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Establishing an Agreement

Please allow adequate time – at least two (2) months – for this review, particularly when financial commitments are expected.

Relationships with entities outside the United States offer unique opportunities but pose special challenges. International agreements need to be entered into carefully, as they need to consider the host country’s laws, additional costs to fulfill regulatory requirements, and potential South Carolina state restrictions that may not have been fully considered or vetted.

MUSC developed a mechanism and process to support faculty seeking to establish or renew meaningful agreements with international institutions. This process excludes situations where MUSC has a well-established, standardized process, such as Grants and Contracts, Procurement, or the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

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Submission Steps

Step 1: Discussion

  • Contact the Center for Global Health (ellisk@musc.edu) to determine if there are already existing agreements with the proposed international partner(s).
  • Discuss the initiative and scope of activities with your Chair, Dean, business manager, and learn about any applicable internal departmental, college, and/or department policies for international collaborations. Refer to the pre-planning guidance for an in-depth discussion.
  • Confirm Department Chair and Dean support and endorsement.
  • Identify whether the proposed partnership meets the University-approved criteria outlined for foreign collaborations.

Step 2: Proposal

  • Complete and submit a signed International Agreement Proposal Form (PDF) to the Center for Global Health at ellisk@musc.edu.
  • Proposals need to be reviewed, approved, and signed by the Chair and Dean before an agreement will be drafted.
  • Include as attachments any information that will be helpful, such as draft agreements or documents provided by the proposed international partner.
  • Depending on the scope of the proposed activity, some agreements may require additional input from various campus stakeholders (i.e. Tax, Human Resources, Risk Management among others) as part of the approval process.

Step 3: Drafting Agreement

  • Center for Global Health will draft the agreement in consultation with the sponsoring department, relevant stakeholders, and General Counsel. Center for Global Health will return a draft agreement approved by General Counsel to the MUSC agreement sponsor.
  • The final agreement must be approved by, and signed by, the Provost.

Step 4: Terms

  • MUSC agreement sponsor shares the draft agreement with the collaborating institution, which may propose edits.
  • Any changes made by the collaborating institution or sponsoring MUSC department to the agreement draft should be clearly marked in the document.
  • Agreement terms are negotiated and finalized by both parties, in consultation with the Center for Global Health and Office of General Counsel.
  • MUSC sponsoring department is responsible for implementing the agreement in accordance with all institutional policies and applicable laws.

Step 5: Signatures

  • The authorized institutional representatives named in the agreement sign two original copies of the agreement. Scanned copies of original signatures in PDF or Word document files may be considered originals so long as all signatures appear on a single document.
  • The sponsoring department is responsible for securing MUSC and partner signatures.
  • The Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs must sign all international agreements.

Step 6: Records

  • One copy of the fully executed agreement remains with the partner institution. The other is held by the MUSC sponsoring department for its records.
  • The MUSC sponsoring department must email a scanned copy of the entire agreement to the Center for Global Health at ellisk@musc.edu and General Counsel.

Renewal of Agreements

It is recommended that the review process be initiated at least six (6) months prior to the expiration of the agreement.

To renew an agreement at the end of its term, the department sponsor must initiate a review process at least six months prior to the expiration of the agreement. The process for renewal follows the same procedure as that for establishing a new agreement. The proposal form should highlight the measurable outcomes of the original agreement and the short and long-term goals of the renewal. Only active, productive agreements that are achieving stated objectives and have concrete plans for future collaboration should be continued.