Signatory Authority for Global Activities

Collaboration Agreements

Boston University has many valuable collaborations with other colleges, universities, government bodies and other institutions overseas; these collaborations are essential to the success of many educational and research activities. Faculty are often at the forefront of relationship-building with these institutions and help the University establish formal collaborations through Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and other mechanisms that establish a relationship between BU and another entity.

Only a small number of individuals at the University have authority to sign agreements on behalf of the University. Most global agreements are signed by the University Provost, the Vice President and Associate Provost for Global Programs, or the Vice President and CEO.

If a faculty member, department/unit or school/college wishes to enter into an institutional agreement (generally following Provost review of academic initiatives or award of a sponsored research grant), they will need to allow sufficient time to consult Global Programs, which will engage other departments as necessary) to help ensure that the agreement conforms to University guidelines and determine who is the appropriate signatory.

Research and Other Sponsored Programs

Many awards require the signature of an authorized institutional official to accept formally the terms and conditions of the award. The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) is responsible for providing the appropriate institutional signature. Principal Investigators are cautioned not to sign University agreements for sponsored support, patents or copyright licenses, biomaterials, equipment loans, materials transfer, or clinical trials. These agreements bind the University to certain obligations and, as such, can be signed only by those who have delegated signature authority from the Board of Trustees through the President and senior University officers. The Post Award Policies website has an updated list of authorized signatories for sponsored programs.