CONTRACTS & AGREEMENTS

SGIGs may make agreements with other governments or organizations that involve data governance and management. These may include data sharing agreements with other governments or agencies, contracts with vendors or service providers, or research agreements with academic institutions.

There are six types of contracts you may use in your data governance and management projects:

• Non-disclosure agreements: an agreement is used to keep information confidential.
• Memoranda of Agreement or Memorandum of Understanding: an agreement that outlines how collaboration works between the parties.
• Information/Data Sharing Agreements: a contract that documents what information will be shared amongst the signatories and for what purpose.
• Disclaimers: a type of anti-contract. It disclaims or denies contractual liability for someone using information and suffering a loss or damage.
• Consents: a type of agreement that proves that an individual research participant freely volunteered to participate in the research and that the participant was fully informed about the purpose of the research and the intended use of the research.
• Research Agreements: a contract that defines the conditions of the research relationship between a researcher and the SGIG.

The downloadable resource document “Contracts and Agreements” provides more information on each type of contract, including examples and templates. It also discusses some best practices for contract management.