Corporate Engagement

Corporation gifts: Gifts from corporate donors are guided by the same fundamental policies and philosophies that apply to individuals and other donor types, as summarized in the University Gift Policy. The Guidelines on Gifts from Corporations highlights additional considerations for corporate gifts, with special attention to named gifts. Please note that philanthropic gifts are separate from sponsored research arrangements, which are coordinated through the Office of Sponsored Research under their policies (see below – “Gift vs. Grant”). Likewise, the following Gift Agreement Instructions provide a template for research gifts under $100K.

Gift vs. Grant: The following checklist may be used to help determine whether for-profit corporation funding of $100,000 or less is a gift or a grant. Please obtain and review all the relevant documentation associated with the funding (e.g. proposal, application, funding agreement) prior to filling out this checklist. One or more checks on the “Grant Characteristics” side means that the funding should be initially treated as a grant and routed through the relevant submitting office (Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP), Harvard Medical School Office of Research Administration (HMS ORA), or Harvard Chan School of Public Health Office of Research Administration (HSPH ORA)) for appropriate administrative review. Otherwise, the funding should be routed through Alumni Development Services (ADS). For the full Policy on Distinguishing Gifts vs. Sponsored Awards in External Funding Received by Harvard, please see the Harvard Office of Sponsored Programs website.

Foundation engagement: For all inquiries related to Foundations, please contact viceprovost_research@harvard.edu

Harvard’s funding of graduate fellowships through corporate sponsorship has enabled support for students and their advisors to pursue exploratory scholarship, overcoming barriers often imposed by traditional funding mechanisms. These fellowships provide valuable resources that directly support students and their faculty-mentored research, while helping to attract the best candidates and grow our graduate programs. 

Graduate Research Fellowships at Harvard are commonly supported through sponsored research agreements; however, named Graduate Fellowships Programs are generally established through current-use gifts. These fellowship programs must, first and foremost, be aligned with the scholarly interests of our faculty and students. While fellowship programs typically support broad areas of scholarship, they are not prescriptive and must maintain the ability of students, faculty, and researchers to select and pursue lines of research and share their results broadly.

A critical element of successful Named Fellowship programs is establishing, at the outset, expectations between corporate entities and the fellowship programs they support. To that end, below is a link to requirements to follow when exploring a possible relationship with a corporate entity interested in supporting a graduate fellowship, as well as a link to apply for a new program.

• A summary of Named Graduate Fellowship guidance and requirements are outlined here (Harvard access only).
• If you wish to submit an application for a new program, please review the above requirements and provide relevant information through the Request for Named Graduate Fellowships Approval form.
• For further information, please contact viceprovost_research@harvard.edu

Industrial Affiliates Programs (IAPs) at Harvard provide a collaborative platform where faculty and industry stakeholders engage in open dialogue and jointly explore broad research topics across diverse disciplines in a non-exclusive setting. Through these programs, Harvard faculty and students gain valuable insights into industry trends and priorities, while corporate members gain knowledge about innovative research directions through connections with faculty, students, research staff, and other Sponsors.

IAPs operate as a collaborative “many-to-many” initiative, wherein Harvard faculty, staff, and students engage with various companies to foster academic research. Findings resulting from research supported with IAP funding are intended to be made publicly accessible by Harvard researchers, generally through peer-reviewed publications. Depending on the particular details of an IAP, an IAP may be structured as a gift (see “Gifts”) or as a sponsored research activity (see “Grants”) or other fee arrangement.

The fees associated with affiliate membership provide unrestricted funding, which is allocated for activities in the area of research designated in the IAP, at the discretion of the faculty overseeing the program. Fees include costs for administering the program and are subject to the standard University assessment (typically 15% for gift-based IAPs).

Program members gain access to the benefits of the Affiliate Program, which may include periodic research presentations by faculty, newsletters, events open to the community, and social gatherings. IAPs will designate primary technical and administrative contacts at the University who will assist members in engaging with the Program.

