Types of Partnership Agreements

Partnerships with Impact

Pitt is committed to fostering meaningful collaboration between international institutions that offer strong benefits and impact to all parties involved. Partnerships are multifaceted and can include both formal and informal collaboration. Whether sharing knowledge, resources, or best practices via a formal agreement or an informal collaboration, Pitt's partnerships in their various forms are critical to the success of our university. 

The following information may prove useful to both Pitt faculty and staff as well as current or potential partners. Please note that partnership agreement requests must be made by a University of Pittsburgh faculty or staff member. Interested partners must have a contact from a Pitt unit who is committed to the partner agreement submit any agreement requests.

PittGlobal's Partnership Team

PittGlobal's partnership team is here to support international collaboration efforts and will guide you through your unique contracting questions and processes. Our team consists of individuals from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs/University Center for International Studies and the office of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic and Global Affairs, Health Sciences. 

With a unique perspective and ability to view Pitt's collaboration efforts with a wider lens, this group not only provides strategic guidance, but also access to numerous resources and departments across campus. Whether Pitt faculty are working with a long-standing partner, creating a new contract, or simply have a new idea, PittGlobal's partnership team is able to offer both strategic and practical support for personal, departmental, school-level, and institution-wide international goals.

Each contract will be assigned a specific liaison from the partnerships team based on the relevant department or area of interest. This liaison from the central partnerships team can offer a high-level overview of Pitt's engagement and additional insights in to finding potential opportunities to begin or expand your global engagement goals. Additionally, this central office will work with University Counsel, the Office of Trade Compliance, and numerous other departments to ensure that the agreement proposal, execution, and renewal are smooth and successful.

Partnership Agreement Types 

As part of the Pitt Global Plan and Global Partnerships Operational Strategy, Pitt is focused on moving beyond simple Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs), instead focusing on formalized agreements with measurable goals and outcomes. It is important to note that "MOU" is often used as a blanket statement by some when referring to a formal agreement. However, the difference between a memorandum of understanding and a formal agreement are quite vast and very important to understand. While MOUs are welcome and sometimes necessary to begin collaboration, Pitt wishes to focus on formal agreements that show forward trajectory and produce results.

Standard Guidelines for All Agreement Types

The most common types of international agreements that facilitate collaborations, exchanges, and other types of partnership efforts between institutions are listed below. Additional agreements may be customized to best meet the mutual needs of all parties involved. 

Most agreements are drafted for a five-year duration unless modified to reduce the time commitment. As a point of practice, the University of Pittsburgh does not draft individual contracts with a scope beyond five-years. 

Pitt faculty and staff interested in drafting an agreement are encouraged to obtain the unique programming needs of the partner and engage the Global Partnerships & Partner Engagement (GP&E) Team as early as possible in this process. This will allow the GP&E team to do their due diligence and connect with the Office of Trade Compliance and Office of University Counsel in the early planning stages. Doing so will ensure all parties can follow the appropriate channels and standard guidelines, therefore ensuring that Pitt and the partner can stay on track and meet the desired start date of the program.

It is important to remember that, in many cases, international agreements can include multiple parties and not just the University and a single foreign entity. This should be taken into consideration during the initial phases of the planning process for the sake of time management. Please note that Research Agreements or any agreement where Pitt owned technology, information or knowledge could be shared with a potential international partner; might, according to various federal regulations, be subject to review by the Office of Sponsored Programs and or the Office of Trade Compliance. The inclusion of these offices should be factored into the time allotted when planning for a completion date.