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Initiating a sponsored international agreement

Here’s a quick summary of resources and guidance for navigating the MIT international support landscape to successfully initiate a sponsored international project.

Learn

Review our project planning section for a set of questions to help you understand more about the project scope, sponsors, and other key considerations when planning international activities.
Review the 5 Steps to Complete an Agreement describing the lifecycle of international activities.
Learn more about the fundamentals of sponsored programs in general, and about international activities in particular.

Plan

The International Coordinating Committee (ICC) can help address unique questions and concerns related to risk, safety and security, legal, tax and financial compliance, and culture – and is a valuable resource if your activity falls outside an established process or you are uncertain about how to proceed.
Reach out to your Research Administration Services (RAS) Contract Administrator or an Office of Strategic Alliances and Technology Transfer (OSATT) Catalyst for help at the earliest stages of planning. They are members of ICC and will help you understand and navigate the international agreement process.
Review our list of International Program Administrators and subject matter experts for help with specific legal, financial, and compliance concerns or a particular geographic focus.

Review

All proposals for sponsored international activities must be routed through Kuali Coeus (KC) to RAS before submission to a potential sponsor, in accordance with current standard MIT procedures.
For engagements in China (including Hong Kong), Russia, and Saudi Arabia, you will need to understand and follow the elevated risk review process, which helps identify and manage risks, as well as ensure successful and compliant collaborations with international sponsors.

Negotiate

A negotiation team that includes the Department, Lab, Center, and Institute (DLCI) and appropriate central administrative resources, e.g. OSATT, RAS, or OGC, will work with PIs to draft and negotiate an agreement with the external collaborator/sponsor. The negotiation team will work directly with the sponsor’s business and legal staff to facilitate the process, which is expected to be iterative, generate new information, and potentially entail project revisions.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Office of the Vice Provost for International Activities
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
internationalhelp@mit.edu

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