The consortium agreement complements the grant agreement for Horizon Europe. While the grant agreement defines the binding legal relationship between the European Commission and the project partners, the consortium agreement defines and regulates the relationship between the partners themselves. Unlike the grant agreement (which is fixed and cannot be amended), the Horizon Europe consortium agreement is essentially a commercial agreement between the partners. As such, it is flexible and can be adapted to the specific needs of the project and its partners. Remember that once the Horizon Europe project is funded, a consortium of partners will work together for a long time. For this reason, it is very important to have a binding agreement that takes into account the different expectations, requirements and circumstances that may arise. Since the consortium agreement is indeed a commercial agreement, we recommend the services of legal counsel with expertise in drafting such agreements. Note: Costs associated with the preparation of a consortium agreement cannot be reimbursed as the consortium agreement must be signed prior to the signing of the grant agreement. However, costs related to the updating of the consortium agreement shall be eligible if they are incurred during the duration of the action. A consortium agreement is a binding contract signed between the partners of a Horizon Europe cooperation project. The Horizon Europe grant agreement (Article 7) provides: `Beneficiaries shall have internal arrangements for their operation and coordination in order to ensure the proper implementation of the action.`; So what do you need to know about this agreement? What is the recommended process for creating an agreement? Read on to learn more. There is a clear motivation to start drafting the agreement as soon as possible. This may be during the proposal preparation phase, when operational relationships between partners are formed and tasks are assigned.
It is good practice to ensure that the project is well planned, including all legal aspects, before it is submitted. This practice can help avoid unwanted disputes between partners later on. DESCA (Development of a Simplified Consortium Agreement) is a comprehensive consortium agreement template that provides a reliable frame of reference for project consortia. desca-2020.eu/ Please use the My Projects page of the Funding and Tendering Portal to prepare your grant by entering the required data and signing your grant agreement online. This data will also be available in PDF format. If the consortium has decided not to sign its grant during the grant preparation phase, it can initiate the termination process via the GRANT IT management tool. Read the detailed screens and descriptions in the on termination before signing the grant. So what should be done to better meet the needs of consortium members from the outset, without spending resources and time before there is more clarity on funding? This process summarizes the most important steps to complete the signing of your grant agreement: DESCA (Development of a Simplified Consortium Agreement) is the most popular of several Horizon Europe model consortium agreements. It is the result of a cooperation project supported by the European Commission. Its result is a consortium agreement template that anyone can use as the basis for a particular consortium agreement for a particular project.
The updated DESCA consortium agreement template for Horizon Europe has not yet been published, for now you can preview the Horizon 2020 template, which can be downloaded for free. Model consortium agreements are not approved by the Commission – they are model agreements developed as models by different organisations and which can serve as checklists, starting points or frameworks for the development of a consortium agreement that meets the specific criteria, needs and requirements of the respective partners and given projects. These are not universal agreements. MCARD is the consortium agreement model developed by DIGITALEUROPE, whose members include IT, telecommunications and consumer electronics companies as well as national associations from all regions of Europe. www.digitaleurope.org/ Horizon 2020 participation and dissemination framework requires consortium members to conclude an internal agreement (called a consortium agreement) to define their rights and obligations with regard to the implementation and organisation of the action under the grant agreement. The consortium agreement is a private agreement between the beneficiaries of the Horizon 2020 grant. That said, there is one important point to keep in mind: preparing a Horizon Europe consortium agreement requires a lot of time, resources and resources for legal advice. If the project is not selected for funding by the European Commission, such an allocation of money and time will essentially (and unfortunately) be wasted. Although it is not mandatory, we recommend that you refer to desca`s structure and guidelines when drafting a consortium agreement. As mentioned above, it is advisable to hire an experienced legal advisor when preparing this agreement. The DESCA model should only be referenced as a means of generally structuring the agreement and taking into account the important aspects that need to be taken into account. In order to make the most of time and resources, the right time to draw up this agreement is therefore immediately after the notification by the Commission that the project has been selected for funding and before the Commission requests the signature of the grant agreement.
This period is approximately three months, which is sufficient for the preparation and conclusion of the consortium agreement. This model consortium agreement was developed by the European Council for Research and Development in the Automotive Industry and is used by EUCAR members and other entities in projects co-funded by the EU. www.eucar.be/ you will receive email notifications about all the steps you need to take for the preparation of the grant. More information can be found in the list of all notices related to grants and their recipients. You will also find more information on the notification procedure for the termination of beneficiaries or how to apply for termination of the grant agreement. DESCA is a simple and comprehensive consortium agreement template that is freed from any unnecessary complexity in content and language. Desca`s modular structure with different options and alternative modules and clauses offers maximum flexibility. Great care has been taken to ensure that these variants are consistent with the basic text.
Explanatory notes with concrete examples and detailed explanations of the different options and clauses are provided throughout the model. This advice will help research directors without legal training and new participants in EU projects to make informed decisions on the best formulations to protect their interests. Further information can be found in the European Commission`s detailed guide, including typical issues that may be addressed by the consortium agreement. In summary, the drafting of the consortium agreement is an extremely important process that should not be neglected. While full preparation during the proposal development phase of your project is not mandatory, there are important steps that need to be considered at this stage. If you are the proud owner of a funded project and need more information, do not hesitate to contact us. The DESCA consortium agreement template is specifically designed for collaborative research projects such as Horizon Europe`s “research and innovation actions” and “innovation actions”. .