New ground rules for collaboration with external parties

The rules are described and exemplified here and they highlight some of the issues that have arisen on several occasions in AGRO.

The ground rules are divided into three sections: 

1. Central principles, which are freedom of research, the arm’s length principle and impartiality, and honesty, transparency and responsibility.
2. The categories of research collaboration with external parties are divided into four: 
   • Co-funded research is a collaboration between a university and at least one external party. The parties define the scope of the collaborative project together, and both contribute to carrying it out. Generally speaking, results generated wholly or in part by AU researchers belong to the university, and publication must be possible. The university co-funds the project (financially or by contributing manhours). 
   • Commisioned reseach and consultancy. The university may perform commissioned research projects or services for an external party. All of the university’s costs must be borne by the external party. Ownership of results and publication rights must be defined in the collaboration agreement.
   • Unconditional grants, donations and deeds of gift - A financial contribution to support research is made to a researcher or to the university. All conditions must be clearly described. In case of unconditional grants (aside from standard requirements for reporting, bookkeeping, information on changes, etc.) the notice of award will normally be considered sufficient as a written agreement. If the funder attaches special conditions to the grant, the collaboration is then classified as co-funded or commissioned research. 
   • Research-based public sector consultancy is an umbrella term for a variety of research services the university performs for the government, the municipalities and companies. Framework agreements are concluded between the universities and the respective ministries. Research results must be made accessible to the public.
3. Procudures to ensure responsible conduct of research and freedom of research in collaboration with external parties. Under this part of the ground rules, for each of the four categories of research collaboration, a concrete overview has been prepared on how the different phases of the research process should be handled.

Business collaboration was an important topic at the most recent senior VIP meeting, and I think we got to grips with the core principles of the topic there. It was emphasised that often the external party helps to define the purpose of the project, which ensures relevance and is OK as long as we have the freedom to choose the method and conduct the research independently. Issues such as transparency and responsibility, for example in connection with publishing, were also highlighted. 

One area where we still have challenges is “COOPERATION AGREEMENTS”. When should a collaboration agreement be drawn up and how is the process? As a starting point, one can find answers under “3. Procedures to ensure responsible conduct of research and freedom of research in collaboration with external parties” and if it is not adequate, it is a good idea to contact TTO. 

There are two employees associated with AGRO, Torkil Bukkehave Hansen and Karen Voigt Lauridsen. Unfortunately, there are currently a case processing time of 2-3 months in TTO, but be aware that some "Fast Track agreements" have been drawn up, where only few information (partners, project and the size of the grant) need to be inserted. In addition, standards have been made for GUDP agreements and negotiated standards with SEGES. You fill in the few necessary information, the external party and the head of department sign and then send the agreement to TTO@au.dk, where it is approved within a few days.