Data and Materials Sharing

Sharing IP, data and materials is necessary and important to further the goals and accomplishments of our research community. In transferring data and materials to other researchers and labs, the HMS community must follow all applicable laws, regulations, contractual obligations, and University and School policies.

All agreements on behalf of Harvard Medical School must be reviewed and signed by the appropriate administrative office to ensure compliance with all requirements. The following table describes which office at HMS is required to sign each type of agreement.

Type of Agreement	HMS Reviewing and Signing Office	Contact
Data Transfer and Use Agreements	Office of Research Administration	SPAContracts@hms.harvard.edu https://dua.harvard.edu/
Sponsored Research Agreements	Office of Research Administration	SPA_Award@hms.harvard.edu
Collaboration Agreements	Office of Research Administration	SPA_Award@hms.harvard.edu
Material Transfer Agreements	Office of Technology Development	hms_materialtransfer@harvard.edu https://otd.harvard.edu/faculty-inventors/resources/material-transfer-agreements/
Intellectual Property License Agreements	Office of Technology Development	otd@harvard.edu
Non-Disclosure/Confidentiality Agreements	Office of Research Administration	SPAContracts@hms.harvard.edu
Non-Disclosure/Confidentiality Agreements w/ for-profits	Office of Technology Development	otd@harvard.edu
Consulting Agreements outside HMS* _{(agreements issued directly to an individual as part of their outside activities can be reviewed by the Office of Academic and Research integrity. Review is recommended but not required)}	Office of Academic and Research integrity	outside_activities@hms.harvard.edu
Consulting Agreements through HMS	Office of Research Administration	SPAContracts@hms.harvard.edu
Appointment Letters	Office of Faculty Affairs	OFA@hms.harvard.edu

Harvard University has also published a guide to determining the responsible parties for coordinating the review and signature of research-related agreements at Harvard. For other agreements not detailed above, please consult this guide or research out to the HMS Office for Research Administration.

Resources:

Harvard University Office of Technology Development

HMS Office of Research Administration

HMS Office for Faculty Affairs

Material Transfer Agreements

Research Materials Transfer/Shipping Requirements

Data Use Agreement (DUA) Policy and Guidance

DUA Agreements System

Invention/innovation Disclosure

Harvard University Intellectual Property Policy