‘MOU’ stands for Memorandum of Understanding and is an agreement between two or more entities (ie. academic institution, foreign government) expressing an intended partnership through collaborative activity. MOUs are often facilitated for joint activities that are non-binding and not legally enforceable.
MOUs best serve their purpose when there is a clear, specific, intended exchange of institutional value between the entities. ‘Institutional’ implies that the collaborative activities are implemented between units, departments, centers, divisions, or entire universities, at a level higher than individual involvement. ‘Value’ can be construed in a variety of ways—as human capital (ie. student or faculty exchange), as knowledge (ie. data or intellectual property), as a financial commitment, or as operational resources (ie. classroom space or lab equipment). MOUs can also act as formal documentation to facilitate external funding or a grant application.
Some of the most common partnership activities included in an MOU are noted below, though activities may vary depending on the needs of the partnership:
Please reach out to UChicago Global (global@uchicago.edu) for more details and to see if an MOU is the right type of agreement for your work.