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R&D Partnerships
IP and research partnerships where ownership, exclusivity, and commercialization terms define the agreement.
Example organizations in this space:
SRI International
Battelle
Southwest Research Institute
SAIC
This interactive experience is the shipped product itself — the same application code customers run in production, mounted read-only in your browser over a real sample journey. Not a video, not a mockup: because the demo and the product are one codebase, it can never drift from the real thing.
Inside this journey
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Pre-Sales
Qualify technical objectives, stakeholders, and feasibility before piloting.
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Outcome Discovery
Align on the technical objective, regulatory and security constraints, stakeholders, and measurable success signals for the program.
Discovery Questions
The outcome that will change the program
- How urgent is this technical objective within your program timeline?
- What specific technical question would a pilot need to answer to justify a full program commitment?
- Who in your organization will have final signoff that the pilot succeeded and what role do they hold?
- When would you need prototype-level data available to inform contracting or funding decisions?
- Which measurable signals will you use to declare success, for example specific performance numbers, reproducibility, or regulatory markers?
- Describe the downstream decision that depends on this outcome, for example go/no-go, scale funding, or award of a subcontract.
Where the problem actually shows up
- Tell me about the most recent failure or limitation that made you decide to pursue external research rather than solve it internally.
- If that failure repeated during scale up, what would be the financial or schedule impact for your program over the next 12 months?
- Are there existing test artifacts, datasets, or validation reports the pilot team must use or reproduce?
- Would resolving this single technical barrier change your procurement strategy or mainly de-risk an internal design path?
- Where in your development lifecycle does this risk appear most, research and development, qualification, manufacturing, or field operations?
- Estimate how often this failure mode occurs across current units or tests and the typical variance in outcomes.
What could stop the project cold
- What single technical or program risk would make you stop the project immediately?
- Who currently owns the mitigation plan for that risk and how enabled are they to allocate budget or staff?
- When would you need an agreed mitigation plan in place to avoid schedule slips?
- Which compliance or regulatory approvals could gate data collection or facility access during the pilot?
- Describe the last time an external partner failed to deliver on a similar risk and what changed as a result.
- Name the contractual term that, if missing, would prevent you from engaging a contract research partner for this work.
Other paths you are weighing
- Walk me through the alternatives you are actively considering besides engaging an external research partner.
- Which of the following options have you already evaluated?
- Identify what would have to be true about your current approach for you to stay with it instead of changing to an external partner.
- Name who internally is advocating to keep the work in-house and what their core rationale is.
- In your last internal attempt, when did it reach a technical milestone and what stopped it from progressing to deployment?
- Confirm whether anyone has proposed a no-vendor path that would require new headcount, facilities, or external certifications.
What must be true for the pilot to start on day one
- Identify the top operational prerequisites that must be met before experiments begin.
- Explain the ownership and lead contact for sample shipping, chain of custody, and storage during the pilot.
- Are the test articles or material batches you will provide already characterized to an agreed specification and traced to lot numbers?
- List which internal systems must integrate with the pilot for data transfer or analysis and who controls those systems.
- Confirm when regulatory, legal, or export control reviews need to be completed to avoid pilot delays.
- Which of the following best describes whether your procurement or funding cadence includes milestone payments that align with the pilot timeline?
The gate criteria that make this a win
- Explain the minimum reproducibility and data quality standards that would allow your team to accept pilot results without further testing.
- List the primary quantitative thresholds that must be met, and include the unit or confidence interval for each.
- Pick the parties that will own verification of results, perform independent analysis, and sign the acceptance checklist.
- Give an example of a test scenario or operating condition the pilot must include to reflect expected real-world use.
- Rate how tolerant you are of variance in initial pilot runs before calling them acceptable.
- If the pilot meets the performance targets, what internal approvals or budgets will be triggered and how quickly could a contract be executed?
What accelerates or kills the timeline
- Walk me through your decision cadence and the key checkpoints between pilot completion and a program award.
- Would a successful pilot automatically change your procurement vehicle or would program leadership require a separate award process?
- Where are the single points of failure that most frequently delay contracts or handoffs in your organization?
- Estimate how many internal stakeholders must agree to move from pilot to full execution and which functions they represent.
- Tell me about the approvals or budget cycles that would accelerate signing if the pilot proves the targets.
