Documentation :

https://admin-eguide.web.cern.ch/en/procedure/guidelines-preparation-collaboration- agreements

Useful contacts at the Legal Service (by email or by phone).

  1. Check whether an agreement / addenda already exists with the Institute

Please contact BE Central to check if an existing agreement/addendum is already in place. BE Central will check/clarify in the database.

If no agreement/addendum already exists, go to step 2.

  1. Prepare an Agreement/Addendum
  • As a pre-requisite for preparing an agreement, the following form Demande de référence de contrat / Contract Reference Request must be completed and submitted on EDH. In addition to providing technical information on the proposed project, this form details the justification for the proposed collaboration, as well as the required approval within your department or sector.
  • Prepare the agreement / addendum

Create a .docx document, using the appropriate template.

Different templates are available: Framework agreement, KE addendum or KN addendum (check in the admin eguide which template to use corresponding to your situation). In BE, we mostly have KN agreements.

If the Technical coordinator (TC) is unsure of which model to use, please ask the Legal Service directly.

    • The TC liaises directly with the Legal Service for the preparation of the document.
    • The TC must ensure that any changes made by the Institute are verified by the CERN’s Legal service. Please make sure to enable the Track Changes option in the .docx document.
    • The TC must ensure that the Institute ‘s legal Service also verifies the document.
    • The TC will add at the top of the agreement/addendum the “K” reference number before signatures take place. This reference number is provided by email and is also mentioned in the workflow of the Demande de référence de contrat / Contract Reference Request EDH document.
    • The Legal Service sends the latest draft document to the TC who then shares it with the Institute for their approval.
    • Once CERN and the Institute have converged on a final document, the signatures can be requested.
  1. Signatures process

There are 2 ways to request the signatures. It will be mentioned by the Legal Service.

  • If done via e-signature (DocuSign): This is handled by the Legal Service. (the emails of the signatories are necessary).
  • If done by post: the TC is responsible for collecting the signature from the CERN signatory (going through BE Head Office) and the Institute signatory. The Legal Service prepares the paper copies. The TC sends two paper copies to the Institute. The Institute must keep one fully signed version and send one fully signed version to CERN. The GAO can assist in sending the document where the need arises.

Please note that a scan should also be sent via email for urgent cases. The posted version will then replace the scanned version when signatures have been completed.

  1. Hard copies and uploads
  • Hard copies: A scan of the fully signed document should be sent by the TC to BE Head Office, BE central, Legal Service and IPT department and has to be uploaded into the K contracts database (SHINY).
  • E-signatures: If the process involves DocuSign, the distribution of the signed document is done electronically. A scan of the fully signed document has to be uploaded into the K contracts database (SHINY).

Important:

    • If PJAS/COAS are expected, BE central needs the agreement/addendum to be fully signed for the contract creation or registration.
    • For a COAS contract, please provide the agreement 3 to 4 weeks before the contract’s start date (+ 4 weeks if a visa is required).
    • For a PJAS contract, please provide all the required documents 7 weeks before the contract’s start date (+ 4 weeks if a visa is required).

more information

For more information concerning drawing up Collaboration Agreements at CERN, please see the relevant guide in the Admin eGuide.