General Guidelines for International Partnership Agreements

Partnership Agreements Role

International partnership agreements are important tools to initiate, structure, and advance global engagement efforts. Not all internationalization activities require a formal agreement. However, for those that do, the Partnership Agreements team in Penn State Global is here to assist faculty and administrators to create partnerships that are intentional, meaningful, sustainable, and mutually beneficial.   

While we continue to support initiatives that begin as exploratory, operational, or transactional arrangements, we will also seek to contribute to the development of longitudinal, multi-layered, high-impact relationships that link campus, local, and global partners.  

To support the partnership development efforts of faculty, we have implemented a user-focused and disciplined process for agreement initiation and processing. Our role is to serve as the liaison between the various stakeholders involved with drafting, negotiating, and approving international partnership agreements signed by Penn State.

How to Initiate a Partnership Agreement    

International collaborations are typically initiated by faculty members at Penn State academic colleges and campuses. A faculty champion serves as a facilitator of collaborative activities and a point of contact for communication with the international partner institution.   

If an agreement is required or considered, the faculty member will work with the Partnership Agreements team in Penn State Global throughout the proposal, drafting, review and approval, and signing stages of the process. For additional information on factors and criteria to consider when starting up an international collaboration, please see Pre-Contract Planning.  

Partnership Agreements utilizes an online application mechanism for all new agreements (including the renewals of expiring agreements). To submit a request for a new international partnership agreement, faculty champions must complete and submit the International Agreement Proposal (IAP) form on our new Penn State Global Engagement Portal: psu.moveonca.com/form/675049304b0ac044770b9e2a/eng. (After you log in, go to  “Start a New Form” > “Form” > “IAP” and click “Start” button).

The form will ask for basic information about the proposed partner institution, contact information, and the nature of anticipated collaborative activities. The purpose of this form is to collect the initial information necessary for us to facilitate agreement processing.   

Once we receive the IAP, we will prepare a draft, share it with you and the other parties for acceptance, negotiate if necessary, and coordinate the reviews and approvals by the appropriate Penn State regulatory offices. For more details, see the Approval and Signing Process section.  

Concluding an agreement can take considerable time, depending on the complexity of any legal or academic issues arising out of the planned activity. Any deadlines, such as grant deadlines or dates for signing ceremonies, should be clearly communicated to Partnership Agreements in the IAP or via email intlagreements@psu.edu well before deadlines.  

Partnership Agreements has a variety of agreement templates pre-approved by the Office of General Counsel that are updated regularly. Colleges and campuses are strongly encouraged to use drafts provided by Partnership Agreements based on approved templates. Deviations from approved templates, use of out-of-date Penn State templates, and/or processing drafts provided by an international partner may prolong the review and approval process.   

Penn State's reputation in the international community depends in part on the nature and strength of our international partnerships. Before discussing collaboration with a foreign institution, it is recommended that faculty members review the following factors and criteria that reflect Penn State Global’s strategic vision for global engagement and collect information that will help assess the feasibility of their proposal.  

Intentionally chosen international partnerships enhance the University’s mission by expanding access to wider networks of institutional and intellectual resources and by leveraging our resources and expertise with other leading institutions around the world (Global Programs Strategic Plan, 2021-2025).  

This section refers mostly to the so-called “institutional partnerships”, but the underlying logic applies to the more “individually-driven” efforts as well. In practical terms, these considerations will be helpful when submitting the International Agreement Proposal (IAP).

Institutional Reputation and Background  

Each proposed collaboration will be considered separately on its own merits. Providing background information about the potential collaborating institution or organization will assist reviewers in making sound and consistent decisions. Factors to be considered about the intended partner institution include, but are not limited to, the following:  

Status of institution as a degree- or non-degree-granting educational institution  
Status as a government, public, or private organization  
Accreditation status or other academic recognition  
Institutional size and areas of specialization  
Ranking and other quality indicators  
Unique expertise, strengths, or capabilities  
Existing Penn State connections (faculty, alumni, co-authorship, etc.) and international relationships. 

