The Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) is a dynamic network of academic health organizations providing leading edge research, teaching and clinical care.
All members share a joint mission of health and biomedical-related research and work cooperatively to facilitate and enhance collaboration among researchers.
To further enhance research partnerships, the members have created a simple, harmonized Data/Material Transfer and Use Agreement (D/MTA) template to promote the efficient and timely exchange of research data and materials across our institutions and researchers.
A Material or Data Transfer Agreement (MTA, DTA) is a legal agreement between a provider of material or data and a recipient. The agreement sets out the obligations of the parties and grants the recipient defined rights to use the proprietary material or data within an agreed upon scope.
To streamline the exchange of research data and materials between TAHSN researchers and institutions, a template agreement is available to all eligible researchers. Please carefully review the criteria below regarding the appropriate use of this template agreement. The agreement must be completed by the researcher providing the data and/or material (the “Provider Scientist”) and the researcher seeking to receive the data and/or material (the “Recipient Scientist”). Only researchers from the organizations which have agreed to this expedited process should use the template, please see below for a list of eligible organizations.
As with any MTA or DTA, the researchers must describe the nature of the data and/or material to be transferred; provide confirmation of any required approvals from their respective Research Ethics Boards or biosafety compliance; attest to the accuracy of the information being provided; and agree to comply with the standardized agreement terms. Once completed, each researcher submits the signed form to their respective institutional research office. However, the agreement must be finalized and executed by the respective institutions prior to the materials or data being transferred.
It is important to note that this expedited process and template agreement should only be used for routine data and material transfers between the eligible institutions listed below. This process is intended to facilitate the transfer of research materials and data related only to academic research pursuits. This agreement may only be used for the transfer of the following.
This template should not to be used to transfer data or material in the following circumstances.