Office of Research Services Contracts Unit

The Contracts Unit in the Office of Research Services is responsible for the primary coordination, negotiation, and administration of research related agreements for Queen's University and the affiliated teaching hospitals. We encourage our researchers to involve us in their discussions with sponsors at the earliest opportunity, as this will help to streamline the process of review and signature, and help to avoid unwanted delays due to incomplete documentation or agreements that do not meet university policy requirements. It is especially important to contact the Contracts Unit as soon as possible as, due to the high volume of contracts received in the Contracts Unit, the average time for the first review can be 3-4 weeks.

Agreements related to research are signed by the Director of Research Services, on behalf of the University.

The primary functions of the Contracts Unit are:

• reviewing, drafting and negotiating agreements to ensure that the terms are in accordance with university policy on such matters as publication, intellectual property, indirect costs (overhead),
• reviewing and verifying related documentation, such as Data Summary and Signature Sheet,
• verifying that the required certifications are in place, such as Human Ethics, Animal Care, Biohazards approvals,
• acting as the liaison between researchers, funding agencies, and other administrative units of the university,
• providing information and acting as an educational resource to faculty, staff, students, funding agencies, and other administrative units of the university,
• coordinating the signature process when agreements are ready for execution