Re: European Commission Contracts Diane Barrett 03 Feb 2006 15:13 EST
We do not sign ANY other contracts that indemnify the sponsor. The insurance policy covers the costs of litigation in a foreign country. Our legal council, in concert with our Attorney General, believes that, in these circumstances, the risk is negligible and the benefits great, so is willing to let the extra insurance suffice. In the cases where we have not been able to get the EC to pay for the insurance, the PIs have been willing to do so from gift accounts. It is not the ideal solution. If somebody has been able to negotiate the indemnity in a satisfactory way, let the rest of us know! >>> xxxxxx@KENNESAW.EDU 02/03/06 12:29 PM >>> As a state institution, can you sign contracts indemnifying the sponsor? If not (we can't) does the separate insurance policy solve the problem? How? >>> xxxxxx@RSP.WISC.EDU 2/3/2006 1:03:36 PM >>> We have had multiple EC contracts and have not been successful at changing much of anything. We are covering ourselves by taking out separate insurance policies through our Risk Management unit. Those policies are currently costing about $1800 per contract. We have been successful in getting the EC to provide the extra money to do this on most occasions. Diane Diane Barrett, Assistant Director Pre-Award Services Research and Sponsored Programs University of Wisconsin-Madison 750 University Avenue, Rm 460 Madison, WI 53706 608/262-0252 608/262-5111 (fax) xxxxxx@rsp.wisc.edu >>> xxxxxx@UMBC.EDU 02/03/06 9:51 AM >>> To all public universities out there (privates may have more flexibility on this issue than we have): We are negotiating with the European Commission a contract that has 15 partners (only 2 in the U.S.). There will be no exchange of funds as our PI has received NSF and National Geographic funds to complete the project and our Swedish partner will manage his travel funds. It does allow our PI to obtain the data he needs to do the work in his 2 U.S. grants. They include the following language on their standard terms and conditions: "Each contractor fully guarantees the Community, and agrees to indemnify it, in case of any action, complaint or proceeding brought by a third party against it as a result damage caused, either by any act or omission committed by the contractors in performing this contract, or because of any products or services created by the contractor on the basis of knowledge resulting from the project. In the event of any action brought by a third party against a contractor in connection with the performance of this contract, the Commission may assist the latter upon written request. The costs incurred by the Commission in this connection shall be borne by the contractor concerned." Has any one out there had experience with the EC and has managed to negotiate this language out? Thanks, Magui Margarita M. Cardona, CRA Grants Manager, Office of Sponsored Programs University of Maryland Baltimore County 1000 Hilltop Circle, ECS 329 Baltimore, MD 21250 Ph: 410-455-8635 Fax: 410-455-1876 ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") ====================================================================== ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") ====================================================================== ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") ====================================================================== ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") ======================================================================