What is a Data Collaborator Agreement?
University faculty may engage in research collaborations with individuals who need access to sensitive datasets housed at the University, but who are not employed by, or students of, UChicago themselves. Sometimes these external collaborators are known at the outset of the research, sometimes the collaborations become necessary to continue work with postdocs or other project members who are leaving UChicago for a position at another institution, and sometimes the need for external collaborators is discovered after the project commences.
Data Collaborator Agreements are distinct from Data Use Agreements in that the dataset does not leave the UChicago system it is stored on.
"Data Collaborators" require:
- Dean approval. This is required to confirm the data collaborator is contributing to UChicago research and those contributions are worth the risk of sharing access to sensitive systems and data externally. Please submit proof of Dean approval as part of your initial AURA submission (an email from the Dean is sufficient).
- Approval from the data provider if the data was obtained by UChicago externally (URA will seek that approval).
- The collaborator to be contributing to UChicago research and be sponsored by a UChicago PI. Access will not be granted to support an independent research program for an individual not employed by, or leaving, UChicago.
- Technology Services Extension Request may be required for Graduate Students who qualify for Data Collaborator status. Please note that URA does not approve an CNET privileges.
Please note that like all other contracts, a data collaborator agreement must be reviewed and executed by URA. Faculty and department staff are not authorized to enter into data collaborator agreements on their own. A data collaborator agreement must be executed by URA, by the external individual who will gain access to the data, and by that person's home institution (not UChicago or the UChicago PI). Once the data collaborator agreement is fully signed, a CNET ID can be issued to the data collaborator (if necessary) through the existing Trusted Agent process in the units. The data collaborator agreement does not create an employment relationship with the collaborator.
Submitting a Data Collaborator Agreement
A data collaborator agreement should be routed through AURA Agreements as an Outgoing DUA. The template can be found here.
March 3, 2023