Given the completely new form of contract and the devolved management of FP6 projects, we suggest that every potential participant to a proposal sign an MoU that would outline the ground rules for the Consortium Agreement. If this is not done well before proposal submission then it leaves too many issues unresolved and also leaves the various parties open to major misunderstandings and manipulation.

For IPs and NoEs we would suggest that a core team be identified and they conclude this MoU between them. It should basically cover the main points of the Consortium Agreement with details of how the Agreement will be settled. It also seems to be useful to ensure that no party has a conflict of interest by being involved in a rival consortium submitting on the same subject. We see the following as potentially part of an MoU:

1.       Non-disclosure agreement

2.       Non-competitive clause i.e. competing consortium

3.       Status in consortium i.e. “Core” partner or not

4.       Role in consortium

5.       How to handle financial viability check and who pays

6.       Access to the 7% management at 100%

7.       Notional level of participation

8.       Identification of background IPR

9.       Any relevant issues regarding generated IPR

10.   Any relevant exploitation issues