Cooperation projects and consortia

For large and complex research projects, the cooperation of several different, possibly also international, actors and institutions is often indispensable.

You should consider the following aspects when initiating such collaborative projects.

Follow funding guidelines

The constellation and the agreements made among the institutions in the research association must comply with the specifications of the third-party funding organization.

Find suitable and reliable partners

When choosing your cooperation partners, we recommend that you place importance on their reliability. If one participant does not adhere to agreements made, this can have a negative impact on all participants.
It is often advisable, or even necessary due to the call for tenders, for the institutions wishing to participate in a network to conclude letters of intent (LOI) for this purpose.
We are happy to support you in this!

Coordination role

In general, consortium projects have high requirements on the project coordinator. In addition to administrative tasks, this person must reconcile the different ideas and expectations of the partners and, if necessary, resolve conflicts among them or with the sponsor. In contrast to individual projects, this often requires a great deal of time and administrative effort. However, the coordination of larger collaborative projects (DFG, EU) also represents important scientific work which is supported accordingly on the part of the university.

Set binding rules

In consortium projects a cooperation agreement must be concluded among the participating partners and signed with a legally binding signature, e.g. by the President.
The cooperation agreement serves to regulate the legal relationship among the consortium partners and thus ensure a smooth and successful project.
When creating and finalizing the cooperation agreement, our lawyers are happy to assist you.

Transfer of funds

Often, within a research network, funds need to be transferred between the participating institutions. Depending on the organization of the network and the contribution of the individual participants, various possibilities can be chosen. Observe the notes on forwarding funds.