Penn State Global will consider these and similar factors in assessing the organization in a broader context. 

Sustainability of Collaboration  

Not every collaborative activity leads to an institutional partnership or requires an agreement. When it does, attention should be paid to whether a particular collaborative relationship will continue and remain productive, for example, after the faculty champion leaves Penn State or shifts focus to other projects.  

Factors indicating sustainability include the following:  

Availability of faculty/staff/administrative resources and support infrastructure both at Penn State and at the collaborating institution  
Support from the Dean/Chancellor of the sponsoring college or campus  
History of the collaboration including:  
Number and nature of visits between the institutions  
Number of faculty members from both institutions involved in the collaboration  
Length of time that a relationship has existed  
Nature and scope of past or current joint projects, exchanges, or agreements  
Relationships to other Penn State departments, colleges, or campuses, if known.  

The sustainability factors should be assessed by the faculty champion and the academic unit prior to submitting the IAP for new collaborations and at the time of renewals. 

Expected and Realized Outcomes  

Agreements should be considered only when both parties will work towards an outcome-oriented collaboration that brings reasonable value to both institutions.  

Agreements concluded “in the excitement of a visit” and agreements that lacked “concrete engagement by the faculties” have often failed to establish productive partnerships.  

The International Agreement Proposal will ask about the expected outcomes of the proposed collaboration over the agreement term, i.e., the next 3-5 years. Early planning exercises conducted in close communication with the partner institution should help forecast realistic results and identify the benefits that will be realized if the proposal is accepted.  

Depending on the type of collaboration and type of agreement, expected outcomes may be more or less specific and measurable, but they should always relate to program goals and objectives. A regular review of the collaboration is recommended to assess the progress and success of the collaboration. The following questions could be considered for new engagements:    

What would indicate success?  
How can you measure that?  
What is the target that you want to achieve? 

For renewal  requests, the questions should include both realized and re-assessed future outcomes, potential for disciplinary synergy, and restated sustainability considerations:  

What were the main outcomes of this engagement?  
What were the significant accomplishments?  
Are there areas of collaboration that need more attention moving forward?  
What opportunities do you envision for the collaboration over the next 3-5 years?  
What are your expected results from a continuation of this collaboration?  

At the renewal stage, it is important to address a divergence, if any, between intended and realized outcomes, unforeseen positive outcomes, and “Lessons Learned” to reflect on how to advance a collaboration after renewing an agreement.  

Examples of expected or realized outcomes include but are not limited to:  

Research collaboration enabled  
Students exchanged/engaged  
Mobility projects implemented  
External funding attracted  
Synergistic opportunities identified 
Other faculty, centers, departments, colleges involved  
Quantitative indicators (# of faculty and/or students involved; # of trips/events/workshops/presentations; # of co-authored publications, joint proposals submitted, grants awarded, etc.).  

Strategic and Academic Alignment  

Prospective collaborating institutions and related academic collaborative programs should be considered in the context of Penn State’s overall engagement strategy, which requires focusing on fewer and more strategic universities in a true partnership manner. Within this context, the academic unit’s mission, long-range strategic planning, and potential for disciplinary synergy should also be considered when engaging a new international partner. Before initiating an educational or research collaboration, the following questions should be answered:  

Does the partner institution or program provide curricular assets not otherwise available?   
Do individual faculty members have important research expertise/stature that may provide exceptional opportunities for research collaborations and/or graduate training?   
Would the collaboration provide access to unique research facilities/specialized resource centers that would enhance faculty research and/or graduate training at Penn State?  
Is there a curricular need and market demand for the planned program? How many students/faculty members are reasonably expected to participate in the program?  

Compliance Issues  

Certain types of collaborative relationships, research activities, and country affiliations may be restricted or limited by law or policy despite promising academic possibilities. As a United States institution, Penn State is required to comply with the laws and regulations issued by the U.S. government related to the export of both goods and services.  

