A template for Establishing, Funding, and Managing an International Scientific Research Project Based on an Agreement Between Governments or Institutions Introduction
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- The Elements of the Template
- Establishing the Collaboration
- TEMPLATE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR ESTABLISHING “THE COLLABORATION”
- TEMPLATE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO HOST THE SECRETARIAT OF “THE COLLABORATION”
- A. Required Contents of a Bid 1. Legal Status of the COLLABORATION.
- 3. COLLABORATION (Secretariat) Staff.
- B. Voluntary Contributions of the Bidding Country
- D. Submission, Review and Selection
Version of June 23, 2005 A Template for Establishing, Funding, and Managing an International Scientific Research Project Based on an Agreement Between Governments or Institutions Introduction This paper describes a template for establishing and managing international collaborative research, based on an agreement by governments, governmental institutions, or other organisations. This is one of many possible ways to organise scientific collaboration; indeed, there is no “one size fits all” formula for international projects. This document is intended to serve as a starting point for those seeking to create an institutional venue for joint research. It is based on experience acquired during the work of the Global Science Forum of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)1. Appended to this paper is an annotated sample Memorandum of Understanding, to be signed by the parties of the collaboration. It covers the key areas where agreement should be reached before the project can begin. It is presented as a generic template; for any given project, text could be edited, deleted or added according to the requirements of the partners. In the attached document, the template text is in regular font, with explanatory annotations in italics2. In addition, a sample Request for Proposals to Host the Secretariat is provided, in case the partners envisage a competition for hosting the headquarters of the project.
International cooperation is a hallmark of modern science. At the smallest scale, it can consist of visits or sabbatical leaves by individual scientists, based on informal agreements between individuals or laboratories. At the other end of the scale, a major long-term project, involving the construction of large infrastructures and the employment of hundreds of staff members, may require inter-governmental treaties and their approval by parliaments. Between these extremes, the need sometimes arises for a project that is to last at least several years, with an annual budget of one to several million USD, and with a modest central administrative structure. For the purposes of this paper, it is assumed that the following pre-conditions apply:
If these conditions are met, the following requirements will probably be applicable:
The Elements of the Template  The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
This document needs to be carefully prepared by a group that represents as many potential Participants as possible. The effort involved should not be underestimated: several months (and most likely more), and at least two physical meetings, will probably be needed to reach consensus on the MOU. Strong leadership is essential: the effort is unlikely to succeed without the personal dedication of at least one individual who has the necessary personal skills, authority, and professional reputation. One of the leader’s more difficult tasks is to judge the level of commitment of the entities that take part in drawing up the MOU. That is, he or she will want to avoid a situation where one party imposes significant conditions during the negotiations, but does not ultimately sign the negotiated document. As the text of the MOU is refined, the participants in the negotiations may need to change. In the initial stages, scientific expertise is vital, whereas legal and political skills may be more valuable as the process nears its end6. The term “Memorandum of Understanding” may not be acceptable to all potential Participants, since it may imply a degree of legal commitment that they find unacceptable, or that may require burdensome administrative authorisation at the national level. If this is the case, an alternative formulation can be adopted, for example “Understanding”. The MOU should be devoted to the most basic fundamental matters, and should not over-prescribe the details of how the collaboration will operate7. Operational minutiae are best left to the Board itself once it has acquired practical experience, and based on actual need. Once the project actually gets started, the Governing Board will probably establish its own Rules of Procedure during the course of its deliberations. Furthermore, disagreements over small details and formulations can slow down the MOU negotiations.
The Participants are the parties to the MOU and partners in the scientific collaboration. They fund and collectively make all important decisions concerning the project. It is desirable for all of them to be of the same or similar type, e.g., governments (countries), government laboratories, academic institutions. This simplifies the issue of representation on the Governing Board. Intergovernmental organisations (for example, the European Commission) present a special challenge, due to a possible perception that a country can acquire an unfair advantage by being a Participant and a member of the organisation. It may be useful to define two or more categories of participation, depending on the degree of involvement required (especially in terms of making a financial contribution). Thus, there can be Observers, Associate Participants, etc. In each case, the categories should be clearly described in the MOU, along with the associated rights or lack thereof.
