New Request Routing Form (MTARF) Link & Instructions

Go to egms.umn.edu, on the right side of the page select "EGMS Forms," then "Make Request," then "MTARF." Use the below guide when filling out a Material Transfer Agreement Routing Form (MTARF).

Block 1—Source of materials: This is the name of the other party to the agreement. To speed up the process, it is important to also know the points of contact there for matters pertaining to the agreement, such as the scientist you are working with and a contact in the administrative office that manages transfer agreements.

Block 2—Description of material, data, or information: Be specific. This description becomes part of a legal agreement and it is important to protect yourself by not allowing inferences that you are responsible for more or different materials and information from what you are actually getting.

Block 3—Preferred transmittal date: Let us know if there is a critical deadline; we may be able to accommodate special circumstances. On average, a simple agreement with no need to negotiate terms with the material provider is complete in a week to 10 days after all steps are finished, depending on workload. Complex agreements where significant issues, such as pre-existing intellectual property licenses, must be worked out, can require two months or more depending on responsiveness of the other party and availability to negotiate.

Block 4—Mailing instructions: This is the email or physical address of the other party for whom we will be communicating with for the purposes of contract negotiations and signing. Use your own address for any materials themselves that are to be provided by way of a material transfer agreement.

Block 5—Department Administrative Contact Name: Provide the name and information for a department administrator we should communicate directly with or cc on communications regarding this request. If we should communicate directly with te PI only, please list PI information here as well as Block 6 below.

Block 6—Principal investigator: Self-explanatory.

Block 7—Co-investigator: Self-explanatory.

Block 8—Project number: Please provide identifying information pertaining to funds, if any, used to cover activity associated with this request (i.e. sponsored chartstring: NIH award number; start-up funds; etc).

If there are intellectual property language issues, we must pull out the grant file to review the sponsor’s terms and conditions for intellectual property reporting, disposition of discoveries, etc. This is particularly an issue when the project sponsor and the material provider both assert rights to the same intellectual property arising from the research.

Block 9—Inventions, intellectual property, and confidential information: If there is any possibility that an invention may result from your research, check yes for 9a. This will not delay processing of the agreement.

Block 10—Research subjects protections, animal use approvals, and safety training: Advise the status of your IRB or IACUC application if human or animal subjects are involved. We do not hold up executing the agreement until you have clearance, but we do need to see that you are considering this essential step.

The agreement request will normally be completed and provided subject to your satisfying this requirement before beginning the research itself. For PIs in good standing with institutional requirements, the various safety training and certifications addressed are reminders to you to follow the required steps, and allow the University to track and audit compliance as needed.

Block 11—Conflict of interest: If you have any reportable financial interest in the outcome of the research, update your REPA and advise us so that we can clear that hurdle to the project before proceeding with the request. Most often, you will already have taken care of this when the grant proposal was being submitted, but it is possible that an update might be needed if this is a new activity.

Block 12—Research summary: This should be a one- or two-sentence abstract of what you plan to do with the project (including the material and/or data) and what you hope to learn from the research. This information helps us narrow the scope of intellectual property provisions to speed up the process and also protect you and the University.

Examples:

• “The compound will be applied to a new cell line to see if it causes protein XXX to be expressed”
• “The mice will be cross-bred to produce a strain that is deficient in dopamine production relevant to induced hypotension”
• “The compound will be administered adjunctively with interleukin and cyclosporin to determine if smaller doses of more anti-rejection drugs will reduce side effects.”

The description can be compared with existing patents both at the University and the institution providing the material to see what needs to be done to protect the rights of all parties. When the MTARF is in 'pending' status, SEND AN EMAIL to ufra@umn.edu with the MTARF number. UFRA staff are not automatically notified through the electronic system when MTARFs are complete.