Contract research

Contract Research is REF attributable research actively funded by industry or government.  Research & Knowledge Transfer acts as a single point of management and support service for all contract research.  For further information about the benefits for doing contract research see ‘Advantages of contract research’.

We support the development and management of contract research projects and provide assistance with:

• Proposals, bids and expressions of interests (EOIs) : we assist with and advise on developing proposals, bids and EOIs.
• Registrations: we can help complete sponsor registrations such as e-tendering, procurement and government assurances.
• Invitations to tender (ITT) & Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQs): we have compiled a comprehensive set of information and resources from previous applications to help with future submissions. 
• Quality Assurance.
• Research frameworks: we can support and co-ordinate research framework applications, to become a preferred supplier of research services for a particular sponsor. 
• Pricing: We can help to scope projects, develop costs and quotes by liaising with Research Accounting and the College. 
• Negotiation: We can help with the negotiation of all aspects of your project with the sponsor.
• NDAs: Arrangement of NDAs where requested to ensure individuals' ideas remain confidential and protected during any external discussions held with third parties.
• Contract management
• Feedback: We regularly collate feedback from sponsors and for unsuccessful bids. 
• Intellectual property : We will ensure protection of IP and academic publication rights.
• Insurance & risk: We will assess potential insurance or reputational risks associated with your project, and liaise between IO and College to ensure risk is appropriately managed.
• Stakeholder  and Client Relationship Development: Invest time into nurturing contacts and developing links to explore further research opportunities.

Further information

For more information, please see the contract research procedures, our FAQ page and our case studies.

Feedback

In order to assess the performance of RKT in supporting your project, your feedback would be greatly appreciated. It will also help us to highlight areas for improvement.  Please follow this link to the Contract Research feedback questionnaire (doc) and feel free to expand or highlight any other issues relating to each area, especially if you can see room for improvement.

Contact the Contract Research and Consultancy team

We are always happy to talk with you to discuss your project and options.