It is important to note that IAPs are distinct from traditional grants or sponsored research in several key aspects. Membership does not entail a binding statement of work, specific deliverables (such as detailed research reports), or options to negotiate rights to associated intellectual property. Furthermore, affiliate membership does not require a predetermined budget or work plan. Rather, IAPs define a broad area of research and may share a general non-binding workplan for a specified period (typically annually) with members. Due to the collaborative and non-exclusive nature of IAPs, membership cannot confer exclusive rights to intellectual property or special access to proprietary information. Inquiries regarding more targeted research engagements including industry-sponsored research involving IP licensing should be directed to Harvard’s Office of Technology Development (OTD).

• A full summary of IAP guidance and requirements is outlined here (Harvard access only).
• If you wish to submit an application for a new program, please review the above requirements and provide relevant information through the Request for IAP Approval form.
• For further information, please contact viceprovost_research@harvard.edu

Guidelines for Events at Harvard University Sponsored by For-Profit Entities

Revised March 2019

Philanthropic support from for-profit entities can enable important academic activities, including conferences, symposiums, and other events for which sources of funding may otherwise be difficult to obtain. We hope to enable such support while also protecting the University’s name and reputation. We ask faculty and administrators to utilize the guidelines below when organizing events on Harvard’s campus.

These guidelines are not intended to cover other projects, programs, or initiatives funded by gifts or grants from for-profit entities.

Planning and content

• For-profit entities with significant commercial interests in the substance of an event should not influence its content.  The perception of such influence must also be avoided. The content of an event, including decisions about speakers or panelists, should be determined solely by Harvard faculty, based on academic considerations.
• Events should not be co-branded with for-profit entities.  For example, “The Harvard-XYZ Conference on [Subject]” is not acceptable.
• For-profit entities that sponsor academic events should not receive special “access” to Harvard students, faculty, or resources.  For example, while such an entity may want to hold an open, separate reception for students attending a conference, the entity should not be given a list of those students.
• There should be no “trade show” element to the event, involving on-site or online marketing of the for-profit entity’s products and services.

Acknowledging sponsors

Harvard organizers of events should disclose all sponsorship by for-profit entities, at the event itself and in related materials. Acknowledgements must comply with the University’s use-of-name policies.  Specifically:

• In materials created for the event, any Harvard name and logo should be perceptibly more conspicuous than any for-profit entity name. Such names should be positioned and scaled accordingly.  Sponsorship acknowledgements should be clearly indicated, for example within a separate acknowledgement section at the end of the event materials or on a separate page.
• Acknowledgements of an event’s sponsorship by for-profit entities may include the entities’ logos along with their names, subject to the following guidelines:
  • The size and placement of the logo should be consistent with the standard stated above for acknowledgements generally.  In other words, logos should appear in a separate acknowledgements section and should be sized appropriately for the text of that section.
  • Harvard logos may not be positioned in conjunction with the logos or names of for-profit entities.
  • The backdrops behind speakers should not include logos of for-profit entities.
  • Logos of for-profit entities may not appear on harvard.edu websites.
• The acknowledgement should not contain any content that may be construed as advertising, or as promotion of the for-profit entity. Entities’ slogans or taglines may not appear as part of the logo or acknowledgement.
• Acknowledgements may not contain hyperlinks.

Financial arrangements

• All gift terms and/or associated memoranda of understanding must be approved by the relevant gift office within the School or unit prior to being submitted for review and signature by Alumni and Development Services.
• Any sponsorship by a for-profit entity which involves contracts, fees for service, or specified deliverables will be handled through the Office for Sponsored Programs.
• The Office of the Vice Provost for Research can assist in determining which type of gift or sponsorship policy applies. Please contact viceprovost_research@harvard.edu

Please contact the Office of the Vice Provost for Research if you have any questions about corporate sponsorship of events: viceprovost_research@harvard.edu. 

For questions about how to acknowledge corporate sponsors, please contact your School’s use-of-name representative or the Harvard Trademark Program at trademark_program@harvard.edu.