Researchers ‘underestimate value of data-sharing contracts’

Inefficiencies in crafting data use agreements are a bigger problem than ‘overlawyering’, survey finds

Researchers often bemoan bureaucratic delays in data sharing, putting the blame on their administrative colleagues.

But a survey of 59 officials at top universities in the United States has identified slow responses by faculty investigators as one of the two biggest barriers to signing off data use agreements, alongside workload issues for administrators.