Business, Industry, & Non-Profits
Sandia cultivates strong partnerships through joint research and technology transfer opportunities.
Government
Sandia offers technical resources and cutting-edge facilities to help address the current and emerging needs of federal and local governments.
Universities
Sandia's goal is to establish enduring
partnerships with a focused set of universities to nurture talent,
collaborative research, and national advocacy.
Sandia has transferred technology to external partners for more than three decades, and offers partners access to the Labs' science, people and infrastructure. Collaborations with industry, small businesses, universities, and government agencies on emerging technologies support Sandia's primary mission for the U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration and bring new technologies to the marketplace.
Partnering Options
Non-federal entities may enter into a variety of technology partnerships agreements with Sandia. Federal agencies can engage in an interagency agreement with NNSA to obtain the Labs' unique services under Sandia's management and operating contract with DOE/NNSA.
For additional information or if you have general partnership questions, email partnerships@sandia.gov or call (505) 284-2001.
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA)
Sandia and one or more partners outside the federal government collaborate and share the results of a jointly conducted research and development project. Partners can be domestic or foreign and generally come from industry, nonprofit organizations or academia. Find out more.
CRADA (Cooperative Research & Development Agreement)
Funding
Funding to support the work Sandia performs for a CRADA may come from:
- 100% partner funds.
- 100% government program funds (from DOE/NNSA or other Federal agencies).
- Combination of funding from the partner(s) and the government.
Benefits
- Leverages research efforts by Sandia and partner.
- Each party may take title to its own CRADA-generated intellectual property.
- Partner has option to obtain license to Sandia’s CRADA-generated intellectual property
in limited field of use on agreed-upon reasonable terms and conditions. - Designated CRADA-generated information can be protected for up to five years.
- CRADA non-disclosure provision protects proprietary information.
Requirements
- Partner "in-kind" contributions of labor and possibly property or services.
- Work must benefit a DOE/NNSA mission.
- Written statement of work.
- Related collateral documentation.
- Acceptance of legal terms and conditions.
- Substantial U.S. manufacturing requirements (or benefit to U.S.).
- Government retains non-exclusive, paid-up, royalty-free license to all CRADA-generated intellectual
property for U.S. government use. - Approval by DOE/NNSA required before Sandia can perform work.
- Final report upon completion of project.
Commercial License Agreement
Sandia transfers intellectual property rights to a non-federal partner through a license agreement. Intellectual property includes patent applications, patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Find out more.
Commercial License Agreement
Funding
Payment is non-refundable and provided by the licensee. Any/all of the following categories may be included:
- License issue fees.
- Running royalties on sales.
- Minimum annual royalties.
- Equity in licensee company.
Benefits
- Provides avenue for technology maturation and commercialization of products that may be used by:
- DOE/NNSA for mission needs.
- Other federal agencies.
- Public sector (consumer goods).
- Ensures that commercial interests of partner are legally protected.
- Portion of royalties distributed to:
- Technical organizations within Sandia for discretionary R&D and technology maturation.
- Sandia authors and inventors as incentive awards.
Requirements
- Business plan information and basic information about the licensee’s company.
- Government retains non-exclusive, paid-up, royalty-free license to all intellectual property for U.S.
government use. - The following negotiable items appear in every license agreement:
- Level of exclusivity.
- Field(s) of use.
- U.S. government march-in rights (exclusive licenses only).
- U.S. manufacturing requirements (or benefit to U.S.).
Funds in Agreement (FIA)
Sandia performs work on a reimbursable basis for a non-federal entity from private industry, state/local government, nonprofits, or academia. Find out more.
Funds-In Agreement (FIA)
Funding
- NFE sponsor provides 100% of funding.
- Payment must be received before work commences.
Benefits
Provides avenue for technology maturation and commercialization of products that may be used:
- Allows Sandia to perform mission-related, reimbursable work.
- Sponsor can access Sandia’s unique capabilities, facilities, and equipment to validate or improve technologies.
- Sponsor is provided a minimum of a non-exclusive license to practice Sandia’s subject inventions.
