How Industry can Work with Argonne National Laboratory

Argonne has many types of contractual agreements to meet the needs and interests of industry, state and local governments, federal agencies and other organizations. The following are brief descriptions of the types of agreements most commonly used in technology transfer. Argonne does not compete with private industry and will not accept work that can be performed by commercial sources.

Exchanging Information - Nondisclosure Agreements

Argonne uses nondisclosure agreements to protect a company's proprietary information while it is in Argonne's possession. Nondisclosure agreements are also used to enable Argonne to provide companies with Argonne information considered confidential.

Exchanging Materials - Material Transfer Agreements

Use of Argonne-developed IP - Licensing Agreements

Argonne's licensing program provides companies with opportunities to acquire rights in Argonne inventions and copyrights. Licenses may be nonexclusive or exclusive, depending on the nature of the intellectual property and the business fields to be actively pursued by the licensee.

Cost-Shared Research Collaboration - Collaborative Research and Development Agreement

Cost-shared R&D, where funds are provided by both the partner and Argonne, is usually conducted under a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA).

Reimbursable Research and Development - Sponsored Research

"Sponsored Research" (SRO) is our term for R&D transactions, where costs are paid entirely by an organization, such as a company or federal agency, and the work is conducted by Argonne.

Short-Term Technical Assistance - Technical Services

Argonne staff can provide short-term technical assistance to organizations with technical problems requiring expertise that is not available commercially. Technical assistance efforts may not involve research and development. The cost to the organization is the full cost of the Laboratory's effort. If the proposed activity is well defined, a Technical Service Agreement generally can be executed within five to ten working days. To view a standard Technical Service Agreement, Proprietary, click here, Non-proprietary, click here . If you work at a college or university, click here .

Using Argonne's Scientific and Technical Facilities - User Registration

Argonne designs, builds and operates sophisticated research facilities that would be too expensive for a single organization to build and operate. There are a number of ways industry can gain access to these facilities. For more information click here

Small Business Innovative Research and Small Business Technology Transfer - SBIR/STTR

Argonne does not provide funding to companies for research and development. Some federal and state programs do, however, and companies may use such funding to do R&D with Argonne.

Regional Economic Development - Local Links

Resources for Technology Based Small Businesses in the Midwest -

This resource directory is a compilation of organizations and programs helpful to small and medium-size companies in matters related to technology development, including research, technology development/transfer, technical assistance, and business development services. It is a "work in progress," and will be revised periodically as organizations are added.

For More Information

Contact Argonne's Office of Technology Transfer (800-627-2596)