What is an NDA/CDA? 

A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) (or a Confidentiality Agreement (CDA)) is a legal contract between two or more parties who are sharing confidential information with each other but wish to prevent disclosure of this information to third parties. This includes, but is not limited to, any information that is in the public domain such as intellectual property, unpublished research results or trade sensitive information. 

When are NDAs issued? 

Any collaborator can request an NDA or issue one themselves. This allows for discussions to be undertaken between all parties without concern that their information may be misused, released or stolen. It is important that an NDA is in place before any discussions around sensitive data take place as any information shared outside of an NDA may not be protected.  

To issue a University NDA or review a collaborators NDA please contact RIFS@Northampton.ac.uk who can arrange for an NDA template to be sent to you and to be a part of the review process. These templates can be adapted on a case-by-case basis to suit the needs of the research activity.  If you receive an NDA, send to RIFS for review and provide enough contextual information along with it to enable a thorough review.

What is an MTA? 

Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) are legal contracts that lay out the terms and conditions when materials/data are transferred between the owner of the data and a recipient/processer. Materials is a term used generically and which encapsulates, for example, human tissue, data, software, robots etc.  MTAs give providers of materials/data control over distribution and help them gain access to results of their research for commercial exploitation. Some commercial organisations, non-profit organisations and other higher education institutions will only release material if there is an MTA in place between us and themselves. 

When do you need an MTA? 

An MTA is required by the University of Northampton for all incoming and outgoing material transfers except when purchased on the open market. This includes materials that we are requesting a provider to supply us with as well as materials that we have developed/produced and wish to share with partners.  

MTA procedure 

To issue a University MTA or review a collaborators MTA please contact RIFS@Northampton.ac.uk who can arrange for an MTA template to be sent to you and to be a part of the review process. If you receive an MTA, send to RIFS for review and provide enough contextual information along with it to enable a thorough review.

Who can sign an NDA or MTA on behalf of the University? 

All agreements need to be signed in duplicate by authorised signatories, normally the relevant Dean or Director. Some companies may insist on signature via hard copies of the agreement, whilst other companies will accept scanned pdf versions of the signed agreements, or both. It is the responsibility of the other parties signing them to arrange for a signature by a person with the relevant authorisation.   

Once the agreement is signed by both parties and in addition to the safe keeping of all hard copy agreements in a suitable secure location, electronic copies will be stored on Pure and RIFS will keep a database of all agreements the University has entered into.