- Could you execute a contract within your funding window if the pilot proves the required metrics and acceptance criteria?
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Solution Walkthrough
Translate the buyer's objectives into a proposed experimental approach, risks (IP, schedule, staffing), and acceptance criteria using real scenarios.
Solution Experience
- Solution Walkthrough: Experimental Approach & Acceptance Criteria
- Confirm the current state and what it is costing you
- You confirm the single critical pilot question and measurable acceptance criteria that will determine success.
- Provide one representative scenario, sample set, or use case to be used as the test input for the pilot.
- Define the single critical pilot question and measurable acceptance criteria
- You validate that the proposed experiment, when run against your scenario, will produce the data needed for a go/no-go decision within the required timeline.
- Confirm your internal decision date and maximum pilot budget available for this critical question.
- Run the proposed experimental approach using your scenario
- Deliver a draft experimental plan with methods, timelines, staffing assumptions, risk register, and a redacted IP approach within five business days.
- You agree on the identified IP, staffing, and schedule mitigations or request specific changes to them.
- Provide an itemized list of required samples, access permissions, and facility constraints to enable logistics planning.
- Surface IP, schedule, staffing, and compliance risks and mitigations
- Validate that the approach meets your needs
- Agree decision outputs and next steps to reach go/no-go
- Solution Walkthrough: Experimental Approach & Acceptance Criteria
- Solution Walkthrough Deck
- Solution Brief
- meeting
- slides
- document
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Pilot & Program Scope
Define the pilot question, scope boundaries, deliverables, roles, timeline, acceptance criteria, and IP/compliance constraints for the engagement.
Scope Configuration
- Execute Pilot Feasibility Experiment
- Perform Accredited Materials Characterization Testing
- Develop Functional Prototype Device
- Fabricate Additive-Manufactured Prototype Components
- Operate Secure-Access Laboratory Experimentation
- Conduct Environmental and Qualification Testing
- Integrate and Test Autonomous Systems
- Perform Biochemical and Cellular Assay Execution
- Demonstrate Process Scale-Up in Pilot Line
- Manufacture Pilot Production Batch
- Deliver Raw Data Package with Statistical Analysis
- Produce Technology Transfer and Manufacturing Documentation
Scope Questions
Execute Pilot Feasibility Experiment
- Which pilot question will the experiment test (state a single measurable hypothesis you want answered)?
- Provide the primary dependent measurement and numeric target threshold you expect to use to judge outcomes (for example: tensile strength +10%, localization error <0.5 m).
- Which acceptance criteria will define success for this pilot (include sample size, statistical power, and pass/fail thresholds)?
- Identify the sample types and material lot numbers you will supply or need sourced (for example: aluminum 7075-T6 lot A123, HEK293 cell bank v2).
- Describe the experimental controls or baseline datasets you will compare against (for example: current production batch, MIL-STD reference specimen).
- Specify export control or International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and classification constraints that apply to hardware, designs, or data in this pilot.
Perform Accredited Materials Characterization Testing
- Select the accredited standard your mechanical or materials tests must follow (for example: ASTM E8 for tensile, ISO 6892).
- Specify the accreditation level or calibration traceability you require (for example: ISO/IEC 17025 laboratory, NIST-traceable calibration certificates).
- Provide the specimen geometry and quantity per test method (for example: 5 ASTM E8 tensile bars, 3 Charpy V-notch specimens).
- List the test methods and environmental conditions you require (for example: tensile at 23°C, fatigue at 10^6 cycles, humidity 85% RH).
- Indicate the acceptable measurement uncertainty and preferred reporting format (for example: mean ± standard deviation, 95% confidence interval, instrument raw files).
Develop Functional Prototype Device
- Attach the CAD files and state the preferred exchange format you will accept (for example: STEP, native CAD, IGES).
- List Bill of Materials items you will supply versus items we must source, including part numbers where available.
- Identify the electrical, mechanical, and firmware interfaces you need validated (for example: SPI to sensor X, CAN bus at 500 kbps, 1 Gbps Ethernet).
- State the environmental and lifecycle targets the prototype must meet (for example: MIL-STD-810G shock profile, IP67 ingress, 10 year shelf life).
- Indicate the delivery artifacts you require with the prototype (for example: assembly drawings, firmware source, test scripts, user manual).
