New to UW Research – Transferring from another Institution

Work with Your Prior Institution to Transfer Your Research Portfolio

Before you arrive at the University of Washington, you will need to work with your prior institution to handle activities for transferring your research. For a successful transition, both institutions will need to communicate and work together. Items for discussion should include:

• What do you need to file with your sponsors to move the funding to the UW?
• What are the other administrative requirements from your institution to move your research to the UW?
• Deadlines and shared contacts from both institutions that indicate who will be assisting you in the transfer of your research.
• Develop explicit agreements on authorship for current grants and identify your desired results.
• If your research is not being transferred to the UW, you will want to discuss a change of PI for your research project.

This is a good time to leverage this natural break in your work history to finalize what the steps look like, what the future looks like, what implications this has on future research, and the publications you expect to result from this research.

Work With Your UW Department to Transfer Your Research Portfolio

Meet with your mentor/department Chair/dean for research

Work closely with your mentor, department chair, and/or dean for research/divisional dean to discuss your current and future research goals, agenda, and publications that are expected from your research. Discuss your plan for transferring your research as well as the department support needed to transfer your research.

Meet with your UW department administrator or grant manager

After meeting with your department mentor, chair, or dean for research, the next thing you need to do is schedule time with the identified department administrator and/or grants manager to create your plan for transferring your research portfolio to the UW Items for discussion:

 Share the contact information of your previous institutional administrator so they can create and confirm the plan for transferring your research.

• Steps required to relinquish your grant and preparation for the sponsor to transfer the grant to the UW. Be sure to discuss timelines as it can take several months to manage the process of transitioning funding and operations to the UW. Be aware that the larger the portfolio the longer it takes (could delay funding transitions).
• Discuss the kind of funding you are bringing? There are big implications for certain kinds of funding. For instance, grants such as a K99 require people move with the funding to the new institution.
  
• Do you have active money? Will you retain any appointments? Will you move all of your research? Will you have lab operations? (Note: 90% seem to maintain some level of entanglement of at least two institutions).
• Will you transfer data? See FAQs on data management on the UW Libraries page.
  
• Do you have a proposal in progress you intend to bring with you? Discuss items such as Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rates, submission requirements, and processes at the UW that will impact transitioning an in-flight proposal.
  Will you transfer Intellectual Property? CoMotion, UW’s Tech Transfer office, is available for consultation in the areas of Intellectual Property and commercialization plans.
• Discuss UW and federal compliance requirements for any Outside Professional Work for Compensation and Significant Financial Interest you may have.
• Create your required training plan. The UW aspires to have a strong culture of safety and culture of compliance. Training will be required, depending on your research type. For most training, you will need access but plan to get started as early as possible.
• Confirm what you need/can do before you arrive at the UW.

If Your Research Involves Human Subjects

1. The most successful transitions are those where the new hire sets up a planning meeting with the Human Subjects Division (HSD) as soon as they get confirmed acceptance from UW. HSD’s Reliance Team manages transitions between institutions. Contact them at hsdrely@uw.edu to set up a meeting. Review HSD’s webpage on transitions in order to prepare for the meeting.
2. HSD can help you understand the IRB-related implications of things such as:
   • Giving up your PI status on each grant/contract.
   • Transferring awards between institutions or rearranging routes of funding.
   • Ending or beginning interactions with human subjects at each institution.
3. HSD will also advise on:
   • Which IRBs need to review each project in your portfolio.
   • Whether reliance agreements are required and how to establish them.
   • Whether any aspects of the research must pause while the necessary IRB review arrangements are made.

If Your Research Involves Animals

1. The most successful transitions are those where the new hire sets up a meeting with the Office of Animal Welfare (OAW) as soon as they get confirmed acceptance from UW. The timeframe for getting a new protocol is often 6 months. (Share contact information with your prior institution as appropriate.)
2. OAW will help you consider:
   • How protocols and activities at your current institution map to equivalent UW offices and assist you in setting these up here.
   • How you can get started on training before your start date.
   • UW’s capacity to work with the type of animal identified in your research.
   • UW’s assistance in identifying and meeting space requirements for your animal work.

If Your Research has Environmental Health and Safety Considerations

Review the EH&S PI Guide, which contains information about safety and set up requirements, and addresses items specific to transferring your research to the UW. It’s important to note that just because you have approval at your current university doesn’t mean you have it here; different processes may apply and you need to know about these as soon as possible. Reach out early. EH&S will help you consider all aspects of your research as it relates to environmental health and safety considerations.

Space Requirements and Approvals

1. Is the space you’re assigned suitable for the research you’re bringing with you? Discuss layout, safety cabinet, and other facilities planning.
2. Are you bringing a lab with you? Are you coming to join somebody else’s lab?
3. Prepare for planning for facilities such as an insectory, animal cages, containers for materials, storage, etc.
4. EH&S must review and approve all facilities and they cannot approve research in any space provided because it must meet requirements and regulations. Often, the administrator in the department might not understand the facility requirements so it is important to discuss your needs with EH&S as early as possible.
5. Lab safety check team will visit labs to ensure standards and appropriate equipment/practices are in place.
6. EH&S will handle chemical and physical inspections.
7. Work with all departments to ensure everybody is getting the information that they need to to give to EH&S for approvals and inspections.
8. Discuss Biosafety for your research including:
   • Approvals for certain kinds of research you are transferring (biosafety, e.g.).
9. Hazardous materials if appropriate.
10. Personnel
    • Are you bringing people with you who need to be transitioned in terms of safety, access, and training? (See EH&S Safety Training Matrix.)
11. Permits
    • Are permits required? Reach out to other agencies such as Wildlife, USDA, and the Department of Energy to find out who approves your research activities.