Industrial Confidentiality Issues

Sometimes you will perform research as part of a project funded by industry or the government. Many of these projects will have confidentially aspects. They may range from complete non disclosure to pre-publication approvals.

If publishing the results of your research is one of your goals you need to define any barriers to this prior to agreeing to a project. Many sponsors have some flexibility on this issue. Some do not. Sponsors may ask you to disguise data, not mention their name or location, to withhold items that they consider competitive advantages, etc. You and the sponsor need to be clear on the publication rules for a project at the beginning. Do not wait until you are a writing a paper to find out if publication is permissible. Even if it is permissible, obtaining the necessary clearances may delay or even substantially alter what you intend to publish.

If you work on a project that cannot be published, remember that there are other benefits - funding to be cited on your C.V., industrial or governmental contacts, support for your graduate students and yourself, equipment purchases or donations, and general knowledge to make you a better educator and scholar. However, as a new academic, if you work on a project that cannot be published you must accommodate this void with other research that can be published.