Fabricate Additive-Manufactured Prototype Components
- Describe the additive manufacturing processes and feedstock materials you want used (for example: selective laser melting with 316L, fused deposition modeling with PEEK).
- State drawing tolerances and target surface finish for critical features (for example: ±0.1 mm, Ra 1.6 μm).
- Detail required post-processing steps and any certification or acceptance standards for those steps (for example: stress relief, hot isostatic pressing, passivation to AMS 2700).
- Explain build orientation and support removal constraints that affect functional features you care about.
- Estimate the expected quantity and per-piece acceptance checks you require (for example: 10 parts with CMM report, 100 parts visual inspection).
Operate Secure-Access Laboratory Experimentation
- Confirm the facility access level and personnel clearances you require (for example: badge access, background check, facility security clearance).
- Detail the chain-of-custody and custody transfer documentation you require for samples that involve controlled unclassified information (CUI) or classified material.
- Outline your data storage and handling requirements, for example FIPS 140-2 encryption at rest, NIST SP 800-53 controls, or contract-specific segmentation.
- Select the biosafety level and PPE constraints if biological work is involved (for example: BSL-2 with specified respirators).
- By what date do you require facility access approvals to be in place for scheduled experimentation?
Conduct Environmental and Qualification Testing
- Choose the environmental test profiles you require (for example: MIL-STD-810G thermal cycling, IEC 60068 humidity, random vibration 20–2000 Hz).
- Declare qualification pass thresholds and endurance cycles you expect (for example: 1000 hour salt spray, 10 thermal cycles, 10^6 fatigue cycles).
- Name the instrumentation and sensor telemetry you require during tests (for example: strain gauges, thermocouples, accelerometers with sample rate), and the sampling frequency.
- Are witnesses or third-party inspectors required during any qualification runs or test campaigns?
- Outline the environmental preconditioning or sample conditioning steps you expect (for example: soak at 85°C/85% RH for 72 hours).
Integrate and Test Autonomous Systems
- Declare communication interfaces and protocols you need integrated and tested (for example: ROS topics, DDS, CAN, 1 Gbps Ethernet).
- Attach scenario scripts and mission profiles you want executed during integration testing (for example: autonomous waypoint navigation with 10 dynamic obstacles).
- Define the performance metrics and numeric thresholds you will use to judge system integration (for example: localization drift <0.5 m/1 km, obstacle detection latency <100 ms).
- Choose applicable safety standards and verification steps for the system (for example: ISO 26262, ANSI/UL 4600, or a custom safety case).
- Who will provide test ranges, real-world test assets, and access permissions for outdoor or restricted-range trials?
Perform Biochemical and Cellular Assay Execution
- Name the cell lines, biological strains, or reagent catalog IDs you plan to provide or require (for example: HEK293 lot #, CHO clone ID, E. coli K12 strain).
- Explain the biosafety approvals and regulatory controls you will furnish or require (for example: Institutional Biosafety Committee approval, GLP-compliant execution, IBC protocol number).
- Confirm the assay acceptance thresholds and control performance metrics you require (for example: Z'-factor >0.5, signal-to-background ratio, positive/negative control performance).
- Estimate the sample volumes, concentrations, and plate formats to be used (for example: 50 μL per well in 384-well format, reagent concentrations in nM).
- Please enumerate the reproducibility documentation you require with results (for example: raw plate reader files, reagent lot numbers, full SOPs, operator logs).
Demonstrate Process Scale-Up in Pilot Line
- Estimate the target pilot throughput and target yield you want demonstrated (for example: 10 kg/week with 85% yield).
- Define the key process parameters you want monitored during scale-up (for example: temperature profile, residence time, torque, RPM).
- Share constraints on equipment and line layout that affect scale-up (for example: reactor volume, conveyor speed, footprint limits).
- Name the regulatory frameworks and certifications that must be demonstrated for the pilot line (for example: cGMP, 21 CFR Part 820).
- Report the acceptable production variability and sampling plan you will accept during the demonstration (for example: ≤5% coefficient of variation, sample every 100 units).
Manufacture Pilot Production Batch
- Report the target batch size, lot numbering scheme, and traceability requirements you require for the pilot production batch.
- How will you demonstrate quality release tests and acceptance thresholds for batch release (for example: potency >90%, impurity <1%) and who signs release?
- Who will generate the master batch record and provide the QA release certificate for the pilot production batch?
