The signing of a consortium agreement between the partners of a research project is mandatory for almost all Horizon 2020 projects. The European Commission proposes general guidelines for the development of consortium agreements, but it is not rightly in favour of a specific type consortium agreement. The DESCA initiative, launched by key STAKEHOLDERs of THE 7th PC and updated in consultation with the PROGRAMME-CADRE community for Horizon 2020, aims to reconcile the interests of all categories of participants: large and small businesses, universities, public research institutes and PDP in the sense of the initiative for responsible partnership. In addition, the new DESCA 2020 model – development of a semplified consortium contract, the model of the consortium agreement for Horizon 2020 projects, was recently made available. The CA is the mandatory agreement that Horizon 2020 partners must enter into to regulate rights, obligations and roles within the partnership. APRE played an active role in defining the new model and provided contributions for the integration of the new version. A new version of the DESCA 2020 model of the Horizon 2020 consortium agreement has been released. The DESCA 2020 model takes into account feedback received during the 2013 consultations. APRE (Agency for the Promotion of European Research) participated in its development within the consultation group. The signing of a consortium agreement between the partners of a research project is mandatory for almost all Horizon 2020 projects.
The European Commission proposes general guidelines for the development of consortium agreements, but does not authorise a specific model. The Development of a Simplified Consortium Agreement (DESCA), launched by key stakeholders in the 7th Framework Programme (PROGRAMME-CADRE) and updated by 2020, aims to reconcile the interests of all participating categories: large and small businesses, universities, public research institutes and RTO Research – Technology Organization. Desca is a simple and comprehensive model of consortium agreement: the modular structure of DESCA, with different options and modules and clauses, offers maximum flexibility.