The Collaboration is established through the MOU. The Collaboration and the Secretariat have legal identities in the host country, allowing such functions as the hiring of staff and consultants, purchasing equipment, and entering into contracts of various kinds. During the negotiations for the MOU, potential participants should pay particular attention to the level of specificity used in the description of the Collaborations work programme (which is not the same as the description of the rationale, mandate, and goals of the project). The description should be sufficiently specific to motivate interested parties to join, to satisfy reviewing and authorisation processes of the appropriate funding bodies, and to avoid having to re-discuss the same issues each time a new potential participant steps forward. On the other hand, it may be unwise to be too specific, in order to allow the collaboration to establish its own goals and projects, once it begins operations.
This is the principal decision-making body for the collaboration. Typically, it will meet once or twice a year to review progress and to decide on major issues. Normally, each Participant nominates one representative to the Governing Board. If there is more than one category of participant, the roles on the Board must be precisely specified in the MOU. Each representative can cast a single vote. A possible complication arises if there is more than one Participant per country. Does each one have a representative and a vote on the Governing Board? Does each one have to make a separate financial contribution? If the Governing Board is very large, it may be useful to establish an Executive Committee to which the Governing Board will delegate much of the authority for decision-taking, especially in between Board meetings. In general, it is desirable to achieve consensus for Governing Board decisions, without the necessity of voting. Major decisions (for example, approval of the budget and work programme) may require voting, in which case the procedures must be spelled out in detail. It may be desirable to adopt different voting schemes for different classes of decisions, but this should probably be a last resort.
The host country provides the physical venue for the Collaboration (offices, laboratories, etc) within a designated Secretariat Host institution. The Collaboration and Secretariat will be subject to the laws of that country, but their precise status, rights, and obligations have to be clearly defined, with two main considerations built into the agreement that should be negotiated by the host country authorities and the Collaboration’s Governing Board. Firstly, all of the Participants must be satisfied that the host country will not exert an excessive influence within the Collaboration simply by virtue of being its physical host. This should not be confused with any natural, legitimate advantage that the country may have due to its excellence in the relevant scientific fields. Furthermore, it is understood that the host country will derive some legitimate rewards (for example, international prestige, attractiveness to students and researchers, employment of local support staff). Secondly, Participants will want to derive maximum benefits from their financial contributions, so they will be very reluctant to augment the national treasury of the host country, for example, in the form of customs duties or income/sales taxes. Thus, the host country will be well advised to offer the appropriate special status or exemptions that are compatible with its national laws, and to specify the details of these concessions in the agreement. The country agreement has to ensure that the local regulations and procedures do not impose undesirable restrictions on the Collaboration. Thus, for example, if the Host Country proposes that the Secretariat staff be employees of the Secretariat Host, the Participants may object to certain rules and regulations of that institution, for example, in the matter of employment, evaluation, promotion, etc.
The Secretariat Host is an institution designated by the host country. It provides the essential practical services that the Collaboration needs. It is in the interests of the Collaboration (and the Participants) to have the Host provide as many services as possible at zero or highly reduced cost. The Host Agreement defines the exact nature of the relationship between the Host and the Collaboration, and the Host and its Secretariat. It is finalised in negotiations between representatives of the Host, and the Governing Board assisted by the Director. From the beginning of the negotiations, the Participants need to have a clear understanding of the degree of legal/administrative independence that they wish the Collaboration to have. Thus, for example, if the Secretariat staff are employees of the Host, then there will be no need to deal with personnel issues such as pensions. Similar considerations will apply to purchasing and contracts. As noted above, however, the associated loss of independence may be seen as unacceptable by the Participants8. Typically, the agreement covers the following matters:
To facilitate and manage the Collaboration/Host interactions, the Host may wish to identify a coordinator from among its staff to serve as an official Liaison Officer. The Secretariat The Secretariat are the staff (whether full- or part-time) who are paid by funds provided by the Participants. They are supervised by the Director, and, through him/her, answer to the Governing Board. Depending on the provisions of the Host Agreement, some or all of the Secretariat may be employed directly by the Host. Most likely, the Collaboration will welcome detailees from various institutions. They will not be paid out of the Participants’ contributions, but provision will need to be made for office space and other needs. More importantly, there needs to be agreement among the Participants (spelled out in the MOU, if appropriate) about responsibility, accountability, and the chain of command. There is a natural tendency to have the smallest possible Secretariat, with the bulk of the scientific work being carried out by persons who are employed by institutions in their home countries. While this offers obvious advantages, it has the potential of weakening the Collaboration if it leads to lack of coherence and an inability to work on long-term goals in a concerted way.
