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Guidelines for Sponsored Research Projects at Academia Sinica

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Guidelines for Sponsored Research Projects at Academia Sinica

Approved on March 15, 2012
Promulgated on April 11, 2012
Amended on October 9, 2012
Amended on September 16, 2015
Amended on March 6, 2018
Amended on May 24, 2021
Amended on June 23, 2022
Amended on September 25, 2023

  • Academia Sinica (AS) has established these Guidelines to manage externally funded research projects in which an AS research fellow or research specialist (a Researcher) uses AS resources to participate, to ensure fair use of public resources, and to ensure that academic autonomy and research quality are maintained.
  • A Sponsored Research Projects (a Project) in these Guidelines refers to a research project that is carried out by an AS Researcher and for which an individual, organization, school, or government agency outside AS provides research funding, technology, materials, equipment, personnel, or intellectual property for the purpose of developing research results.
  • These Guidelines are not applicable to research projects funded solely from the government budget of AS or a subsidy budget appropriated by a Taiwan government agency (institution).
  • AS Researchers participating in Sponsored Research Projects should ensure that their participation does not affect their duties of employment at AS nor their academic autonomy, and they should also strive for research excellence.
  • An AS Researcher should not take part in a Sponsored Research Project until all of the following procedures have been completed: the Project and Researcher’s participation in the Project has been reviewed and approved by the Researcher’s institute (preparatory office) or research center; the draft Sponsored Research Agreement has been reported to and approved by AS; and the contract in which offers or promises are made in the name of AS has been duly signed and executed.
    If an AS Researcher uses AS resources to take part in a Project as a co-principal investigator in collaboration with an external research institution and the Project is applied in the name of the external research institution, the AS Researcher should, after the Project is proposed and the sponsorship confirmed, report it to the affiliated institute (preparatory office) or research center, which should report to AS for its record.
    In the event that an AS Researcher fails to submit the Project for review and approval and fails to have the Sponsored Research Agreement signed in the name of AS in accordance with Paragraph 1 before the Researcher starts executing the Project, AS shall recover from the Researcher the overhead administrative expenses calculated pursuant to Point 10, and may also claim damages from the Researcher for any other losses incurred as a result.
  • The review of a Sponsored Research Project conducted by the Researcher’s institute (preparatory office) or research center, as prescribed in Point 5, should include at least the assessment of the following matters:
    • Whether the Project is consistent with the academic development goals or missions of AS and the Researcher’s institute (preparatory office) or research center.
    • Scientific soundness of the research design and of achieving the Project’s goals.
    • Reasonableness of the funding of the Project compared to the time and intellectual efforts of the Researcher, as well as human and physical resources that AS may be required to provide to achieve the Project’s goals.
    • The manner and proportion of the intellectual contribution in which the sponsor made in the Project to produce the research and development (R&D) results, and whether the Project meets any of the exceptions specified in Paragraph 2 of Point 8.

    In the case of a Project sponsored by an AS-recognized foreign government agency (institution) or non-profit organization and the sponsorship is conditioned upon the scientific soundness of the research design in relation to the Project’s goals, the review stipulated in Subparagraph 2 of Paragraph 1 of this point (Point 6) could be exempted.

  • A Project under review should not be approved or a Project in progress should be terminated if:
    • It is inconsistent with the academic development goals or missions of AS or the Researcher’s institute (preparatory office) or research center.
    • It is incompatible with the participating Researcher’s duties of employment at AS.
    • There is a risk that the execution of the Project may adversely affect the participating Researcher’s duties of employment at AS.
    • There is a risk that the execution of the Project may cause damage to the reputation of AS.
    • There is a risk that the execution of the Project may result in disclosure of official secrets.
    • There is a risk that the execution of the Project may involve personal profiteering or fraud.
    • There is a risk that the execution of the Project may involve improper pipelining AS public resources to any private entity.
    • There is a risk that the execution of the Project may involve misappropriation of public funds or improper use of AS property.
    • There is a risk that the execution of the Project may involve violations of academic ethics.
    • There is a risk that the execution of the Project may endanger the safety or health of other persons.
    • There is a risk that the execution of the Project may harm academic autonomy or independence.
    • There is a risk that the execution of the Project may result in disclosure of national core technologies regulated by the government.
  • Intellectual property rights to new R&D results generated from a Sponsored Research Project should belong solely to AS, unless one of the exceptions specified in the following Paragraph 2 applies, or unless the sponsor has made substantial intellectual contribution to the results, in which case the intellectual property rights should be jointly owned by the sponsor and AS in proportion to their respective contributions.
    If a Sponsored Research Project meets any of the following conditions, AS may agree in the Sponsored Research Agreement that the intellectual property rights to the R&D results of the Project will be the sole property of the sponsor or a third party that jointly participates in an internationally sponsored Project:
    • The research sponsored by the Project is conducted for public policy purposes and is funded solely by a Taiwan government agency, government-owned enterprise or government-funded foundation.
    • The research is an international collaboration project funded by an AS-recognized foreign non-profit organization and meets one of the conditions prescribed in Item 1 or 2 below
      • The Sponsored Research Agreement stipulates that the use of the R&D results must be for charitable or other not-for-profit purposes only.
      • The Project is a collaboration between AS and other research institutes that stipulate that the sponsor, or the leading institute, will coordinate the use of the R&D results, and that AS is entitled to the proceeds from the uses of the R&D results in proportion to its contribution.
    • The Project is to provide specialized technological services.
    • The Project is to perform standardized tests or experiments and to provide reports on the results thereof.
    • The Project makes use of existing technologies to produce customized results for the sponsor.

