Blog
November 5, 2024
The Contract Review Checklist Defined
In case you missed it, read Part I of this blog series: The Art of Negotiations – Developing a Contracting Playbook for Research Administration.
Benefits of a Contract Review Checklist
Developing a contract review checklist for research administration will increase efficiency, aid in risk management, and improve overall work product.
Checklists can streamline and standardize processes and it feels great to cross off completed items! Most research administrators are familiar with checklists for pre-award and post-award activities. Often, checklists are provided by sponsors or developed for the review of specific types of proposals.
Similar to a proposal review checklist used by pre-award research administration, contract review checklists can:
- Ensure that reviewers and negotiators thoroughly check all parts of an agreement
- Identify key issues or language, ensure that easy-to-overlook details are not missed
- Identify compliance issues requiring input from other individuals or departments
- Standardize reviews across a department
- Simplify higher-level reviews
Determining Contract Review Checklist Content
An ideal checklist will allow for the addition of notes specific to each item on the checklist. Within the notes, the corresponding section of the contract can be identified for easy reference and any specific information can be documented. It is also helpful to note process stop points, by integrating process flows into the checklist, where outside departments need to be conferred with or additional information gathered for particular situations. The checklist can even integrate links, such as to a contracting playbook section, leading to approved language or explanations for specific issues or agreement sections. or additional information about compliance matters.
Contract Review Checklist – What to Include
- Organization specifics – such as name, address(es), signatory(ies)
- Whether the agreement template is an organization-approved version or not
- The type of contract and whether the agreement is funded or unfunded
- Contract preamble information – such as title, identification of parties, and effective date
- Contact information for the other party’s negotiation contact
- Presence of all necessary parts of a contract
- Objectives of the contract – such as deliverables, expectations, and deadlines
- Payment terms, amount, and milestone dates, if applicable
- Termination clauses and amendments
- Period of performance of the agreement and any other dates or periods mentioned within
- Language or terms that your organization cannot agree to
- Unfavorable or risky terms that your organization would prefer alternative language for
- Compliance reviews – specific regulations, IACUC, IRB, export control, information security, etc.
- Specific legal issues identified by or previously encountered by your organization’s legal counsel
- Special terms and conditions specific to the agreement at hand, FAR clauses for example
Attain Partners – Contract Review Expertise
Developing a contract review checklist can save valuable time and standardize research-related contract reviews for your organization’s research administration. Attain Partners research professionals can assist your organization in creating a contract review checklist to improve your organization’s operational diligence in contract reviews. Contact us today.
About the Author
Ms. Emily Njus, JD is a Senior Consultant with Attain Partners’ Research Enterprise practice, specializing in research contract review and negotiation, and is based out of Kailua, Hawai’i. Ms. Njus has over 15 years of compliance and research administration experience in both higher education and non-profit hospital system settings. Prior to consulting, she was the manager of pre-award research administration at a mid-sized state institute of higher education overseeing a central office team of pre-award professionals and students in submitting the University’s sponsored funding requests. Her experience also includes the facilitation of contract negotiations with outside entities and University general counsel for all research-related contractual matters. At the university, she developed a pre-award training program and served as the University’s Alternative Facility Security Officer. Ms. Njus has taught contracts courses to first-year law students through the University’s Academic Success Program.
