Sponsored Research FAQ

• What is a Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA)?

  • A Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA) is an agreement where an industry partner agrees to fund research to be completed at SJSU. The agreement will address a number of key terms including scope of work, cost, period of performance, confidentiality, intellectual property, and publication rights.  

• What are the benefits of an SRA?

  • SRAs are an ideal pathway for universities and industry partners to collaborate on and advance early-stage research. Industry gains access to leading investigators and cutting edge research. The University and society benefit as industry partners can help advance early-stage discoveries into products and services with practical applications. Both parties can benefit from access to unique equipment and resources of the other party.

• Why are companies interested in funding research at SJSU?

  • Companies recognize academic centers like SJSU are often at the cutting edge of innovative research and ideas. By participating in sponsored research, industry partners gain access to these novel ideas and have the opportunity to develop them into commercial products and services ahead of the field.

• Who at SJSU helps navigate the process of partnering with industry?

  • The Office of Innovation helps create the connection between industry partners and SJSU researchers. We continuously scout our campus and the local industry landscape to identify projects suitable for partnership or funding. The SJSU Research Foundation manages research agreements for SJSU and works closely with the Office of Innovation, the industry sponsor, and the researcher to negotiate and develop mutually beneficial sponsored research agreements.

• Can the research funding be structured as a gift instead of an SRA?

  • Due to the tax requirements for a donation, if the industry partner wants to direct the research and/or have rights to intellectual property, then the project needs to be performed under an SRA rather than as a donation.

• What publication restrictions are allowed under an SRA?

  • In general, universities must be allowed freedom to publish results. To address this underlying need, publishing results of sponsored research may be limited for specific period of time, but the SRA will include a process to allow publication (typically after allowing time for IP protection).  

• Who owns intellectual property resulting from sponsored research? 

  • The University has created standardized options for partners to secure upfront exclusive or non-exclusive license to any intellectual property created in the course of sponsored research (see our Industry Sponsored Research page for more details). In all cases, the University retains rights for research and teaching purposes.