The Director will be a key individual, and the success of the Collaboration will, in large measure, depend on his/her abilities as scientist, manager, spokesperson and diplomat. The Governing Board will thus be strongly motivated to recruit a person of high standing in the field which, in turn, will make it necessary to have early agreement among the Participants about the salary range and other conditions of employment. To attract a person of sufficient calibre, it may be necessary to offer an employment contract of significant duration (say, 5 years), especially if the Director and his/her family will have to move from another country. It will be desirable for the outline of the Host Agreement to be known in advance, even though the Director will participate in the final negotiations of the Agreement. Recruitment of suitable staff will be challenging, since professional excellence will be a necessary, but not sufficient requirement (this is yet another reason why the Participants may not want the Collaboration to be bound by all the rules of the Host institution). Thus, there will be considerations of geographical/national balance, international contacts and experience, linguistic skills, familiarity with the laws and procedures of the Host country, etc. Potential candidates for staff positions will be very concerned with the terms of employment and the conditions under which they and their families will be required to live in the Host country. Among their concerns will be: tax status, potential employment for a spouse, schooling for children, health insurance, provision for loss of employment, pension rights. The Governing Board will be well-advised to consider these factors from the point of view of the potential employee when finalising the Country Agreement and the Host Agreement. Establishing the Collaboration The above describes the steady-state, operational phase of the Collaboration. This section addresses the few months before and after the project begins, with emphasis on the order in which the various elements of the template come into existence. The same caveat applies here as in the remainder of the paper: for any given project, some of the nine steps will be unnecessary or unfeasible (or will need to be superseded by others) or they will need to be carried out in a different order.
Finances The Collaboration will be funded by cash contributions from the participants, in amounts that should be specified in the Memorandum of Understanding. Participants will be motivated to minimise their contributions (since resources are always scarce) but they will also be aware that an underfinanced new international effort cannot generate the momentum and credibility that it needs to succeed. In addition, they will want to make the collaboration accessible to as many interested parties as possible (which will also augment the total budget) without, however, making the collaboration too large and unmanageable, especially at the early stages. A further consideration will concern less wealthy countries, which may nonetheless be desirable partners (for them, a special membership category may be required, with eligibility based on per capita GDP). In-kind contributions (equipment, labour, personnel) can be considered as well, although care must be taken when applying them to a Participant’s overall contribution, since they are difficult to quantify. In addition, the MOU may make provision for supplemental voluntary grants (perhaps for specific activities), and contributions from non-Participants (for example, private companies). The scale of cash contributions will, naturally, be a subject of intense debate. Two options exist:
In both cases, it may be desirable for the Host Country to make an additional donation, over and above its in-kind contribution that is inherent in the Host Agreement. Annotations in Italics TEMPLATE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR ESTABLISHING “THE COLLABORATION” The term “Memorandum of Understanding” is used here, but another formulation may need to be substituted, depending on the requirements of the potential participants. Some of them may find that the term implies a level of commitment and/or legal obligation that is not acceptable. The term “Understanding” may be an acceptable substitute. “The Collaboration” in this template stands for the name of the project that is being established. In the text below, it is spelled using capital letters for easier editing. In the text below, the letters XXX are used to indicate places where project- or topic-specific material should be inserted. “Etc.” is used to indicate that the text should be elaborated/expanded depending on the specific project that is envisaged. CONTENTS A. PREAMBLE B. DEFINITIONS D. OBJECTIVES E. GOVERNING BOARD F. SECRETARIAT HOST G. SECRETARIAT H. DIRECTOR I. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY J. FUNDING AND FINANCE K. ASSOCIATION AND DISASSOCIATION OF PARTICIPANTS L. ESTABLISHMENT, DURATION AND TERMINATION A. PREAMBLE The paragraph below serves two main purposes: it identifies, in a generic way, the parties to the agreement, and it contains a high-level statement about the reasons for establishing the collaborative project. An alternative to the simple narrative paragraph could be a series of “Whereas..” clauses, but such a treaty-like style may not be desirable. The signers of this non-binding Memorandum of Understanding, being governments or inter-governmental organizations or research institutions, recognize that the study of XXX is a crucial scientific challenge for the 21st century. This intellectually fascinating task is made urgent by its practical applications: etc., etc., will lead to breakthroughs in etc., etc., and to improvements in the quality of life for millions of people. Accordingly, the signers have decided that a coordinated international scientific effort is needed, and they hereby express their intention to become Participants of the COLLABORATION as a form of international scientific and technical cooperation. B. DEFINITIONS 1. Participant A government or inter-governmental organization or research institution that has signed this Memorandum of Understanding and has expressed its intention to observe the provisions herein. 