Maryland’s

The SBA maintains a list of subcontracting opportunity contacts. The information is obtained through the
names and addresses from the listing of subcontracting plans that are submitted to the government when a
large business receives a federal contract over $650,000. For more information about subcontracting
contacts, visit the subcontracting opportunities page.
2. Collaborative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA)
A CRADA is not an acquisition instrument (such as grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements), but is
an agreement between a federal laboratory and a non-federal party to perform collaborative research and
development in any area that is consistent with the federal laboratory's mission. CRADAs are the most
frequently used mechanism for formalizing interactions and partnerships between private industry and
federal laboratories and the only mechanism for receiving funds from non-federal sources for
collaborative work.
CRADA is an excellent technology transfer tool. It can:
Provide incentives that help speed the commercialization of federally-developed technology
Protect any proprietary information brought to the CRADA effort by the partner
Allow all parties to the CRADA to keep research results emerging from the CRADA confidential
and free from disclosure through the Freedom of Information Act for up to 5 years
Allow the government and the partner to share patents and patent licenses
Permit one partner to retain exclusive rights to a patent or patent license.
A CRADA is an agreement exempt from FAR and DFAR. Although locally reviewed and approved,
agency level oversight is possible. Under a CRADA agreement, for the purposes of joint research, the
government may engage in development, engineering, and testing but not the manufacture a product. A
federal laboratory may provide personnel, services, facilities, and equipment, but no funds, to the joint
R&D effort. A non-federal party may provide funds, in addition to personnel, services, facilities, and
equipment to the joint R&D effort. These agreements are usually made for five years but have sometimes
been approved for 20 years and are terminable at will. They can be used as a precursor to other
agreements. These agreements cannot be used to circumvent the procurement code or to allow
competition with private sector organizations.
Any proprietary information provided to a federal employee is protected from disclosure provided that the
disclosing party clearly indicates what is proprietary. This federal law only addresses federal employees.
Proprietary information in a CRADA – e.g., trade secrets, commercial or financial information that is
obtained in the conduct of research or as a result of activities addressed in the Technology Transfer Act,
originating from a nonfederal party participating in a CRADA – can never be disclosed unless the
information becomes public knowledge.
Data (subject data) developed as a result of the research conducted under a CRADA is proprietary for five
years from the time derived unless both parties agree to publish or disclose the subject data.
Remember, the rules that govern a CRADA are as follows:
There must be one or more federal parties
There must be one or more nonfederal parties
Resources under the CRADA must be used for research and development
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How to Find an Appropriate Opportunity