These guidelines describe how principal investigators and staff can set up, launch, and administer an Industry Sponsored Institute smoothly, successfully, and sustainably. The best practices are based on UC Berkeley's experience establing and running successful Industry Sponsored Institutes (ISI or Institute).
Faculty and campus leadership can avoid common pitfalls involved in setting up an institute by building in the proper levels of support, whether provided by Institute faculty/staff or negotiated with the relevant campus units, when seeking to establish an Institute.
If you would like to explore establishing an Industry Sponsored Institute at UC Berkeley with corporate funding, please fill out an IPIRA Concierge form. An IPIRA staff member will reach out to you and discuss the opportunity.
If you are interested in forming an institute with funding from a foundation or other non-profit entity (such as a U.S. or foreign university), or state or federal government funds, contact the Sponsored Projects Office for assistance.
In a Master Sponsored Research Agreement (MSRA), a company intending to fund multiple research agreements over an extended period of time agrees to terms and conditions in advance. A signed MSRA eliminates the need to negotiate a new agreement for each individual project. An ISI Agreement includes an MSRA, with standard terms that govern the sponsor's funding for future, undefined research projects, plus specifies elements specific to the governance and operations of the institute.
The goal is to define the focus and ensure the design, structure, and administrative support are sufficient for establishing a sustainable institute.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls. There is a tendency to underestimate the time, complexity, and cost of creating, running, and administering a successful institute. In order to move forward, an ISI opportunity must incorporate each of the following design elements:
An institute represents a major investment by the university, with significant commitments from the principal investigator(s), senior university staff, and administrative resources. As such, for a proposed Institute to advance beyond the definitional stage, a proposed ISI must:
The PI is responsible for obtaining the review and approval of their dean and the Vice Chancellor of Research (VCR). Once the dean and VCR have each provided their approval to IPIRA’s Industry Alliances Office, IAO staff and the PI can begin to weave together specific elements for setting up a successful institute.
ISI Master Agreement. The key elements of an institute are memorialized in a master agreement, which is signed by the university and the institute's industry sponsor. IPIRA Industry Alliances Office (IAO), in consultation with IPIRA Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) and Sponsored Projects Office (SPO), negotiates and signs the master agreement with the industry sponsor to establish the institute and the associated research project plans. The interests of the institute and the industry sponsor are considered in custom-crafting an arrangement in accordance with UC and campus policies. The ISI master agreement is customized to address issues raised by the given situation, but all such agreements address the following minimum elements:
Build a Cross-campus Team
Manage Intellectual Property
Inventions, software, materials, copyrightable works, and other intellectual property arising from ISI research are disclosed to IPIRA’s Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) through IPIRA’s online invention disclosure form or the software disclosure form. OTL receives and manages invention and software disclosures, protects inventions by filing and prosecuting patents, and licenses IP rights for commercial development, to companies of all sizes, including startup companies. OTL also manages startup equity and related agreements, assistance with open source software licenses and other copyrights, assistance with startup funding, and outgoing materials or data. OTL also supports entrepreneurs and startup companies in part, by collaborating with other campus units and the broader innovation ecosystem.
Manage Changes
IPIRA IAO is available to provide strategic advice on changes in Institute direction, changes in Master Agreement terms and conditions, adding new sponsors, scaling the Institute, or winding down the Institute.