2. This is where it is appropriate to list any technical (or other) terms that will be used in the remainder of the MOU, and whose exact definition is needed to enhance the clarity of the document and to prevent misunderstandings once the project gets under way. For example, definitions may be needed for terms such as “instrument”, “endangered species”, “data bank”, “in-kind contribution”, “tested and certified”. C. UNDERSTANDINGS 1. The COLLABORATION will be open to participation by all interested governments, and intergovernmental organisations that can contribute to its work. This is an important paragraph that specifies whether additional participants can be admitted, and under what terms. The wording given here as an example is very permissive since it implies a broad right to participate, so more restrictive language may be preferable. 2. The Participants’ involvement in this Understanding is subject to the goodwill and appropriation or allocation of funds by the appropriate governmental authorities and to the applicable laws and regulations of the Participants. This states that the signers (and the entities they represent) are not, in most cases, the ultimate source of funding, and that their ability to contribute financially to the project depends on allocation of funds by the authorities (e.g., national parliaments) that are empowered to do so. 3. This Memorandum of Understanding is not legally binding and will have no effect as a legal or political precedent. The term “not legally binding” is often invoked as a necessary condition for acceptance by national authorities (e.g., foreign ministries) but the meaning of the term is not entirely clear. A possible interpretation is that no legal action can be undertaken against a party that signs the agreement but, for whatever reasons, finds itself unable to fulfil the stated or implied commitments. D. OBJECTIVES 1. Purpose and Goals The COLLABORATION will …This is the place to describe the goals of the joint project. In general, the language becomes more specific in each succeeding paragraph, beginning with the type of very high-level language already used in the Preamble . Initial paragraphs that describe activities to be undertaken may begin with words such as “Promote”, “Support”, “Foster”, etc., but may then give way to more action-oriented verbs (“Design”, “Build”, “Measure”). In general, designers of the MOU will want to think carefully about the degree of specificity in the descriptions of the tasks to be undertaken. They want to make the project concrete in order to motivate participants to join and contribute financially, but they may not want to tie the hands of the collaborators completely. Once under way, the project should have some freedom to define (or re-define) its goals within overall scientific, financial and time constraints. On the other hand, it may be useful to define timelines and deliverables, at least for the first round of activities. This has the benefit of providing a means of evaluating whether the project is successful. To achieve this purpose, the COLLABORATION will: a. Promote coordination and harmonization of XXX programs of the Participants. b. Support the development standards, guidelines, ontology and software tools designed to XXX. c. Foster XXX d. Design/Build/Measure XXX, etc. E. GOVERNING BOARD MOU negotiators will need to reflect carefully on the degree of detail that goes into the description of the operations of the Governing Board. The text proposed below tries to specify a minimum of such detail, with the understanding that the Board will create its own Rules of Procedure during the course of its deliberations. These Rules can concern any number of functions of the Board (for example, the frequency of meetings, procedures for setting and modifying the agendas of Board meetings, preparation of minutes, etc.). There are at least two reasons for not going into this level of detail in the MOU: discussions and negotiations of such minutiae can be inordinately prolonged and divisive, and, more importantly, decisions reached during the MOU negotiations may not prove to be optimal in actual practice. 1. Roles and Purpose The Participants will make collective decisions on all matters relating to the COLLABORATION via the Governing Board. 2. Establishment The Governing Board will come into existence at the first meeting of the Participants following the establishment of the COLLABORATION. 3. Composition The Governing Board will consist of one representative from each Participant. The Governing Board will elect a Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson from among its members, for terms of XXX years. The Director of the COLLABORATION will serve as the Executive Secretary to the Governing Board. 4. Responsibilities The Governing Board will: a. Select and monitor the performance of the Secretariat Host. If necessary, the Governing Board will select a new Secretariat Host. b. Adopt for each year the Work Program and the Budget, together with an indicative program of work and budget for the following two years. The Governing Board may make adjustments to the work program and the budget at any time after it has been adopted. c. Supervise the execution of the work program and other functions conferred upon it by this Memorandum of Understanding. Adopt such rules, regulations and policies as will be required for the sound management of the COLLABORATION and its work program, and the efficient operations of the Governing Board itself. d. Select a Director. Provide guidance and direction to the Director on the duties of the position, and monitor the Director’s performance. The Governing Board may replace the Director. e. Approve the staffing plan for the Secretariat based on recommendations from the Director. f. Consider any matters pertaining to the COLLABORATION or its operations submitted to it by the Director or any Participant. g. Adjust the scales of financial contributions. h. Modify this Memorandum of Understanding. i. Decide on applications by any entity seeking to become a Participant. 5. Voting
