Agreement Requirements

• Please refer to the International Agreements Matrix and Training Affiliation Agreement Overview for further details, weblinks, procedures for requesting, and approval/signatory requirements. Some affiliation requests require the UCSF International Activity Proposal.
• Whenever an international partner requests modifications to a UCSF template, these must be reviewed by the appropriate team in the Office of Sponsored Research. Refer to the Matrix for the correct link.
• Some projects or international locations require review by specific UCSF offices which are part of the International Affiliations Council (IAC): Business Contracts (BC), UCSF Legal Offices, Compliance & Export Control, Information Technology (IT), designee of the EVCP, Institute for Global Health Sciences (IGHS) and other UCSF Offices as needed. This review is requested by the Business Contracts Unit or other UCSF Offices by contacting the Senior International Officer in the EVCP Office who will contact the rest of the IAC, before proposed agreements are sent to the international partner.
• International agreements of particularly large scope or requiring large resource requirements or involving higher risk activities will require approval from the University of California Office of the President (UCOP). Please see the UCOP Checklist for International Activity and the UCOP International Affiliations Policy. The UCSF Export Control Officer in the Office of Ethics and Compliance will also be involved in UCOP approval for higher risk activities/locations.

Types of Agreements

Letter of Intent to Collaborate (LOIC template): This initial document can be used to indicate the desire for further discussions or planning toward a partnership. It describes the general intent for a collaboration and suggests some project areas that can be defined in the future. This document is useful for goodwill or ribbon-cutting ceremonies, and can be signed by any level of faculty (from faculty researcher or educator to the chancellor). There is no legally binding language in this document for a specific activity, but it serves to express a desire for future discussion on collaboration. After the document is signed, it must be submitted to the Business Contracts Office, which will send a copy to the leadership of the faculty member’s department or unit. Usual duration is 3 years.

International proposals and Grants; Government Contracts; Outgoing Subawards and Subcontracts; Business Contracts: These agreements include a wide variety of international partners, and are negotiated by different teams in the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR). They involve funding for specific activities or projects. To find the correct OSR team, please refer to the Responsibility Matrix chart, or these links: International Proposals and Grants; Government Contracts; Outgoing Subawards and Subcontracts; Business Contracts.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): UCSF strongly discourages the use of international MOUs, because these agreements may or may not be legally binding, and because they are used for a confusing array of different of international agreements. MOUs are requested by using the UCSF International Activity Proposal. MOUs are also problematic because the terms and conditions may not be consistent with UCSF requirements, and may not be within the authority of a faculty member to carry out or to promise. In rare instances UCSF will approve a legally binding MOU created by an outside entity (e.g., foundations, non-profit organizations) only after it has been reviewed and approved by the Business Contracts Office in conjunction with the Office of Legal Affairs, particularly in the case of international agreements. This is requested by submitting a UCSF International Activity Proposal as directed on the Matrix.

International Teaming Agreement: These research-oriented agreements are often used when a funding organization requires evidence of collaboration between two or more partners before grant applications can be reviewed. Roles of each partner are usually specified. Interested principal investigators or research teams do not need to decide if their research collaboration request is best served by an International Teaming Agreement. Teaming Agreements may be handled either by Industry Contracts Division, Award Team, or Government Contracts Team, depending on sponsor type and/or whether it’s part of a proposal. See the Matrix for further details.

International Research or Collaboration Agreement: These research-oriented agreements are often used when two or more institutions (with one institution located abroad) agree to collaborate on a specific project, funded or not. Research may take place at UCSF, abroad, or both. Interested principal investigators or research teams do not need to decide if their research collaboration request is best served by an International Research or Collaboration Agreement.
Find an OSR contact
For more information about OSR Responsibility Areas: OSR Responsibility Matrix
For questions, send an inquiry to [email protected]

International Professional Services Agreement: These agreements are contracts for a UCSF faculty member to participate in hands-on clinical activities or medical services involving patients overseas. Whether the faculty member is paid, funded, or volunteer, UCSF requires this agreement to protect the collaboration partners, including patients and faculty members, for legal and insurance purposes. International telemedicine arrangements involving UCSF faculty members who deliver care also need specific Professional Services Agreements (see the Matrix). Professional Services Agreements are requested through the PSA request module on Salesforce/ CACTAS by the designated requestor (often the MSO) in the unit or department.

International Unit Affiliation Agreements (IUAAs) and International Institutional Affiliation Agreements (IIAAs): These types of umbrella affiliations involve routine activities that are part of the course and scope of engagement, education, and training/exchange of faculty, other academic appointees, students, and staff. Routine activities may include:

• collaborations between faculty and peers
• attendance at and participation in meetings and conferences
• cooperative study programs and student exchanges or study abroad
• training development programs
• faculty research and fieldwork
• undergraduate and graduate research and fieldwork
• scholarly, artistic, and cultural exchanges.

Both the IIAA and the IUAA – while providing mandatory UCSF language on intellectual property, insurance etc. – require additional specific agreement documents for each specific activity. The difference between these two types of affiliations is one of scope. See the following entries for details.

International Unit Affiliation Agreement (IUAA): These international agreements typically include a range of planned academic activities within the collaboration. These are not campus-wide but involve one or several smaller units, often within the same UCSF school or institute. Each IUAA requires a specific UCSF faculty champion (who may work in concert with a designated administrator or Management Services Officer or MSO) to be responsible for the affiliation agreement process and for the ongoing collaboration. IUAAs are legally binding, have UCSF-required language for various domains (insurance, use of name, etc.), and usually last 5 years. As each specific collaborative activity is planned, a new specific sub-agreement is required, but typically these are a simpler agreements, since the overlying IUAA provides most of the UCSF-required language. Sub-agreement templates are available for coordinating committee agreements and individual faculty work agreements, as well as TAAs (see below). Other sub-agreements can be provided by the appropriate contracting unit as needed. If several units or departments at UCSF are interested in collaborating with the international partner, the Business Contracts Office will consider the scope of the planned activities in order to select an IUAA or IIAA template (see the next entry). Please refer to the Workflow for an International Unit Affiliation Agreement (IUAA) and fill out the UCSF International Activity Proposal.

International Institutional Affiliation Agreement (IIAA): This type of agreement is for a UCSF campus-wide collaboration, initially involving at least 2 schools or independent UCSF centers or institutes. Each IIAA requires a specific UCSF faculty champion (who may work in concert with a designated administrator or Management Services Officer or MSO) to be responsible for the affiliation agreement process and for the ongoing collaboration. Similar to IUAAs, the campus-wide IIAAs cover a range of planned academic activities, are legally binding, have UCSF-required language for various domains (insurance, use of name, etc.), require specific sub-agreements for specific activities, and usually last 5 years. IUAAs require a higher level of approval and signature authority involving deans or designates, as well as the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost (EVCP). Sub-agreement templates are available for coordinating committee agreements and individual faculty work agreements, as well as TAAs (see below). Other sub-agreements can be provided by the appropriate contracting unit as needed. If several units or departments at UCSF are interested in collaborating with the international partner, the Business Contracts Office will consider the scope of the planned activities in order to select an IUAA or IIAA template. Please refer to the Workflow for an International Institutional Affiliation Agreement (IIAA) and fill out the UCSF International Activity Proposal.

International Training Affiliation Agreements (TAAs): Training Affiliation Agreements are available for students, residents, and fellows, according to school or program requirements. Please see the Training Affiliation Overview for more details on the affiliation process, and refer to the link for current UCSF International Training Affiliation Agreements.