Partnering with Argonne

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.

Reimbursable Research and Development

"Work for Others" (SRO) is our term for R&D, or technical services, where costs are paid entirely by an organization, such as a company or federal agency, and the work is conducted by Argonne. Under certain conditions, a company may take title to inventions created by Argonne under the SRO. Research results are considered proprietary if so designated by the company. To view a standard SRO agreement, click on the appropriate link below.

Standard agreement, non-federal organization,
Standard agreement, Waiver Declined
Standard agreement, federal organization

Cost-Shared Research and Development

Cost-shared R&D is usually conducted under a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA). Both the partnering organization and Argonne contribute to the costs of the R&D and share the results. The partner may obtain exclusive rights (in a field of use) to inventions created by Argonne under the CRADA. The results of the CRADA work can be protected from disclosure for a period of up to five years after the completion of the work.

Technical Services

Argonne researchers provide short-term technical assistance to companies with technical problems requiring expertise that is not available commercially. Technical assistance efforts may not involve research and development. The cost to the company 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.