a. The Governing Board will try to make decisions by consensus whenever possible. b. Each member will have one vote. Voting will require the physical presence of 50% of the members or their properly designated representatives. c. Decisions requiring voting can be done by an open yes-or-no count, unless one member requests a secret ballot. d. In the event of a tie vote, the Chairperson will cast an additional vote to break the tie. e. If multiple choices need to be discriminated, the Governing Board will use priority voting. In “priority voting”, voters assign priority scores to each alternative, and the final choices are based on total scores. F. SECRETARIAT HOST
1. Roles and Purpose The Secretariat Host will provide the COLLABORATION with the location, facilities and services agreed to in a written agreement between it and the Governing Board. The services will cover staff management, financial management, accountancy, legal assistance, Internet access, IT capabilities, organisation of meetings, and technical support. Subject to the laws of the country in which it is located, the Secretariat Host will be accountable to the Governing Board for all matters pertaining to the COLLABORATION, except as otherwise provided in this Memorandum of Understanding 2. Selection a. Any Participant is entitled to submit a bid for the Secretariat Host. The Secretariat Host will be selected by the Governing Board. b. The bidders for the Secretariat Host will be required to demonstrate their capacity to provide institutional arrangements that conform to the closest extent possible, under their respective domestic laws, with the criteria enumerated in the accompanying document “Request for Proposal to Host the Secretariat of the COLLABORATION”. 3. Reimbursement of Costs Under the terms of an appropriate financial agreement between the Secretariat Host and the Governing Board, expenses and costs reasonably and properly incurred by the Secretariat Host, in supporting the Secretariat, above those costs that the Secretariat Host itself has agreed to provide, may be paid from the funds collected pursuant to Section J of this Memorandum of Understanding. The Secretariat Host, as well as its experts, employees, agents, representatives or contractors, may not commit the Participants to any expenditure. G. SECRETARIAT 1. Designation The Secretariat will consist of the Director and such staff as are approved by the Governing Board for managing the COLLABORATION and implementing the work programme. 2. Accountability The Secretariat will be responsible, through the Director to the Governing Board. The activities of the Secretariat will be subject to the laws and jurisdictions in force in the country of the Secretariat Host. 3. Tasks
The Secretariat will: a. Be responsible for the execution of the scientific and administrative activities for carrying out the Work Program. b. Be the holder of the funds contributed by the Participants as specified in Section J of this Memorandum of Understanding. The Secretariat cannot commit funds beyond those available. c. Hold in trust, and for the benefit of the Participants, all assets of the COLLABORATION. 4. Transfer of Tasks to the Secretariat Host Through appropriate written agreements and financial arrangements between the Secretariat Host and the Secretariat, and with the approval of the Governing Board, some or all of the tasks listed in this Memorandum of Understanding may be transferred to the Secretariat Host. In a similar way, the Secretariat Host may transfer tasks to the Secretariat. H. DIRECTOR
1. Authority The Director will act as the Chief Executive Officer of the COLLABORATION and will have the authority, within limits and guidelines decided by the Governing Board, and, subject to the provisions of this Understanding, to administer funds and enter into contracts on behalf of the COLLABORATION. 2. Accountability The Director will be responsible to the Governing Board for the execution of all scientific and administrative activities of the Secretariat. The detailed duties of the office will be specified in the employment contract of the Director. 3. Responsibilities The responsibilities of the Director are to: a. Oversee the execution of the Work Program and the expenditure of the Budget. b. Make recommendations to the Governing Board regarding the staffing of the Secretariat. c. Supervise the work of the Secretariat, including consultants and seconded personnel. d. Prepare and submit to the Governing Board, not later than three months before the beginning of each calendar year, a draft Work Program and a Budget for that year, together with a preliminary Draft Work Program and a Draft Budget for the following two years. e. Before March 1 of each year, provide the Governing Board with an Annual Report, including financial accounts, tasks achieved, tasks not achieved and any relevant explanations. I. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 1. Applicable Law Nothing in this Memorandum of Understanding should be read to alter the scope and application of Intellectual Property Rights and benefit sharing agreements under relevant laws, regulations and international agreements of the Participants. 