In many cases, a commitment to undertake a research project is made at the level of the academic school, so the agreement is signed by the head of school. This applies to projects of up to SEK 5 million per year (for contract research, this is up to SEK 2 million per year and commission) under the university’s Delegation of Authority. However, in other cases, it is Södertörn University that makes this commitment, e.g. with EU funding, so the contract is signed by the vice-chancellor.
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Agreements must be primarily drawn up, assessed and amended by staff with legal expertise.
The following agreements are those that researchers are most likely to encounter:
- Simple funding agreements
- Partnership agreements for major programmes or projects with multiple partners, such as EU projects and FORMAS
- Contract agreements between researchers/research groups and a public organisation/agency or business
- Non-disclosure agreements and letters of intent during discussions with partner universities or businesses
In the following types of agreements for research funding, Södertörn University is the party to the agreement:
- Major national research programmes, such as Wallenberg or the The Knowledge Foundation (KK-stiftelsen)
- All EU projects and programmes
- Contract education and research
The signatory is the vice-chancellor or the head of school with delegated responsibility under the Delegation of Authority.
Signing
Agreements can be made at different levels of Södertörn University’s organisation. The level that is authorised to sign an agreement is regulated by university rules and the Delegation of Authority.
It is vital that agreements are signed by an authorised signatory, otherwise the agreement may be invalid.
Consortium agreements
Large research programmes or projects are often run jointly, with multiple parties who form a consortium. In these cases, a funding contract is drawn up between the financier and one of the parties, while the parties regulate the project and their shared obligations in a consortium agreement.
The consortium agreement primarily regulates the following issues:
- The allocation of research tasks
- Financial issues, e.g. internal allocation of research funding
- Management issues
- Publication, ownership rights, usufruct and confidentiality
- Limitations on damages
- Conflict of laws
- Conflict resolution
Several of these issues may be covered in an appended project description. However, publication, ownership rights, usufruct and confidentiality may need to be negotiated and regulated separately.
