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Find out how long different types of contracts may take to complete and the reasons why.
Research contracts can take varying amounts of time to conclude. This is dependent on a number of factors aside from the general workload of the team, including:
- The timely provision to the Contract Services team of information concerning the proposed transaction
- The type and nature of the transaction (e.g. is it routine or unusual; straightforward or complex);
- The number and disposition of the other parties to any agreement;
- The responses and responsiveness of the other parties to any agreement;
The overall time from initiation to the conclusion of a given research contract can be anything from 1-2 working days for a straightforward agreement such as an NDA/CDA on UCL’s template terms, to several months for a larger multi-party collaboration agreement.
We have outlined below some typical timeframes to aid expectation management, but stress that this is purely illustrative - each individual transaction naturally can and will vary in terms of the necessary time investment by UCL and the other parties in order to complete the placement of them, depending on the specific context:
We aim to conclude the majority of matters within 90 working days or less, but please take this as an aspirational target rather than a fixed service standard – some will take significantly less time than this and others may take slightly more. Notwithstanding this, we always aim to conclude matters as swiftly as possible under the circumstances.
| Tier/complexity level | Agreement/activity type | Approximate timeframe |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - Higher complexity | Strategic agreements, multi-party and/or multi-project agreement (including Master Services Agreements), high risk and/or potentially contentious matters, certain negotiated Tier 2 matters | Variable. Usually 60-90 days or more |
| 2 - Intermediate complexity | Government contracts (e.g., NIHR, HTA), UKRI-related collaborations, 1:1 collaborations (including studentships), certain negotiated Tier 3 matters | Variable. Usually 60-90 days |
| 3 - Routine | Charitable awards on pre-approved terms; NDAs on UCL’s terms extensions/ amendments/ novations for straightforward projects, general forms and declarations | Variable. Usually less than 60 days |
It is important to note that researchers, including Heads of Department and Deans of Faculty are not empowered to sign research agreements on behalf of UCL as an institution.
Contracts may only be approved and authorised (signed) by an authorised member of UCL Research and Innovation Services, usually within our Contract Services team, as per UCL's Financial Regulations.