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I am interested in forming a start-up company. Who should I contact at the U of I?

• Grants & Contracts Office (GCO)
  GCO is the first point of contact for researchers seeking external research funding or companies that want to fund research projects or collaborate with UIUC researchers. This office contacts the Office of Research Administration (ORA) as needed for assistance with reviewing, drafting and negotiating intellectual property terms and academic research policy issues (e.g., preferential treatment of research sponsors, publication rights and prepublication review procedures, ownership of research results and data). Many standard research agreement forms are available electronically on the GCO Web site.
  

• Office of Business Affairs: Purchasing Division
  The Purchasing Division works with intellectual property issues related to licenses for software being acquired for academic and research purposes. This office is generally considered to be a good starting point, and Purchasing staff will contact ORA as needed.


• Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Administration (OSPRA)
  The principal responsibilities of ORA are to provide leadership and assistance in areas related to drafting, reviewing, negotiating and implementing a wide range of research agreements to facilitate University research inititiatives. Guidance is provided to the UIUC research community, the Grants and Contracts Office, and corporate and government sponsors. ORA reviews research agreements to ensure compliance with applicable University intellectual property and academic research policies and practices. Agreements are also checked for consistency with applicable state and federal regulations. The activities of ORA require close collaboration with the Office of Technology Management (OTM) on intellectual property and licensing issues in research agreements to insure that interactions with industry regarding sponsored research will be consistent with the University's technology transfer objectives. ORA is a unit of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR).
  
• Office of Technology Management (OTM)
  OTM, a unit of the OVCR, is responsible for handling issues related to intellectual property created on the Urbana-Champaign campus. Other responsibilities include technology commercialization activities such as identification, evaluation, protection (patents and copyrights) and licensing of UIUC intellectual property. OTM representatives also work with faculty, departments, colleges and institutes, as well as the Grants and Contracts Office, in handling intellectual property issues as they relate to sponsored research contracts and other research related agreements.
  
• Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR)
  The OVCR works with other UIUC college deans, department heads, faculty, and graduate students, as well as external agencies and groups, on behalf of the University's research and graduate programs.

Responsibilities that fall under the OVCR umbrella include:


• administering several programs that provide research funding at UIUC;
  
• receiving and evaluating requests from academic departments for funds to help support faculty recruitment and retention and proposal matching;
  
• ensuring research compliance with governmental and University requirements concerning academic integrity in research and publication, the use of animals in research, conflicts of commitment and interest, the use of human subjects in research, and scientific diving expeditions;
  
• encouraging collaborative efforts between University researchers and industry by supporting initiatives such as the development of the Research Park in Urbana-Champaign; and
  
• handling intellectual property, technology transfer, and academic research policy issues through OVCR units such as ORA and OTM.
  
  
• Office of the Vice President for Technology and Economic Development (OVPTED)
  OVPTED oversees and facilitates the transfer and commercialization of University-based technologies and intellectual properties. This office seeks to support the growth and development of Illinois' high-technology economy while strengthening the University's premier education and research programs.
  

• University of Illinois Ethics Officer
  In March, the Office of the Secretary of State sends notification letters and forms to University of Illinois employees who are required to file Statements of Economic Interests under the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act. All completed Statements of Economic Interests must be submitted to the University of Illinois Ethics Officer, who in turn will forward them to the Office of the Secretary of State.

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