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Office of Research and Innovation
Research Administration and Compliance

Testing Services Agreements

Testing Services Agreements (TSA) and Fabrication Services Agreements (FSA) are contracts that offer external firms and agencies the opportunity to capitalize on the occasional unused capacity of specialized services and facilities of the University. These services and facilities include but are not limited to panels of trained subject-area experts, machine shops, specialized scientific and analytic instrumentation. These services are driven by protocols and specifications normally established by external firms and contain no experimental design.

Agreements

The agreement terms of testing services are generally non-negotiable.

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Testing vs. Research

Testing and fabrication work capitalizes on the occasional unused capacity of specialized services and facilities of the University. Testing services involve the following activities: panels of trained subject-area experts, machine shops, and specialized scientific and analytic instrumentation. These services are driven by protocols and specifications normally established by external firms and contain no experimental design. The University will conduct the work in the exact manner described in the protocol without alteration and/or use of the University intellectual capital. Conversely, research efforts involve “the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions” utilizing the University’s intellectual capital. The statements of work for these efforts are typically written by the University and may also be co-authored by the sponsor funding the work. Scopes of work may be altered during the term of the project as needed based on the results generated.

Resources

Any contracting with outside sources by NC State service centers must contain a contract signed by an authorized official of SPARCS.