The U.S. government controls the export of certain technologies, software, and hardware for reasons of national security, foreign policy, prevention of the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and for competitive trade reasons. Export control laws regulate the transfer of items, technology, software, and services.  They apply to all activities with foreign persons and foreign countries, not just sponsored research projects and not just activities that involve the transfer of technology or information to a foreign destination.    

Export controls may restrict: (1) the ability of foreign nationals (students, researchers, or collaborators) to participate in research at Penn State; (2) the ability of University personnel to provide services (including training in the use of equipment) to foreign nationals; (3) the ability to send equipment, spare/replacement parts, technology, or software to foreign countries; and the ability to collaborate with researchers in foreign countries.  

Every Penn State researcher is expected to be aware of the export control issues related to her/his work and to use the available resources to ensure compliance. For questions regarding export compliance at Penn State, please contact the University Export Compliance Officer or visit the University's Export Compliance Unit Website. [insert this link: https://researchsupport.psu.edu/orp/export-control/]

5-step Approval and Signing Process 

Partnership Agreements has established a 5-step review and approval protocol that guides the development of the most common types of agreements, from inception to signing. The purpose of the approval process is to ensure that we have provided all interested stakeholders with an opportunity to review, modify, and approve an agreement before the signing phase. 

STEP 1: College/Campus Approval

In this step, the faculty member/college/campus identifies an opportunity for formalizing an international collaboration. The faculty member or a designated college/campus representative communicates with the department head, college/campus international programs representative(s), and the dean or chancellor. The dean or chancellor (or a designee) must approve the formalization of the collaboration and should be consulted at the early stages of the process to ensure college/campus support. 

Colleges and campuses may have additional internal approval processes for proposing international partnership agreements. Faculty members should contact the college/campus international programs director to clarify internal policies or procedures. 

STEP 2: Submitting an International Agreement Proposal

The next step is to submit an  International Agreement Proposal (IAP). The application form will request contact information about the faculty champion; the name of the intended partner institution and their contact information; and the nature and scope of proposed collaborative activities. The IAP will also request information about the history and background of the relationship and anticipated outcomes of the proposed collaboration. Finally, if the partner provides an agreement draft, it may be uploaded with the application. 

Further to Step 1, the applicant must provide informal evidence (e.g., email communication between leadership and the requesting faculty champion) that college/campus leadership is aware and supportive of the potential collaboration. Partnership Agreements will review the submitted IAP and follow up with the faculty champion. 

STEP 3: Draft acceptance by faculty champion

Once Partnership Agreements receives all the necessary information to begin processing the agreement, either a Penn State templated agreement or program-specific custom agreement draft will be shared with the faculty champion for review, edits, and/or acceptance. If the partner institution provides a template or a draft agreement, it should be submitted as part of the IAP process (Step 2). Partnership Agreements will review the draft, consult with the appropriate Penn State offices, and provide the faculty champion with an approved version. 

STEP 4: Negotiation with International Partner Institution

Either the faculty champion or Partnership Agreements will share the draft with the international partner institution for their review, edits, and/or approval. The extent of negotiation will depend on the complexity of the agreement and the number of regulatory offices involved in the process. During this stage, the partner will be asked to provide the names and titles of all signatories for their institution. No signatures should be collected at this point, even if the partner institution has approved the draft. The partner will be reminded that Penn State will still require final approval before the agreement can be signed. 

STEP 5: Final Penn State Approval and Signing

Partnership Agreements coordinates the internal approval of the final version of the agreement. 
Partnership Agreements coordinates all legal matters with the Office of General Counsel in conjunction with Central Procurement pursuant to University policy AD49. 
Penn State offices that may be consulted include the following:  Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the Graduate School, the Office of Technology Management, and the Office of the Vice President of Commonwealth Campuses (VPCC). 
Partnership Agreements conducts the screening of entities and individuals against the federally maintained restricted party databases. 
Partnership Agreements then seeks final approval from the offices of Central Procurement, Export Control, and/or General Counsel. 
Upon approval, Partnership Agreements collects the Penn State stakeholder electronic signatures via Adobe Sign. 
Partnership Agreements then shares the partially signed agreement with the partner via email with a request for either original or electronic signature(s). 
Once the agreement is fully signed, Partnership Agreements will keep an electronic copy of the fully executed agreement on file in a central agreements database for University reporting. 

