Most business contracts are created as a result of a purchase/contract request submitted through the CBS2 General Purchasing request from the DFA Service Portal. The CBS2 specialist or Procurement Category Manager will recognize the need for a Business Contract to be a part of a purchase or contract request and will include the Business Contracts team automatically.
A Business Contract can be requested directly when appropriate, or when an agreement is solely for revenue or at no-cost and no purchase order will be needed. These requests can be emailed to Contract Administrators Ramon Moradi (rmoradi@ucmerced.edu) and Anna Coffman (acoffman2@ucmerced.edu).
Please remember that any contract or other legal agreement that needs a UC signature must be signed only by those allowed to sign. This level of access is called Delegation of Authority, which means the person signing has the authority to enter into legal agreements on behalf of UC Merced.
The following video describes Delegation of Authority and how important it is to preview, prepare and proof all agreements with proper signatures.
Examples of Business Agreements and Other Agreements Handled by the Business Contracts team:
Affiliation Agreements
Affiliation agreements are agreements between UC Merced and another accredited academic institution under which one party agrees to furnish education, training, or clinical experience that is integral to a specific institutional academic degree or course objective, but is not available at the student’s home institution.
Partnerships
Agreements with non-profit organizations, companies, other institutions of higher education, or other types of organizations that can directly or indirectly support the university’s mission of research, teaching and public service. Partnerships may be activities mutually supported by several organizations including the UC or revenue sharing partnerships with private or public entities.
Sales and Services Agreements
Agreements in which UC Merced staff and faculty and departments use UC Merced resources, including UC Merced core facilities, to perform services for an external party with a revenue rate structure that has been pre-approved by the campus. Other revenue agreements which are for sponsored research or include intellectual property rights and transfers may be directed to Sponsored Programs. Note: After agreement execution, departments must set up a project in Project Portfolio Financial Management (PPFM) to manage invoicing and receive payments.
Sponsorship Agreements
Agreements under which either a) UC Merced is providing money to another entity in exchange for a benefit or benefits or b) UC Merced is receiving money from another entity in exchange for a benefit or benefits. The most common example of a sponsorship benefit is use of sponsor’s name/logo in promotional material recognizing them as a sponsor. Notes: If the university is providing money to an organization for an event, and there’s no benefit to the university directly, it is unlikely that a sponsorship agreement is appropriate. Payment for tickets to events should be paid through established entertainment processes.
Trademark Licensing
Trademark Licensing Agreements are required to promote, protect, and enhance the UC brand’s reputation by thoughtfully managing and controlling the use of the UC brand name on consumer products and ensuring that “UC Merced” appears on quality products that are produced under fair, safe, and humane working conditions. A Trademark Licensing Agreement is required anytime UC Trademarked names or images will be used or produced by another party. Generally, the purchase of any item requiring a Trademark Licensing Agreement should go through the UC Merced Bookstore which is managed through the UC Merced partnership with Follet Higher Education.
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
A written agreement between UC Merced and an external party meant to support collaboration and offer a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the collaborative partners’ roles and expectations to assure fairness and mutually satisfactory outcomes. The MOU contains mutually guiding principles, a term, requirements or scope as appropriate for the MOU, and an agreement as to how disputes will be resolved as well as any other detail necessary to facilitate the .
Speakers and Performers
Performers include musicians, dancers, magicians, disc jockeys, magicians, and lecturers or speakers for the sole purpose of entertainment (not education)
Event Contracts
Such Agreements may involve involve hotel agreements, Audio/visual, lighting, staging, recording and a variety of services. Such Agreements are necessary to support Events both on and off UC Merced locations.
Occupational Health Agreements
An Occupational Health Agreement is any agreement implemented to promote the health and safety of university employees with a health service provider or other similar entity. These Agreements are drafted and managed in collaboration with UC Medical Affairs Counsel, UC Merced Counsel, Campus Risk Manager and the campus Environmental Health & Safety as well as other relevant parties.
Specialized Consulting and Professional Agreements
Consulting agreements are for analysis/assessment of a function, program or department or to assess future opportunities and include a recommendation for future actions or improvements. A professional services agreement is generally for specialized services including contracts for system implementations, executive recruitment and other such services where unique skills, experience or licensing are necessary to perform the work. Professional services agreements generally do not include any specific recommendations for future action which distinguishes them from consulting agreements.
Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreements
Such agreements are requested when a company wants UC Merced to perform services (or vice versa) but need to be able to a) discuss a potential project in detail prior to committing to work and b) ensure that any confidential or proprietary information disclosed will not be shared with any other party. Such agreements are not necessary if work is commencing and the other party simply wants to ensure confidentiality — our standard services agreement contains detailed confidentiality obligations. Note: Non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements pertaining to the purchase of a commodity are processed by Procurement & Contracting Services; those relating to research projects are processed by Sponsored Programs.
Equipment Loan Agreements
Departments being loaned equipment or seeking to loan equipment (no financial transaction involved) from an outside entity/company must process a request through Business Contracts so that an equipment loan agreement can be completed.
Executive Search Agreements
Agreements with individuals or companies that specialize in recruiting executive personnel. All executive search agreements must also be pre-approved by Human Resources.
Miscellaneous non-research agreements that require an authorized university signature
Examples include agreements under which the university will have the right to use websites for book sales and rentals, applications for licenses and applications for shipment to embargoed countries.
Utility Agreements
Business Contracts completes agreements for utility services, such as gas and electricity, for the Merced campus.
Land Use and Facility Use Agreement/permit
For use of non-UC land or facilities for authorized university business or events.
