Disclosure of Research Results

Faculty seeking support from outside the University for their research activities should be sure to inform potential sponsors that any grant, contract, or cooperative agreement accepted by the University must conform to the disclosure policy established by the Board of Trustees on May 10, 1972: "That it is the policy of the University of Massachusetts to undertake only those research projects in which the purpose, scope, methods, and results can be fully and freely disclosed".
Prior to the Board of Trustees’ action, the Faculty Senate at Amherst endorsed the following policy (Senate Document 71-0005):

"In the light of the educational aims of the University and its interests in the free and constructive uses of the information derived from its research, it is the policy of the University that:

1. It will enter into a grant or contract only when it has freedom to disclose the purpose and scope of the proposed research, the methods, and the results of such research:
   1. to permit informed discussion concerning the appropriateness of such research within the University.
   2. to apprise colleagues in the immediate and related disciplines of the nature and importance of the work as a potential contribution to the disciplines involved.
2. It will only enter into grants and contracts which do not require the approval of any outside person or agency prior to the publication or dissemination of the results of any research. It does recognize, however, that where proprietary data or information has been provided by a sponsor, that rights to the use of such proprietary material shall be respected.
3. It will only enter into grants or contracts which permit complete freedom to disclose:
   1. the existence of the grant or contract.
   2. the identity of the sponsor, and if a subcontract is involved, the identity of the prime sponsor."