What is a CRADA?
A CRADA is a written agreement between a federal research organization and one or more federal or non-federal parties (collaborators) to work together as partners on a research project of mutual interest.
Who can join in?
The CRADA opportunity is open to any company in private industry that is interested in taking advantage of it.
What's involved?
These written agreements typically consist of:
- General provisions in a standardized format that provide the legal framework for the agreement
- A Statement of Work (SOW) describing the objectives, tasks, and deliverables of the collaborative project
Under a CRADA, Reclamation may provide the collaborator, or the collaborator may provide Reclamation either:
- personnel
- services
- facilities
- equipment
- other resources
The collaborator may also provide funds to Reclamation.
Does the government provide funds?
No. The agreement involves no transfer of funds from the government. Although the names are similar, a CRADA should not be confused with a cooperative agreement ( financial assistance typically used for competitive acquisition of cost-shared research services).
Are proprietary ideas protected?
Yes. At the conclusion of the cooperative
effort, the results may often be considered proprietary. All parties agree
to keep the research results confidential to the extent permitted by the
law until they are published in scientific literature or presented at
a public forum. The private industry cooperator can retain patent and
intellectual property rights or retain an exclusive license to a patent.
The government has the right to use any information, but must respect
the proprietary rights of the cooperator. In addition, any other government
agency may use the information emerging from a CRADA effort, but it, too,
must protect the cooperator's proprietary rights. The proprietary right
protection gives added incentive to the cooperator for transferring the
technology or research development through marketing and commercialization
efforts.
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