s office for their retention.
Here are selected highlights of “Don’t” that PIs should be aware of:
- Do Not confirm with or commit to external counterparties – even verbally – on any contract terms or provisions (especially those on intellectual property rights arrangements or other restrictions detrimental to CUHK’s interests) before the ORKTS Legal and Compliance Team’s vetting of the draft agreement or offering of advice to PIs;
- Do Not disclose or supply to counterparty any confidential or other valuable information or materials prior to the parties’ full execution of the agreement;
- Do Not wait only until the external deadline for agreement conclusion is around the corner to approach ORKTS Legal and Compliance Team, as internal processing time is required for the agreement vetting, approval and execution procedures; and
- Do Not execute any research contract on behalf of the University, as execution by any person other than the University’s authorized signatory will render the contract invalid and/or even give rise to personal liability.