A variety of contract types can be offered to sponsors by OSP/GTRC and GTARC in its mission of proposing and negotiating appropriate agreements to support the research and scholarly activities of Georgia Tech. The consistent theme in any agreement is that Georgia Tech's costs must be reimbursed, that no unreasonable legal nor financial liability is imposed on Georgia Tech, and that Georgia Tech has the right to retain ownership of intellectual property that it develops during research.

Some common agreement types
  • Awards under the Federal Demonstration Project (FDP)
  • Grants from federal agencies (non-FDP)
  • Other grants from nonfederal sponsors
  • Cost Reimbursement type contracts
  • Industry contracts
  • Time and Materials contracts
  • Fixed Price contracts

Learn more about each contract type and when to use specific types.

Our preferred mechanism for a contractual relationship is a Cost Reimbursement type contract. Fixed Priced contracts are generally used when the research to be performed can be clearly defined in the statement of work (SOW) and there is little risk to the Institute.

One item to note is that in a request for proposals (RFP) where the contract type is specified, the Contracting Officer may take exception to some aspects of the contract at the time of submission; therefore, when responding to an RFP, PIs must allow sufficient time for review so exceptions can be taken.