Fostering collaboration to advance research opportunities WSU-PNNL Joint Appointment Program
WSU and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have successfully established a relationship and increased the number of joint appointments between the two institutions.
Program benefits
- Increased funding opportunities
More opportunity to submit proposals and seek funding sources for joint research—sources not available to the parties individually - New and diverse research experience
Enrichment of existing programs by introducing greater array of expertise - Collaboration opportunities
Increased opportunities for collegial collaboration and multidisciplinary research - Access to graduate students
Both as interns and as thesis students - Strategic commitment
Long-term, enduring commitment for collaboration between strategic partners - Advanced training
Training for graduate students and post-docs at a National Laboratory with unique capabilities - Access to unique resources
Both in terms of instrumentation and unique multidisciplinary teams - Opportunities for new funded programs
By broadening research capabilities
How the program works
- Employee affiliation
The joint appointee remains the employee of the home institution, and the labor is “shared.” - Compensation arrangements
An appropriate (agreed upon) percentage of salary and fringe benefits is passed between the institutions. There are no other overheads. This aligns with the concept of “shared labor.” - Establishing appointments
Appointments are established by an offer to the prospective candidate that is jointly signed by the research officers. Upon acceptance there would be specific agreements between the institutions for each joint appointee, covering the agreed upon split of salary and fringe benefits and the methodology for tracking and billing for those costs. - Title and responsibilities
Each joint appointee would have an appropriate title and responsibilities commensurate with their level and title with their home employer. For example, Battelle staff under joint appointments with the University would work with the unit to determine an acceptable working title, preferably “Battelle or PNNL Faculty.” Similarly, appointees to PNNL from the University would carry an appropriate PNNL title. - Equal representation of affiliation
A joint appointment program aims to benefit both institutions. Therefore, joint appointees represent themselves as affiliated with both institutions, regardless of their specific activities, source of funding, and so on. Publications associated with an activity conducted while under a joint appointment would always show author affiliation with both institutions. - Intellectual property ownership
Any intellectual property developed by an appointee while working under a joint appointment is jointly owned by the institutions, unless the work is part of a project with a third party and contains intellectual property commitments. Those commitments will be honored.
Establishing a Joint Appointment
Please contact natlab@wsu.edu for additional information if you are interested in establishing a joint appointment between WSU and PNNL.
Please click here for Joint Appointment Resources
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