2. Access to Data To the greatest extent possible, the COLLABORATION is foreseen as an open-access facility. All users, whether COLLABORATION Participants or others, ought to have equal access to data in databases affiliated with or developed by the COLLABORATION. Nothing in this Memorandum of Understanding should be read to restrict the right of owners of databases affiliated with the COLLABORATION to block access to any data. 3. Intellectual Property Rights to data The COLLABORATION should encourage the free dissemination of data and data manipulation tools, in particular: a. Should not assert any Intellectual Property Rights to the data in databases that are developed by other organizations and that subsequently become affiliated to COLLABORATION. b. Should seek, to the greatest extent possible, to place in the public domain any data commissioned, created or developed directly by the COLLABORATION. c. Should respect conditions set by data providers that affiliate their databases to the COLLABORATION. d. Whenever possible when establishing affiliations or linkages with other databases, the COLLABORATION should seek to ensure that the data so made available will, in effect, be in the public domain, and will not be subject to limitations on its further non-commercial use and dissemination, apart from due attribution. 4. Attribution The COLLABORATION should seek to ensure that the source of data is acknowledged and should request that such attribution be maintained in any subsequent use of the data. 5. Validity of Data It should be a condition of access to and use of the COLLABORATION’s data that users acknowledge that the validity of the data cannot be assured. The COLLABORATION should disclaim responsibility for the accuracy and reliability of the data as well as for the suitability of its application for any particular purpose. 6. Assertion of Intellectual Property Rights by the COLLABORATION The COLLABORATION will claim appropriate Intellectual Property Rights available within applicable national jurisdictions over any tools, such as search engines or other software products that are developed by the COLLABORATION. In the case where tools are developed by the Participants, the Intellectual Property Rights for such tools will remain with the developers. J. FINANCE 1. Financial Contributions Financial contributions made by Participants, in accordance with the scales set out in this document (and transferred to the Secretariat via the financial contracts described in this Understanding, or negotiated with the Governing Board under the provisions in this Understanding), are considered to be Basic Financial Contributions. These contributions are to be held by the Secretariat in a Central Fund in an interest bearing account or in other appropriate accounts as determined by the source of funds, and used to execute the Work Program, as established by the Governing Board in accordance with this Understanding, and to reimburse the Secretariat Host for expenses incurred in accordance with this Understanding. A Participant that signs the Understanding agrees to pay the amount specified in the Initial Year Payment Table below. All figures are in United States dollars. Basic Financial Contribution will be based on Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD). This table will be updated every year using the appropriate figures from the most recent complete data from the OECD. Any surplus from a current year ( due to increase in Participants and funds) will be adjusted against the payment of all participants for the following year.
2. Supplementary Financial Contributions Participants may make Supplementary Financial Contributions to fund specific parts of the Work Program, or for other specified purposes agreed to by the Governing Board. Supplementary Financial Contributions are to be held by the Secretariat, and used only for the purposes specified by the Participants making them. The Secretariat, with the approval of the Governing Board, may seek contributions for the COLLABORATION Work Program from other sources in order to expedite the progress of the program. 3. Costs Borne by Participants Participants bear the costs of their own participation in the COLLABORATION, including the costs of preparing or transmitting reports, travel costs, and other expenses related to attendance by their representatives at meetings of the Governing Board and other COLLABORATION functions, events, and activities. 4. Crediting of Income Any income generated in the course of the COLLABORATION activities that accrue to the Secretariat or the Secretariat Host, is to be used for advancing the COLLABORATION Work Program. K. ASSOCIATION AND DISASSOCIATION OF PARTICIPANTS 1. Association of Participants Any government, inter-governmental organization, or research institution may apply to the Governing Board to become a Participant. Participant status requires the consent of the Governing Board, signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, and payment of the financial contribution within three months of that signing. 2. Disassociation of Participants Any Participant may disassociate itself from this Understanding by advising the Governing Board in writing of its intention to do so and of the effective date. In the event of disassociation of a Participant, the Governing Board will agree by consensus to adjust the work program and the budget to take account of such disassociation. L. ESTABLISHMENT, DURATION AND TERMINATION 1. Establishment The COLLABORATION will be established once at least XXX countries have signed this Memorandum of Understanding and have pledged a total of XXX in contributions. 