Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/392125
Anatomy of a Research Contract Section 2 9 Although each Research Contract will be different there will be common themes within them. (The words contract and agreement mean the same). In this Section we look at some of the things which you would expect to be included in most Research Contracts. Parties Always make sure it is clear who is entering into the Research Contract. Check the contract is between the right parties. Some institutions have subsidiary companies (acting as managing agents) which deal with Research Contracts and IP Commercialisation but they are not the employers of the researchers nor will they own the IP generated by the researchers. Always fill out full names and addresses. In the case of a company, include the company's registration number and registered office. These can easily be found on Companies House website www.companieshouse.gov.uk, through the WebCheck facility. Selecting the wrong collaborator is probably the most common cause of failure of a collaboration. It bears no relation to the quality of the Research Plan or the terms of the collaboration. Selecting a collaborator without having properly checked its strategic fit with your aims, its solvency and its integrity can lead to disappointment. Therefore it is really worthwhile spending the time before signing a contract to check that you have courted the right collaborator. You do not want it all to end in divorce! Structure After the "Parties" section there may then be a section called "Background" or "Recitals" which sets out some background to why the parties are entering into the contract and, perhaps, what they hope to achieve. The Research Contract will then frequently be made up of a formal legal text comprising the main body of the contract, together with various schedules and appendices to it, setting out some of the more practical detail about the Research Project. The schedules or appendices may simply be one document often known as the Research Plan. Content The typical content of the main body of a Research Contract is covered in the following Sections.