- Explain the environmental monitoring and in-process controls you require during production (for example: microbial settle plates, particle counts, in-process sampling frequency).
- Are sterility testing or endotoxin limits required for this pilot batch (select the applicable option)?
Deliver Raw Data Package with Statistical Analysis
- Enumerate the raw data formats and metadata fields you require with each dataset (for example: CSV time series, instrument XML, units in column headers).
- Include the provenance fields that must appear in every dataset (for example: instrument serial, calibration date, operator initials, sample ID).
- Desired statistical analyses and confidence levels you require for the deliverable (for example: ANOVA, t-test, 95% confidence interval, statistical power = 0.8).
- Preferred visualization and reporting templates you want included with the statistical package (for example: control charts, boxplots, regression tables).
- How long must raw data, analysis scripts, and final reports be retained and accessible (for example: 7 years, 5 years, contract-term)?
Produce Technology Transfer and Manufacturing Documentation
- Enumerate the transfer artifacts you require for a complete handoff (for example: master manufacturing work instructions, process flow diagrams, control plans, training packets).
- How will training and operator competency be evidenced at transfer (for example: operator sign-off, completion of a training matrix, shadowing records)?
- Preferred documentation formats for transfer (for example: controlled PDF, editable SOP in Word, searchable XML), and whether editable source is required.
- How will intellectual property deliverables and data rights be handed over (for example: source CAD files with license, algorithm binaries with usage rights, assignment or license agreement)?
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Pilot Feasibility Study
Run a funded pilot that tests the critical technical question against agreed acceptance criteria and produces data to inform a full program decision.
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- current_state
- success_criteria
- stakeholders
- desired_state
- decision_readiness
- desired_state
- success_criteria
- decision_readiness
- stakeholders
- gaps
- current_state
- stakeholders
- decision_readiness
- current_state
- desired_state
- success_criteria
- gaps
- decision_readiness
- decision_readiness
- decision_readiness
- decision_readiness
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Mutual Commit
Finalize the SOW, IP and data rights, security/compliance terms, staffing commitments, milestones, and payment schedule.
Agreement Modules
- Master Services Agreement (MSA)
- Statement of Work (SOW)
- IP & Data Rights Agreement
- Security & Compliance Addendum
- Staffing & Key Personnel Commitment
- Milestones & Payment Schedule
- Change Order Agreement
- Acceptance Criteria & Handover Appendix
- Confidentiality & Non-Disclosure Agreement (final)
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Program Execution
Operationalize research with readiness checks, execution, and formal acceptance.
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Pre-Execution Readiness
Confirm facility access, sample and material logistics, personnel clearances, data access, and timeline constraints before experiments begin.
Pre-Execution Questions
Environment and site access
- How many physical sites or facilities require on-site access for this work? (select the closest match)
- For each site, confirm whether facility access is already granted or supply the earliest date access will be granted (site name and date). This lets us sequence onsite tasks and security escorts.
- Are the required facility certifications and compliance badges in place for the planned activities at each site (e.g., biosafety level, ISO/accreditation, controlled-substance authorization)?
Samples, materials, and logistics
- Who will supply the primary samples and test materials for the pilot (select the operational model)?
- Do any sample shipments require export controls, import permits, hazardous materials declarations, or special chain-of-custody handling?
- For any incoming or outgoing shipments, provide the designated shipping owner (name and role) and the earliest available shipment date. This prevents scheduling gaps and preserves sample integrity.
People and ownership
- Who is the buyer's day-to-day experiment owner (person authorized to approve protocol changes) and who is the seller's counterpart? Provide name and role only—these owners will be primary deploy plan contacts.
- Will all personnel who need site access already hold required security clearances, certifications, and site-specific training?
Data access and timing
- Do the project team and seller have the required data and instrument access (read/write or export) needed to collect results and run analyses?
- What is the confirmed experiment start date or earliest start window? If flexible, state the start week/month and call out any blackout windows or compliance gating dates that would block execution.
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Research Execution
Execute experiments, prototype builds, testing, and interim reviews with clear owners, milestones, and risk mitigations.
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Delivery Acceptance
Formal acceptance checklist to verify data integrity, reproducibility, documentation, and handoff readiness before final invoicing.
