In general, State ethics laws prohibit faculty affiliated companies from selling goods or services to the University unless the company is awarded a contract through a public competitive procurement process. A UConn employee holding an interest in a faculty affiliated company / external entity should contact UConn Procurement Services and Sponsored Programs Services if the company would like to sell goods or services to UConn. Procurement Services will work with the appropriate departments to determine whether the sale would comply with State ethics laws and, if applicable, purchasing laws and regulations. If public competitive procurement is required, the UConn employee should play no role in the process (such as writing specifications for the good or service) and should not discuss the process with any UConn employee involved.

In addition, some research sponsors require advance notice or disclosure prior to purchasing goods and services from a faculty affiliated company. Sponsored Program Services must be contacted if there is a request or intent to purchase equipment or services from a company in which a faculty member on the award has significant financial interests to determine if prior approval from the sponsor or other steps are required.

Purchase and Use of Goods and Services from a Faculty Affiliated Company

Faculty affiliated companies /external entities (“the Company”) must comply with all state ethics obligations if and when the Company transacts business with the University or State of Connecticut.  For University employees who have an interest with a faculty affiliated company/external entity, the following obligations are worthy of particular note:

• An individual with an interest in the Company may not participate in any procurement or contracting in which the University may buy products or services made or provided by the Company.
• Unless an exception is granted by the Vice President for Research or designee, an individual with an interest in the Company may not participate in any subawarding process in which the University may subaward funds to the Company.  For additional information about subawards to/from faculty affiliated companies, please see Subawards and Subcontracts page.
• The Company may be barred from a transaction if a University employee with an affiliation with the Company is privy to information that is not available to other companies and that would provide the Company with a competitive advantage over other companies.
• The Company is generally only permitted to sell goods or services to the University or the State through an open and public process. For example, the Company is generally not permitted to sell “sole source” goods or services to the University or the State. The Office of University Compliance must be contacted prior to any such sale to determine whether the sale would comply with state law.

Obtaining and Moving Materials to/from a Faculty Affiliated Company

• If a University employee obtains materials from the Company for their University research, Sponsored Program Services should be contacted for consideration of whether a Materials Transfer Agreement (MTA) is necessary.
• If a University employee plans to move materials from their University laboratory to the Company, Technology Transfer and Venture Development should be contacted for an MTA.