OCM finalizes hundreds of contracts annually, including Clinical Trial Agreements, Federal Subcontracts , Confidentiality Agreements, Data Use Agreements and a vast array of professional and medical services agreements with state and local governments as well as private industry.
OCM's staff is organized into teams. There are two Industry Teams and two General Teams. Each team consists of Contract Analysts, Senior Contract Analysts and a Team Leader. The Associate Director reports directly to the OCM Director. OCM reports to Dr. Gordon Bernard, Executive Vice President for Research.
When a new project is submitted in PEER it is checked for completeness. If complete, the file is assigned to a Contract Analyst within 24 hours and an email message is sent notifying the department (Administrative Officer and Principal Investigator) of the assignment. The Contract Analyst will review the agreement and send the required revisions to the sponsor or contracting party within 8 -10 business days. Our goal is to promote and protect the interests of VUMC and our faculty, as well as to safeguard against unacceptable risk.
Evaluation of Contract Analyst performance includes regular assessment of two main timelines during the negotiation process: (1) days to initial review of a new contract and (2) days to the finalization of the contract.