Checklist items
- Submit final deliverable package to agreed repository
- Deliver raw data archive, metadata, and archival snapshot
- Provide checksums and perform data-integrity verification
- Deliver analysis code, environment specification, and reproducibility instructions
- Complete independent reproducibility run and attach replication report
- Provide instrument logs, calibration certificates, and QA/QC records
- Finalize chain-of-custody and sample/material disposition report
- Complete security, export-control, and compliance clearance for deliverables
- Execute IP, data-rights and publication agreement sign-off
- Deliver technology-transfer package and complete handoff training
- Document outstanding deviations and record disposition or mitigation plan
- Obtain buyer formal acceptance signature and authorize final invoice issuance
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Transition & Success
Confirm technology-transfer artifacts, validate outcomes against success signals, and maintain a shared channel for issues and enhancements.
Success Reviews
- Handoff Health Check (weeks 1-4)
- First Measurement Review (weeks 4-10)
- Technology-Transfer Readiness Review (around day 90)
- Quarterly Success Review (ongoing quarterly)
- Annual Outcome Validation and Lessons Learned
Issues & Enhancements
- Close high-priority defects with evidence of resolution and update the shared tracker.
- Re-confirm success criteria and owners
- Ensure IP, data rights, and compliance deliverables required by Pilot & Program Scope are either complete or have remediation plans.
- Deliver any missing compliance certificates, IP documentation, or data-rights artifacts into the shared channel.
- Schedule and publish the knowledge-transfer session calendar and required attendee list.
- Close or reclassify transfer issues with agreed resolution dates and evidence of completion.
- Outcome metrics snapshot
- Confirm the trend for reproducible runs meeting targets is stable or improving and document any corrective actions if it is not.
- Reduce the open transfer-issue count through assigned remediation or reclassification.
- Maintain an auditable record of data integrity and artifact versions in the shared channel.
- Resolve any access or permission failures preventing artifact retrieval and confirm resolution in the shared channel.
- Publish any updated runbooks, SOPs, or artifact versions and note the change log.
- Schedule any required follow-up validation runs and report results before the next quarterly review.
- Year-to-date outcome performance
- Confirm long-term outcome stability by comparing sustained acceptance-criteria performance and actual transfer completion time to the targets in Pilot & Program Scope.
- Document lessons learned and commit to updates to transfer artifacts and processes to reduce regression risk.
- Ensure there is a durable, versioned repository of artifacts and runbooks to preserve institutional knowledge.
- Publish the annual lessons-learned report and the prioritized list of process or documentation changes.
- Archive final transfer artifacts with versioned access and a retention statement in the shared channel.
- Update runbooks or SOPs for any identified knowledge gaps and note the completion date.
- Confirm all required transfer artifacts are present and accessible in the shared channel.
- Document and assign remediation for any access, documentation, or versioning blockers with target dates.
- Ensure owners for the upcoming measurement period are named and understand their responsibilities.
- Publish an indexed inventory of transfer artifacts and their storage locations in the shared channel.
- Assign owners and dates for each open blocker and publish the remediation plan.
- Present measured outcomes vs acceptance criteria
- Establish whether measured outcomes for percent of acceptance criteria met and reproducible run counts meet interim expectations.
- Document remedial actions with owners and target dates for any criteria not met.
- Confirm the integrity and traceability of the data supporting the presented results.
- Run the agreed repeat experiments or validation trials and report results by the remediation due date.
- Publish an evidence package linking raw data and analysis scripts to each reported outcome metric.
- Update the shared issue tracker with root-cause findings and assigned corrective actions.
- Summary of outcome validation to date
- Confirm the outstanding transfer issues count and the expected time-to-transfer to an operational-ready state.
- Agree the remaining artifact and knowledge-transfer tasks with owners and dates to reach transfer readiness.
- Verify transfer artifact inventory and access
- Transfer artifact completeness check
- Open issue burn-down
- Reproducibility and operational incidents review
- Root-cause analysis for any gaps
- Data integrity and version control audit
- Remediation plan and timeline
- Institutional knowledge and staffing risk assessment
- IP, data rights, and compliance checklist
- Early operational signals review
- Capture lessons learned and recommended process changes
- Open issues and blockers triage
- Knowledge transfer and training plan
- Confirm data integrity and traceability
- Enhancements and defect backlog review
- Agree immediate remediation actions
- Agree next quarter actions
- Finalize outstanding transfer issues and dates