The consortium agreement complements the Horizon 2020 award agreement. While the grant agreement defines the binding legal relationship between the European Commission and the project partners, the consortium agreement defines and regulates the relationships between the partners themselves. Unlike the subsidy agreement (which is defined and cannot be amended), the Horizon 2020 consortium agreement is essentially a trade agreement between the partners. As such, it is flexible and can be adapted to the specific needs of the project and its partners. Remember — once the Horizon 2020 project is funded, a consortium partner will work together for a long time. That is why it is very important to have a binding agreement that takes into account the different expectations, requirements and circumstances that may arise. Since the consortium agreement is in fact a commercial agreement, we recommend the services of a legal advisor competent to develop such agreements. Desca (Development of a Simplified Consortium Agreement) is the most popular of several Horizon 2020 consortium agreements. This is the result of a cooperation project supported by the EC. Its production is a consortium agreement of models that everyone can use as the basis of a specific consortium agreement for a given project.

The DesCA model consortium agreement is available for free download. In order to optimize the use of available time and resources, there is a good opportunity to develop this agreement, after the EC has indicated that the project will be chosen for funding and before the EC requests the signing of the grant agreement. This period is approximately three months, which is sufficient to prepare and conclude the consortium agreement. Note: The costs of developing a consortium agreement are non-refundable, as the consortium agreement must be signed before the grant agreement is signed. However, the costs associated with updating the consortium agreement are eligible if they are incurred during the duration of the action. Nevertheless, there is an important point to bear in mind: the preparation of an agreement on the Horizon 2020 consortium requires a significant investment of time, resources and resources for legal assistance. If the project is not chosen by the European Commission for funding, such an allocation of money and time will essentially (and unfortunately) be wasted. There is a clear motivation to start drawing up the agreement as soon as possible. This may be the case during the preparatory phase of the proposal, when operational relations between partners are in place and tasks are assigned. It is a good practice to ensure that the project is well planned, including all legal aspects, before it is presented.

This practice can help avoid unwanted conflicts between partners in the future. Model consortium agreements for MSCA-ITN are also available for the first time in the Horizon 2020 programme. These projects were developed by the National Working Group (Bundesarbeitskreis) of EU Advisers in German Universities and Higher Education Institutions (BAK) and by the League of European Research Universities (LERU). Both models are based on LESCA. The DESCA model is widespread among universities and research institutes. The DESCA initiative was launched by key players in the Horizon 2020 programme and was developed in collaboration with the IPC community and aims to reconcile the interests of all groups of participants: large and small businesses, universities, public research institutes and NGOs. Desca is a simple and comprehensive consortium agreement that frees up unnecessary complexity in content and language. DESCA`s modular structure, with different options and alternative modules and clauses, offers maximum flexibility. A consortium agreement is a binding contract signed between the partners of a Horizon 2020 cooperation project. The Horizon 2020 Agreement (Article 41.3) states that “recipients must make internal arrangements for their operation and coordination to ensure that the measures are properly implemented.