User Facility Agreement

What is a User Facility Agreement?

The User Facility Agreement (UFA) is a contractual agreement between the Laboratory and external parties designed to permit outside users, including scientists and engineers from industry, universities, and other governmental agencies, to conduct research using the Laboratory's unique experimental research equipment and facilities.

Why is a User Facility Agreement necessary?

The UFA provides the Laboratory facility managers (groups/divisions) additional sources of funding, as well as commercial validation of systems, processes, and procedures. In addition, partnership or collaborative agreements can be negotiated concurrently with the UFA providing technical staff with other commercial research validation opportunities and the potential to obtain additional research dollars. The highly unique laboratory facilities also can serve as a magnet for high-tech companies to collaborate with Los Alamos scientists, providing additional opportunities for technical staff to interact with industry.

How does a User Facility Agreement work?

The industrial partner directs the activity that occurs in the Laboratory facility within the framework of the agreement, with Laboratory staff oversight. Typical requests from industry for user-facility access are for fabrication, calibration, testing, and evaluation of products and processes. Laboratory staff should keep in mind the following points when entering into a UFA:

• Activity must be conducted on a non-interference basis with Department of Energy mission-related work
• Users develop the statement-of-work describing the work they wish to perform
• Generated information may be protected
• Users retain rights in intellectual property that is generated, although IP is not anticipated
• Agreements are typically one year or less, with the actual facility use defined in days or weeks
• Partner pays all costs associated with using the facility for the tasks defined in the statementof work
• Agreements can be put in place in two to four weeks if standard agreement language is accepted and all necessary information is received

Keys to ensure UFA success:

• Regular communication with the partner is essential for successful agreements
• Work should not begin until the partner’s funding is received and a program code has been set up
• The statement of work may contain company proprietary (OUO) information, which must not be disclosed