At VCU we have three people who could sign a nondisclosure agreement,
depending on its content.

1)  If it is preliminary to a proposal (e.g., info on material and desired
parameters of a study for a clinical trial) AND is written for an
individual recipient to sign, we allow the prospective P.I. to sign.  The
P.I. then has the responsibility of confidentiality, and for limiting any
dissemination on a need-to-know basis.  But the scope of the use of the
information is basically all in the P.I.'s head and office.

2)  If the agreement is written for the insititution to sign AND/OR if OSPA
judges that the purposes for which we obtain the information are wider than
 "just the P.I.", then it is signed by the Director, Sponsored Programs.
The Director is authorized in writing to execute on behalf of the
insititution all documents related to seeking and agreeing to sponsored
awards.

3)  In some cases (mostly as backup for the Director, OSP), the Director,
Technology Transfer, signs, based on his authorization to sign documents
related to intellectual property (and this is an agreement not to reveal
others' IP).

We are a state insititution.  By law, the Conflict of Interests Act is a
condition of employment.  One of its prohibitions is using information
gathered in one's official capacity (e.g., faculty member considering
whether or not to propose) "for his own economic benefit or that of
another".  Private institutions should have some similar condition of
employment.

Chuck

>Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 08:53:40 -0700
>From: "Ross, Stuart" <xxxxxx@EXCHANGE.FULLERTON.EDU>
>Subject: signing nondisclosure agreements
>Sender: Research Administration List <xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG>
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>Reply-to: Research Administration Discussion List <xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG>
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>
>From time to time we have to execute a nondisclosure agreement with a
>commercial firm, and I have always been a bit uncertain about who should
>sign.  The senior executives can sign for the institution, but in an
>academic environment they do not normally have enough day-to-day control
>over the handling of the information; the professor does control the
>information flow but can't sign for the institution.  When the agreement
>is not part of a sponsored project, the institution has even less formal
>control.  I've had it done a few different ways now.  Fortunately there
>has been no bad incident, but I'd appreciate any advice or tips on how
>to make the commitment to such agreements solid and useful.
>
>Stuart Ross
>Director, Grants & Contracts
>California State University, Fullerton
>xxxxxx@fullerton.edu

At 08:53 AM 8/5/98 -0700, you wrote:
>From time to time we have to execute a nondisclosure agreement with a
>commercial firm, and I have always been a bit uncertain about who should
>sign.  The senior executives can sign for the institution, but in an
>academic environment they do not normally have enough day-to-day control
>over the handling of the information; the professor does control the
>information flow but can't sign for the institution.  When the agreement
>is not part of a sponsored project, the institution has even less formal
>control.  I've had it done a few different ways now.  Fortunately there
>has been no bad incident, but I'd appreciate any advice or tips on how
>to make the commitment to such agreements solid and useful.
>
>Stuart Ross
>Director, Grants & Contracts
>California State University, Fullerton
>xxxxxx@fullerton.edu
>
Herbert B. Chermside, CRA
Director, Sponsored Programs Administration
Virginia Comonwealth University
PO BOX 980568
Richmond, VA  23298-0568
Express Delivery Only:
        Sanger Hall, Rm. 1-073
        11th & Marshall Streets
        Richmond, VA  23219
Voice:  804-828-6772
Fax     804-828-2521
OFFICE e-mail   xxxxxx@VCU.EDU
Personal e-mail xxxxxx@vcu.edu
http://views.vcu.edu/views/ospa/