Stanford
Industrial Affiliates Programs

Industrial Affiliate Programs FAQs

 

How are Industrial Affiliate Programs different from sponsored research?

Industrial Affiliate Programs (IAPs) focus on one or more related areas of research and typically support several projects. IAPs involve two or more faculty and a group of member companies and/or organizations. IAP member companies do not receive intellectual property rights in return for their membership fee. Nor should they be sharing any of their confidential information with the IAP. Sponsored research projects typically are one-to-one arrangements where a member company funds research in a single faculty lab / for a single Principal Investigator. Sponsored research projects have a Statement of Work, a budget, and a term during which the research project will be performed. The sponsoring company pays the full direct and indirect costs for the research. In return, the company typically receives an option to license intellectual property that is generated in the course of performing the research. 

 

Where can I find the University's policies on Industrial Affiliate Programs? 

Stanford Industrial Affiliate Programs provide a way for companies to build deeper relationships with Stanford researchers. The goal of IAPs is to promote openness in research and conform to the University's primary missions: teaching and research, as described in the Research Policy Handbook. 

 

What indirect costs are applied to membership fees and funds coming from Industrial Affiliate Program? 

Membership fees and additional funding that come from IAPs are subject to the same infrastructure charge as gifts to the University, which is currently 8% Indirect Costs for Stanford IAPs (13% IDC for IAPs from Stanford's School of Medicine only).

 

Do member companies joining a Stanford Industrial Affiliate Program need a membership agreement?

Yes, current federal government reporting regulations require that universities report many of these relationships and any external funding that universities receive, so our template membership agreement should be used to document what amounts of funding Stanford is receiving, the party providing the funding, and the dates to which that funding relationship apply. The Stanford IAP membership agreement template can be found on the Documents page. 

 

Who at Stanford can sign Industrial Affiliate Program membership agreements?

ICO signs all IAP membership agreements, as does the Cognizant Dean from the school to which the specific IAP belongs. No one else has the authority to sign IAP membership agreements on behalf of Stanford.

 

How do faculty set up a new Industrial Affiliate Program?

Requests to establish or continue an Industrial Affiliate Program are submitted to the Industrial Contracts Office via the IAP Qualtrics Form (choose the "Establishing a New Industrial Affiliate Program" option). New IAPs are reviewed by ICO and the applicable Stanford School's Cognizant Dean and for compliance with University policies. The Stanford Research Policy Handbook policy governing Industrial Affiliate Programs is foundat: DoR 13.4

 

What happens after a new Industrial Affiliate Program is approved?

After ICO reviews and approves the IAP, ICO will gather all requisite signatures on the New Industrial Affiliate Program Application and return a copy to the new IAP. ICO also notifies the appropriate School's Cognizant Dean and the new IAP's Faculty Director. The IAP can then recruit members, get them to sign the IAP membership agreement, and once the membership agreement is signed, invoice and collect member company funds.