Industry-Sponsored Research at Harvard

Establishing Industry-Sponsored Research

OTD partners with you throughout the process—from the first conversation with industry to a fully executed agreement.

Read OTD’s Guidance for Industry-Sponsored Research

Read OTD’s Guidance for Industry-Sponsored Research for a clear and predictable framework as you consider, propose, or enter into sponsored research relationships with industry.

Guidance for Industry-Sponsored Research

Contact OTD Early

Reach out when you’re first exploring a potential industry collaboration. We’ll help you think through your research goals, fit, and agreement type.

Define the Project & Objectives

You and OTD work together to outline the research scope, timeline, budget, and your academic objectives (publications, graduate student or postdoc support, data sharing, etc.).

OTD Establishes the Agreement

OTD works with industry to structure the appropriate agreement, addressing IP, publications, confidentiality, and funding terms while protecting academic freedom. OTD generally drafts a sponsored research agreement within 5 business days of receiving all necessary and pertinent information.

Launch & Manage the Collaboration

Once signed, you conduct the research as planned. OTD remains available to help with amendments, IP questions, or next‑step discussions such as licensing or follow‑on projects.

Get Started

Do you have a relationship with a potential industry partner looking to collaborate with your lab?
Contact OTD

What to learn about the key principles of establishing industry-sponsored research?
Read OTD’s Guidance for Industry-Sponsored Research

Choosing the Right Type of Industry-Sponsored Research Collaboration

OTD offers a spectrum of sponsored research agreements—from open science agreements focused on fundamental research and shared knowledge to translational science agreements aimed at commercial impact and new technologies that may be licensed or form the basis of startups.

Open Science Agreements

Applicable Projects:
Academic research focused on: fundamental science, data analysis, development of analytical methods

Faculty Considerations:
Objective is early-stage discovery and publications are prioritized

Rights to Company:
Right to use research findings for any purpose, as long as kept confidential until publication

View Sample Agreement

Applied Science Agreements

Applicable Projects:
Applied research focused on problems with commercial potential, development of platform technologies and methods

Faculty Considerations:
Some commercialization interest but uncertain commercial path to revenue, IP is unlikely, company may develop future IP informed by the research findings of the project, publications prioritized

Rights to Company:
Pre-defined financial terms for non-exclusive license to arising IP, option for exclusive license to arising IP on terms to be negotiated at the conclusion of the project, right to use research findings for any purpose as long as kept confidential until publication

Translational Science Agreements

Applicable Projects:
Translational research with intentional effort to drive science toward commercial outcome: proof of concept experiments designed to validate commercial potential, novel compositions of matter, new materials and devices; technology emerging from the project is candidate for license and/or startup launch

Faculty Considerations:
Applied research with a potential market or product pathway, evaluation of results through the lens of IP creation, publication desired to validate results for potential investors and benefit future commercial opportunity

Rights to Company:
Option for exclusive or non-exclusive license to arising IP on terms to be negotiated at the conclusion of the project, right to use research finding for any purpose as long as kept confidential until publication