Purpose:

The Technical Assistance Program (TAP) is a university-sponsored consulting activity that enables a faculty member to respond quickly to an identified market need requiring technical expertise. TAPs are intended to strengthen university and individual faculty relationships with external organizations, especially businesses, and result in increased sponsored projects.

Scope of Work: faculty, staff, and students are applying knowledge to a specific process-related or technical situation and NOT generating new knowledge or intellectual property. These activities are typically short in duration and do not exceed $25,000.

Business Information

Virginia Tech's Technical Assistance Program (TAP) is designed to link businesses in Virginia and beyond with the resources of its faculty, staff, and students. The TAP provides a streamlined process for locating a faculty member to work on industrial problems and a template contract to arrange for those services. TAPs are typically short in duration, do not involve the generation of new knowledge or intellectual property, and generally do not exceed $25,000 in direct costs. The scope of work is defined together by the faculty member and the company. TAPs focus on your business problems while enriching the experiences of graduate and undergraduate students through their involvement. As an outreach service, Virginia Tech is pleased to offer this opportunity to you and your business.

Please take a few minutes to look through this website and to visit the section on Frequently Asked Questions - Business.

Typical Case:

1. A lead identifying a need by an external organization comes into the university through Economic Development, Continuing Education, Industry Program Development, direct contact with a dean's office, department, faculty member, or some other avenue.
   
   
2. The lead finds its way to an appropriate associate dean or department head.
   
   
3. The associate dean contacts the relevant department head(s).
   
   
4. The department head examines the need and, if interested, contacts possible interested faculty.
   
   
5. A faculty member develops a proposal with specific deliverables and due dates, and works with Continuing and Professional Education to develop the budget.
   
   
6. When the external organization accepts the proposal, the faculty member completes the work.
   
   
7. Continuing and Professional Education invoices the organization, collects the revenue, processes all financial transactions, including direct pay to the faculty member and surplus distribution, and closes the program.
   
   

   Operating Principles:

   1. Most companies do not view Virginia Tech as a possible "quick turnaround" solution provider for their business problems. The TAP is one tool to address this market need.
      
      
   2. Continuing and Professional Education is regularly in the marketplace and will serve as the administrative entity with responsibility for the Technical Assistance Program.
      
      
   3. In part because the TAP enables faculty to receive direct pay for their consulting work, the TAP will encourage some faculty to bring their consulting business through the university.
      
      
   4. TAPs carry the same overhead rate as sponsored research projects handled by the Office of Sponsored Programs (currently 51%).
      
      
   5. As in sponsored projects, the state will receive the same 30% of the overhead under TAP projects.