Through our network, we can provide introductions to
- Potential investors and corporate partners.
- Business mentors and entrepreneurs.
- Legal and accounting services.
- Incubator and other types of R&D space for the company.
- Resources for navigating campus policies on use of outside time and on-campus research.
- Resources for business plan writing and market analysis.
No. While not required, having a strong commercialization plan is necessary for fundraising and will aid in structuring reasonable diligence terms for you license.
Per UC policy, employees with a financial interest at stake must disqualify themselves from “making, participating in making or influencing a University decision” with regard to a license (for example, by having a non-UC person represent the company in license negotiations with UC). If this is not possible, an independent review of the licensee selection and terms must take place. All inventors must complete the financial disclosure form.
Full-time faculty members appointed on an academic year basis may spend, on average, one day per week during the academic year on outside activities -- during the summer and other vacation periods, there are typically no such time limits for academic year-appointed faculty, as long as they are not concurrently receiving compensation from the University. Students and staff should consult with their supervisors to discuss to what extent they can spend time on outside interests.
Possibly. Acceptance of managerial or salaried positions requires prior approval from the UC Merced. These requests need to be endorsed by the faculty member’s chair and dean before being forwarded to the campus Academic Personnel Office for review.
Yes. This type of participation may be subject to certain conflict of commitment provisions with respect to time spent on the activity and inclusion in an annual report of outside activities.
Yes. Please note that certain schools have requirements for sharing consulting income with the comp plan. We also strongly recommend sending draft consulting agreements to our office for informal review prior to signing to ensure they comport with the intellectual property terms in your University employment agreement.
Probably. However, these situations are subject to review by a faculty conflict of interest committee (CIRC) prior to acceptance by the University of any such research funding. CIRC may make recommendations for mitigating potential conflicts of interest in these situations. There are also a few circumstances under which CIRC may decide that the University cannot accept this research funding (for example if CIRC feels that the financial conflicts of interest are too large because the faculty is getting large consulting fees from the company). It is possible to get guidance on specific situations prior to CIRC review as well.
Possibly. Faculty who have ownership interests in outside companies must obtain prior approval before involving students in company activities. For more, please see the UC Policy on Conflict of Commitment at https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-025.pdf
Yes. There are some key points to keep in mind though. In general, the UC Merced faculty member cannot serve as the Principle Investigator (PI) on the grant for the company. Faculty members also may not bring research into their laboratories under subcontract from a small business they own without the explicit consent of their Department Chair and Dean, and there must be a clear distinction between activities that are performed at UC Merced and activities performed at the small business, as well as with the PI for the small business.
