Collaborating with Industry

The EME programme will support studies involving partnerships with industry where these are for public benefit, and are not for the exclusive benefit of the industry partner. Where your research proposal involves industry collaboration, you should ensure the arrangements and details are determined early in the study development, and that relevant agreements are in place at the outset of the project. The EME programme will require assurance that any industry collaboration allows transparency in the project design and in the analysis and publication of results (including if these are negative). You should also consider issues such as: relative responsibilities, governance arrangements, regulatory approvals, indemnity, intellectual property rights, reporting, and access to data and samples. Any award is conditional upon the EME programme receiving a fully signed collaborative agreement between the partners in advance of the project starting.

The responsibility for ensuring that appropriate management arrangements are established for any intellectual property (IP) arising from EME programme funded research rests with the host research organisation. It is responsible for negotiating and agreeing appropriate IP rights with industrial collaborators. The principles of any IP rights to be agreed with collaborators should be specified in your full proposal, to be considered by the EME Board.

If the collaboration involves the supply of reagents, drugs or other technologies, the EME programme will require written assurances that the industry collaborator will provide these products for the duration of the study.

Please also read Collaborating with Charities and Other Funders.