Commercial Partnerships provide increased value beyond simple purchasing agreements by leveraging our consolidated spending power across all campuses, plus our athletic, academic, and research strengths and other marketing assets to develop expanded and coordinated opportunities for both the University and its commercial partners. Commercial partners are generally University suppliers and service providers whose affiliations with the University may help to expand their retail or B2B markets.
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The following governance structure and procedures align with our guiding principles for commercial partnerships.

Governance Structure

CFO Project Manager

The CFO Project Manager recommends a best-fit lead negotiator and team members for each category project team to the Steering Committee. She manages project timelines, tasks, data, ROI, and administration. She also executes contracts, campus-wide communications, and post-implementation assessments.

Project Team

Project team members will represent core commercial operational stakeholders from an RC, University Communications, the Economic Partnerships Office, the Division of Philanthropy and Engagement, third-party experts, and others, as necessitated by the commercial category.

Lead Negotiator

The Lead Negotiator will be the individual who is the best fit to negotiate a successful partnership that provides the most overall value to the University for the category. He or she may be someone from Strategic Sourcing, an operational stakeholder such as someone in Business Operations, the Office of the CFHO, Athletics, or CSSD, or a third-party expert.

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee vet major program and project decisions before presenting them to the Leadership Council. They provide input on projects, timelines, and risks as well as suggest team members for the Category Teams. The Steering Committee also help evaluate proposed commercial deals and review commercial partnership effectiveness post-implementation.
View the Steering Committee

Working Group

The Steering Committee may appoint, as needed, separate working groups or subcommittees. An operational working group comprising representatives from Financial Operations, Office of Economic Partnerships, Athletics, and the Division of Philanthropic Engagement has been formed to provide coordination among these areas.

Leadership Council

The Leadership Council approved the project and guiding principles and designated representatives to form the Steering Committee. They provide ongoing input and information, as requested, and approve all final contracts.
View the Leadership Council
Best fit individuals will be those who represent pertinent category stakeholders.

Procedures

We have identified the following procedures as critical to achieving the goals and benefits of this program in a way that align with our guiding principles.
  • Establish ongoing, internal oversight, collaboration, and communication.
  • Establish regular reviews of the University's overall relationship with sponsors for adherence to these principles
  • Establish a process and threshold for reporting new relationships in non-exclusive commercial categories