TNC Implementation

Formalise the partnership

This step is important to provide an agreed foundation for the project’s implementation activities.

The cooperation agreement

A formal project cooperation agreement can be produced and signed once the project details are clear, and the partner roles, road-map and timetable have been approved.

This document is the ‘contract’ in which partners formally commit themselves to implement the planned actions, within the defined deadlines.

Cooperation agreements are legally binding and so help to give the partnership a more official status.

A cooperation agreement can take various forms:

• An exchange of detailed letters where the roles, obligations and commitments of each partner is expressed. This is a simple solution which is difficult to make legally binding in case of problems;
• A cooperation protocol which should cover the same aspects as above; and
• A cooperation agreement under national law (normally of the country of the lead partner) or with a European status (e.g. EEIG) where the different articles cover all the aspects of the project implementation and the distribution of the roles (including financial data, decision making process, etc.).

See here for an example of a template for an official Cooperation Agreement

Set up a common structure for the cooperation project

Even if this is, in most cases, not an obligation, you may want to set up a formal structure for the implementation of your project. This means choosing an appropriate type of structure and writing the related legal status.

Possible types of cooperation structures

Before writing statutes, it is important to define which legal form best matches: the partners; the objectives; and the actions to be implemented within the cooperation project, etc. It is also important to understand the pros and cons of different legal structures.

Choosing a type of structure for the cooperation project

The choice of a certain type of structure is directly linked to the success of the project’s implementation stage.

It might not be necessary to envisage a ‘heavy’ partnership being formalised at the very beginning of the project. A lighter form (which may even be informal, provided a cooperation agreement is clear enough about the roles and obligations of each partner) will enable the project to grow slowly and to be better defined. It is only when it is totally operational that a common structure should be adopted to formalise the partnership.

See the checklist of questions that partners should consider before choosing a legal structure.

This link provides valuable further advice about different types of legal structures.