    A Sponsored Research Agreement may stipulate in advance that the sponsor is entitled to the following benefits with regard to the Project’s R&D results that belong to AS:

    • The sponsor is entitled to a non-exclusive license for non-commercial use in advance subject to certain conditions.
    • The sponsor has a right of first refusal to negotiate a licensing agreement when the Project is completed and the R&D results have been produced.
    • When the Project’s R&D results that belong to AS generate proceeds as a result of a license to a third party, the sponsor is entitled to claim a share in such proceeds in proportion to its contribution.
  • If a Sponsored Research Project receives funds rather than other forms of resources, the following costs and expenses directly used for R&D shall be fully reflected and budgeted according to the actual R&D needs:
    • Personnel expenses:
      • Employment costs for hiring personnel specifically for executing the Project.
      • Allowance for the principal investigator.
      • Project execution fees for other AS employees (such as postdoctoral scholars, assistants, students entitled to scholarships, etc.) who participate in the Project without affecting their duties of employment at AS. For each Project, the amount budgeted for each person per month should not exceed 25% of their monthly salary or scholarship, and the total amount of project execution fees each person receives per month should not exceed their monthly salary or scholarship. However, if the research funding comes from a Taiwan government agency (institution), public school, non-departmental public body or government-endowed foundation, the project execution fees can only be budgeted if the sponsorship is provided through government procurement processes.
    • Operating expenses (equipment use and maintenance expenses, materials costs, printing costs, attendance fees, review fees, travel expenses, etc.).
    • Equipment expenses.
    • Relevant taxes and other government fees.

    The costs and expenses prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be budgeted and used in accordance with the standards prescribed by the Executive Yuan or relevant procedures of AS.

  • For a Sponsored Research Project funded by a Taiwan government agency, public or private school, or non-profit business or organization, unless otherwise approved by AS or required by a government agency (institution), overhead administrative expenses equivalent to 15% of the total funding should be budgeted in addition to the direct costs and expenses specified in Point 9.
    For a Sponsored Research Project other than that prescribed in the preceding paragraph, unless otherwise approved by AS, overhead administrative expenses equivalent to 20% of the total funding should be budgeted in addition to the direct costs and expenses specified in Point 9.
  • Except as otherwise provided below in Paragraphs 2 and 3, one-third of the overhead administrative expenses shall be allocated to AS, and two-thirds shall be allocated to the institute (preparatory office) or research center executing the Project.
    If a Project is jointly executed by a Researcher who holds a joint appointment in the Biomedical Translation Research Center and another research unit with which the Researcher holds a primary appointment, the allocation of the overhead administrative expenses should be separately determined by AS.
    Any research unit under the Division of Life Sciences should distribute 5% of the allocated overhead administrative expenses for executing the Project to the Library of Life Sciences.
  • Overhead administrative expenses shall be used in accordance with Point 4 of the Guidelines for Handling Administrative Expenses from Commissioned or Collaborative Research Projects, Academia Sinica.
  • Public funds should not be used to provide a bid deposit or security deposit required under a contract for a Project.
  • If a Project involves human subjects, collection and use of human specimens, human embryos, human embryonic stem cells, or experiments involving infectious biological material, genetic recombination, field testing of transgenic plants or animal experimentation, etc., relevant materials should be submitted to an appropriate AS committee for review in accordance with AS regulations at the latest prior to the signing of the Sponsored Research Agreement.
  • Personnel recruitment, expenditure of funds, and reimbursement of expenses in connection with a Project should be handled in accordance with the Sponsored Research Agreement and applicable laws and regulations.
  • In addition to executing Projects in accordance with the contract, Researchers must also submit research results to AS as scheduled to facilitate performance management and promotion of research results.
  • The approved research proposal should be attached as an appendix to the Sponsored Research Agreement. The Sponsored Research Agreement must be countersigned by the Project’s principal investigator, who will undertake to fulfill the obligations stipulated in the contract. However, if the principal investigator is unable to countersign the Sponsored Research Agreement due to the special nature of the Project, the principal investigator may provide a separate letter of commitment instead.
    Damages arising from failure to fulfill obligations stipulated in the Sponsored Research Agreement for causes not attributable to the principal investigator may be paid from public funds.
  • An AS Researcher who participates in an externally funded research project without making use of the opportunities of their duties and position at AS or other AS resources is subject to AS’s regulations for holding concurrent positions, and the provision of Point 4 shall apply mutatis mutandis to such Researcher when executing the research project. Where such Researcher has started conducting the research project and any of the concerns specified in Point 7 arises, the research project shall be terminated as ordered by applying mutatis mutandis the provision of Point 7. The foregoing provisions of Point 18 apply mutatis mutandis to a Researcher who uses AS resources to participate as a co-principal investigator in a sponsored research project applied in the name of an external research agency (institute).
  • Any matter not covered in these Guidelines shall be handled in accordance with other applicable laws and regulations.


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