- Title to Sandia’s subject inventions can be assigned to sponsor under certain conditions.
- Designated FIA-generated information can be protected for up to five years.
- Agreement provisions protect proprietary information.
Requirements
- Sandia cannot compete with private sector on contemplated work and must provide a unique capability.
- Work cannot adversely impact DOE/NNSA programs or create future burden for DOE/NNSA.
- Work must benefit DOE/NNSA and tie to Sandia’s mission.
- Written statement of work.
- Related collateral documentation.
- Acceptance of legal terms and conditions.
- Approval by DOE/NNSA required before Sandia can perform work.
- Government retains non-exclusive, paid-up, royalty-free license to all FIA-generated intellectual property for U.S. government use.
Designated Capability (DC) Agreement
A Sandia organization develops a capability-specific statement of work that can be applied to various FIAs. Find out more.
Designated Capability (DC) Agreement
Funding
- NFE sponsor provides 100% of funding.
- Payment must be received before work commences.
Benefits
- Allows Sandia to provide similar services to different NFE sponsors without duplicating documentation and processing requirements.
- Reduced processing time for individual agreements.
- All other FIA benefits also apply
Requirements
- Work must fall within scope of pre-approved statement of work.
- All other FIA requirements also apply.
Livermore Valley Open Campus
Partner with researchers from Sandia/California and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, academia, and industry to work on today's biggest science and engineering challenges in energy, computing, bioscience, and detection technologies. Find out more.
New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA) Agreement
Sandia provides technical and business assistance to small New Mexico companies in exchange for gross receipts tax credits. Find out more.
New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA) Agreement
Funding
Assistance is provided in the form of lab staff hours valued at up to $20,000 per calendar year for businesses located in rural counties, and up to $10,000 per calendar year for businesses located in an urban county (e.g. Bernalillo County).
Benefits
- New Mexico small businesses can access the technology and expertise of Sandia National Laboratories at no charge.
- Promotes economic development in New Mexico, particularly in rural areas.
Requirements
- U.S. owned and operated, for-profit small business located in New Mexico.
- Business must have a New Mexico tax identification number.
- Written scope of work.
- Acceptance of legal Terms of Assistance.
- Signed Certificate of Services rendered at project’s completion.
Technology Transfer Ombuds
The Technology Transfer Ombuds offers an informal process to help resolve issues, concerns, and occasional conflicting needs and interests. These can sometimes surface as part of the laboratories' technology partnerships, patents, intellectual property concerns, and licensing activities. As a designated neutral party, our Ombuds provides confidential, resolution-focused services, and can also offer guidance to other resources for formally reporting and resolving issues. For more Tech Transfer Ombuds information, contact Mauricio (Reese) Ramos at maramos@sandia.gov, (925) 294-2065, or Jennifer Stinebaugh at jstineb@sandia.gov, (505) 844-7638. Additional information is available on the Tech Transfer Ombuds website.
Contact Us
Partnerships Officepartnerships@sandia.gov
(505)284-2001
Technology Deployment Centers
Gain access to Sandia's research facilities, capabilities, and resources.
Publications
To subscribe to the Partnerships Post, click here to fill out your request.
Sandia Partnership Opportunities brochure
Summarizes partnership opportunities with Sandia. (1.60 MB PDF)
Doing Business with Sandia brochure
Summarizes the agreement types available for Sandia and industry use (1.38 MB PDF)
Partnerships Annual Report 2011
Highlights successes, partners, statistics, and accomplishments (4.1 MB PDF)
Fact sheets highlight several recent successes (5.5. MB PDF)
Tech Transfer Success Stories 2010
Fact sheets highlight several recent successes (5.5. MB PDF)
This report provides data based on Sandia's impact on the local economy.
Related Links
- New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program: State-sponsored technical support for small businesses.
- Sandia Science & Technology Park: Join Albuquerque's science and technology community, and gain access to world-class facilities, scientists, and engineers.
- DOE Technology Transfer website: Increases technology partnering opportunities among industry, venture capital, and laboratory communities.