Project Management (Clause 3)

Because of there are more than two parties the Consortium Agreements contain simple project management provisions under which there is a Project Manager and a Steering Committee on which each party has a representative. The Funding Body may want or insist on having a representative on that Committee.

It may be difficult to obtain a quorum for meeting of the steering committee if all representatives need to be present, and you may consider a quorum being 3 out of 4 members of the Consortium or representatives of 75% of the members, but to ensure the smooth running of the Project, sufficient notice of meetings should be given to allow a representative of each party to attend. You should also decide whether the chair will have a casting vote.

You should also consider what sort of decision Steering Committee has power to take (for inclusion in the terms of reference). If the Steering Committee can take important decisions, members of the Consortium may want to insist on each party being represented at each meeting. The Committee should not have the power take decisions that may have the effect of changing the terms of the Agreement without the proper authority of each member of the Consortium. The terms of reference for the Committee should be set out in Schedule 4.

The Technology Strategy Board requires quarterly meetings to have a representative of all members of the Consortium.

The parties should agree who should chair the Steering Committee and insert his name in clause 3.3. The role of the chair may be crucial if s/he is to have a casting vote under clause 3.6.

The parties should also agree the frequency of, and venue for, meetings and insert the details in clause 3.4.

In clause 3.5 the parties should agree how frequently reports are to be submitted. The frequency of reports will depend on the nature of the Project and the requirements of any Funding Body.

Note that any decision that reallocates the funding will need to be unanimous amongst the parties and that most Funding Bodies will need to be consulted, and possibly their consent will need to be obtained, before there is any reallocation of the External Funding.

Some Funding Bodies (such as the Regional Development Agencies) may have detailed requirements for audit and evaluation, and clause 3.5 of the Consortium Agreements may need to be amended to reflect those requirements.

If there is no External Funding, the words in square brackets should be removed from clauses 3.7.1, 3.7.2, 3.7.3 and 3.7.5.