Research contracts

IFSTTAR assists firms in their research and development programmes. In addition to the many partnerships that have been set up in the framework of European and national research programmes, IFSTTAR offers direct contracts, which may be the subject of competition. The aim is to link a research team from the Institute with the partner’s, under a single project leader. This collaboration is covered by a contract in order to protect the interests of both parties with regard to the exploitation of knowledge and results.

These research projects may be concerned with:

• developing a tool that is the subject of a specification (software, product, data base…),
• performing a contextual evaluation of a development proposed by the partner,
• producing strategic data in order to validate, and perhaps consolidate an R&D programme,
• enhancing expertise (by means of CIFRE contracts or industrial chairs, for example).

Regarding the development of tools, IFSTTAR can also engage in long-term partnerships which provide knowledge and developments on a long term basis to enable the tool to be updated continually.

The research contracts offered by IFSTTAR may be covered by an outline contract to enable them to be managed as action plans underpinned by a standard contract. They may also be the outcome of a process of resource pooling between several partners.