Timeline and Use of Penn State Templates 

The conclusion of an agreement generally takes several months. Using Penn State templates as the basis for an agreement usually keeps this timeline to a minimum. 

LOI completion averages one (1) month when Penn State drafts are used. 
MOU completion averages one (1) – three (3) months when Penn State drafts are used. 
MOA completion averages six (6) to twelve (12) months when Penn State drafts are used. 

Use of Penn State Drafts

Partnership Agreements uses templates when drafting agreements. These templates have been pre-approved by and are regularly updated by Penn State’s offices of Central Procurement and General Counsel. The use of drafts based on Penn State templates is strongly encouraged because it greatly facilitates the review and approval process at Penn State. 

Deadlines and Expedited Agreements 

If there is a deadline for the agreement (for example, a planned signing ceremony), Partnership Agreements should be notified of that deadline as soon as possible. In general, agreements will not be expedited unless there is a strong justification. 

Signatories

An international agreement must be signed by the dean/chancellor of the college/campus proposing an international agreement. In addition, the Vice Provost for Penn State Global must sign every international agreement. Finally, the agreement must be signed by an individual with delegated signatory authority under University Policy FN-11 CONTRACTS AND LEASES. 

If there are additional administrative units impacted by a proposed agreement, the head of each such administrative unit must sign the agreement. For example, any agreement involving a Commonwealth Campus must be signed by the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses. Partnership Agreements will identify all such additional signatories. 

The President of Penn State does NOT sign international agreements. Exceptions may be made under rare circumstances, such as signing ceremonies for agreements of strategic importance to the University as a whole. 

Electronic Signing Procedure

Penn State utilizes Adobe Sign to route agreements for electronic signatures. Generally, Penn State stakeholders will be asked to sign agreements first. Signatories and approvers will receive an email from echosign@echosign.com and must follow the prompts to review or approve the agreement. Once the recipient signs or approves the agreement, Adobe Sign automatically shares the agreement with the next signatory or approver. Once all Penn State stakeholders have signed or approved the agreement, the partially executed agreement is shared with the international proposed partner with a request for either original or electronic signature(s). Once the agreement is signed by the partner, it is fully executed and activities under the agreement may commence. Partnership Agreements maintains an electronic database of all international collaboration agreements for the University. Scanned copies of the fully signed agreement will be distributed to all interested stakeholders. 

Original Documents

Penn State no longer prints agreements for signature. If a proposed partner insists on original wet ink signatures, Partnership Agreements will print the agreed-upon number of agreements on parchment paper and send them to the appropriate signatories at Penn State and to the institution abroad. The collection of Penn State signatures may take several weeks, depending on signatory availability. 

Signing Ceremonies

Signing ceremonies are discouraged unless the agreement is of major strategic importance to the University. Colleges/campuses are responsible for arranging a signing ceremony. Partnership Agreements should be notified of the date as early as possible. 

Term and Renewal of an Agreement 

Term Length and Expiration

Every agreement should include an expiration date (usually no more than 3-5 years from the date of last signature) and make an extension conditional upon a positive evaluation of the collaboration under the agreement. Automatic renewal clauses are disfavored. 

Extensions/Renewals

Extensions and renewals are contracts and must go through the normal agreements process. Requests for extensions or renewals should be submitted at least one (1) year prior to the expiration of the existing agreement. 

Outcomes and Goals

Faculty champions will be expected to explain the outcomes accomplished under the existing agreement and describe the goals and expected outcomes sought over the renewal period. The collaboration will be evaluated with input from interested stakeholders including, but not limited to, college/campus leadership, Partnership Agreements, the Office of Undergraduate Education, and the Graduate School. Partnership Agreements will also consider feedback and evaluations provided each year by college/campus leadership in response to the Annual Report of International Agreements.