The Consortium Agreement (CA) specifies the rights and obligations of the project partners. For example, it contains provisions about internal organisation and decision-making, financial questions and the handling of intellectual property rights. A CA is obligatory for most projects and should be signed prior to the Grant Agreement (GA).
The consortium is solely responsible for the preparation of the CA. The participants can use the CA to complement and, where expressly provided by the "default rules", modify the regulations of the Grant Agreement (GA). However, the CA must not contradict the GA. The information provided by the project partners in the "Description of the Action" (Annex 1 of the GA) are therefore binding for the CA.
CAs typically specify the following topics:
- General provisions: definitions, entry into force, duration, applicable law (often: Belgian law) etc.
- Obligations of partners: compliance with deadlines for deliverables and reports, information obligations, participation in meetings etc. and consequences of non-compliance
- Internal organisation and decision-making: composition and duties of bodies (corresponding to the size of the consortium), meetings, voting rules etc.
- Financial provisions: allocation of funding and transfer to the partners (e.g. payment of pre-financing in instalments), handling of receipts and financial losses etc.
- Provisions on the handling of intellectual property rights: more detailed information about the consortium's ability to specify the handling of intellectual property rights, access rights and project results can be found under "Downloads" (see below).
- Other issues: liability, non-disclosure, dispute resolution etc.
The CA is usually drafted on the basis of a model consortium agreement such as DESCA, MCARD-2020 oder EUCAR and adapted to the relevant project.
The costs incurred in preparing a CA are not eligible for funding, but any costs incurred in revising the CA during the project period are eligible.
More information can be found ...
- the Guide of the EU Commission "How to draw up your consortium agreement"
- in the presentation of the IPR Helpdesk "Consortium Agreements in Horizon 2020"
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