2. Duration Except as provided below, the COLLABORATION will be established for an initial five-year period. The progress and operations of the Secretariat will be reviewed following the first three years of activity via an independent site visit. The Governing Board will select reviewers nominated from professional societies representing the activities of the COLLABORATION. Five years following its inception, and every five years thereafter, a critical review of the operation and function of the COLLABORATION will be conducted. 3. Termination The Participants may terminate this Memorandum of Understanding at any time by a two-thirds vote of the Governing Board. Upon termination or expiration of this Memorandum of Understanding, the Secretariat, acting in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is located, will arrange for the liquidation of the assets of the COLLABORATION. Property held by the Secretariat for the benefit of the Participants is to be regarded, for this purpose, as assets of the COLLABORATION. In the event of such liquidation, the Secretariat, so far as practicable, will distribute any assets of the COLLABORATION, or the proceeds therefrom, in proportion to the basic financial contributions that the Participants have made from the beginning of the operation of the COLLABORATION, and for that purpose will take into account the contributions of any former Participants. Signed at _____________________________________ this _____ day of _______________, 200_. Annotations in Italics TEMPLATE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO HOST THE SECRETARIAT OF “THE COLLABORATION” This document describes the requirements and procedures to be followed for submitting a bid to host the Secretariat. Further details are found in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which should be consulted when preparing a bid. A bid should be submitted on behalf of the government of a country that intends to be a Participant of the COLLABORATION.
Each bidding country is encouraged to provide in-kind contributions, both at the COLLABORATION start-up, and on an ongoing operational basis. Such contributions may include:
C. Desirable Attributes Additional desirable attributes of a bid could include:
D. Submission, Review and Selection No text is proposed here since there is a large number of potential ways of configuring the submission and selection process. Presumably, Participants will wish to have the bids be reviewed by an independent panel, which will rate them according to well-specified criteria. The final selection will presumably be made by the Governing Board. 1 The most relevant OECD projects are the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility. The agreements for these were, in turn, partially modelled on the Implementing Agreements of the International Energy Agency. This paper was written by Stefan Michalowski, Executive Secretary of the Global Science Forum (stefan.michalowski@oecd.org). The author welcomes comments and criticisms, which will be used to prepare future revised versions of the paper. 2 If the template were to be used as the basis for a new agreement, the first step would be to delete the annotations. 3 In February 2003, participants of the OECD Global Science Forum “Workshop on Best Practices in International Scientific Co-operation” identified principles and procedures that are relevant to the issues discussed in this paper. The report from the workshop can be found at www.oecd.org/sti/gsf. 4 The term “not legally binding” is often invoked as a necessary condition for acceptance by national authorities (e.g., foreign ministries) but the meaning of the term it is not entirely clear. A possible interpretation is that no legal action can be taken against a party that signs the agreement but, for whatever reasons, finds itself unable to fulfil the stated or implied commitments. 5 There is an inherent tension in any effort to establish a new collaboration: a desire to perturb existing arrangements as little as possible and, at the same time, a desire to create new structures that will permit the scientific work to be carried out and that will be resistant to inevitable fluctuations in the levels of commitment of the participants. There can be no universal recipe for dealing with this tension. 6 A number of valuable suggestions for managing the MOU preparation process are contained in the paper “Establishing International Scientific Collaborations: Lessons Learned from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility” written by Mr. Eric James and available on the Global Science Forum internet site (www.oecd.org/sti/gsf). 7 To pick an extreme example, specifying the steps that a member of the Governing Board must carry out in order to be represented by another person at a meeting of the Board. 8 A very concrete issue is that of taxes collected by the Host Country from the Secretariat Host and its employees. Understandably, the Participants will be most reluctant to pay such taxes. Page of 20 Directory: sti sti -> Gary C. Kessler sti -> Geography of the United States sti -> For immediate release sti -> How programming language influence interaction and culture sti -> Nation-Building 101 sti -> Hiv testing and counselling for women attending child health clinics: An opportunity for entry to prevent mother-to-child transmission and hiv treatment. Author sti -> File Name: A6r animals are Smart Argument/Opinion Grade 6 Range of Writing Introduces claim sti -> Master Thesis scholarships at tik for 2017/18 within the theme: "Electricity grids and the energy transition 0" sti -> U. S: Theatrical – gla – gar lester +1-818-769-1400 sti -> How programming language influences interaction and culture Download 90.68 Kb. Share with your friends:
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