Consortiums

Definition

A Consortium Agreement is a membership agreement that enables multiple parties to join for a specific purpose, allowing the pooling of resources to support specific research or best practices. The members of the Consortium equally share the outcomes of the research.

Consortiums at Purdue

Purdue frequently joins as a member of a Consortium to be allowed to submit research proposals for funded projects. Purdue SPS will review agreements where Purdue is joining a Consortium that does not include a membership fee paid by Purdue. Those agreements are instead reviewed by Purdue Procurement as there is outgoing funding.

Purdue PIs can request the creation of a new Purdue Consortium with membership fees from sponsors to support non-competitive research or provide members with best practices in a specific field. Precompetitive research consortia are a popular way for companies to partner with universities to develop a solution for a problem they all share, from which none would gain a competitive advantage. A Purdue Consortium requires all members to have the same rights and obligations, so the agreement is written with pre-competitive terms.

Terms

Consortium Agreements include terms governing the following:

• A general description of research to be conducted under the Consortium’s funding.
• Cost of membership
• Management of the consortium and members’ role in governance.
• Publication of the consortium’s research results.
• Intellectual property rights arising from the consortium’s research.
• Rights and procedures to terminate the consortium or membership.