Sponsored projects have evolved into an intricate system combining expertise and resources from multiple organizations to enable the successful completion of the project in accordance with the requirements of the Sponsor. Agreements are made between and among collaborating organizations to facilitate the proposal process and the sharing of data and results, and to delineate rights in any intellectual property that may arise from the project. In addition, the agreement may address payment procedures, reporting, and other administrative issues related to the collaboration. Subcontracts or subrecipient agreements are sometimes referred to as “consortium agreements”. The term “Consortium Agreement” also refers to an agreement among a number of organizations to collaborate on a project, and may address both the proposal process as well as post-award matters. A “Teaming Agreement” is the term applied to an agreement between two or more organizations (one of which is usually a for-profit entity) that intend to collaborate on the submission of a proposal. When a collaborative agreement is established, one organization will act as the lead organization with the Sponsor. The lead organization is referred to as the Prime Applicant, Prime Contractor or Prime Grantee, and it is this organization’s responsibility to ensure that all the signatory organizations involved in the collaborative agreement are in (and remain in) compliance with Sponsor requirements. At the time that the proposal is being submitted to the Sponsor, the intent to collaborate and assurance of compliance with Sponsor requirements is documented by the signature of an official authorized to obligate the organization. When the project has been funded, the Sponsor requirements are incorporated into the subcontract agreement for that project.
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