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About GCM Contracts
GCM's Contracts division finalizes hundreds of contracts annually, including Clinical Trial Agreements, Federal/NIH Subcontracts , Confidentiality Agreements, Data Use Agreements and a vast array of professional and medical services agreements and consulting agreements with state and local governments as well as private industry.
GCM Contracts is organized into two teams. Each team consists of a Team Manager, approximately five Contract Analysts (CAs) and two Administrative Assistants. The Team Managers report to the GCM Associate Director, who in turn reports to the GCM Director.
When a new project arrives it is checked for completeness. If complete, the file is assigned to a CA within 24 hours and an email message is sent notifying the department (Administrative Officer and Principal Investigator) of the assignment. The CA will review the agreement and send the required revisions to the sponsor or contracting party within 10 days. Our goal is not to have a perfect legal document, but rather to protect the interests of the PI and Vanderbilt, as well as to safeguard each against unacceptable risks as much as necessary - a variable standard depending on the specific project.
Evaluation of CA performance includes regular assessment of three timelines during the negotiation process: (1) days to initial review of a new contract; (2) days to turn around revisions received from the other party; and, (3) days to the finalization of the contract.
