AMEND CONTENT

5.2.6 Negotiating and signing the Partnership agreement

Consider the following when developing the partnership agreement:

Checklist

A standard format and conditions should be pre-agreed by senior CO staff (and possibly a lead member representative). If possible, use established formats.
The conditions of the contract should be discussed and determined jointly with the partner agency. Do not just impose conditions to them.
Senior staff in finance, support and programme departments should be consulted and approve sections of the contract related to their area of responsibility.
Approval and sign-off authority for contracts should be clarified in the sub-grant procedures. Usually the size of the grant determines the level of sign-offs.
Make at least one original copy of the contract each for the partner and for CARE. CARE should hold at least one original in the CO HQ. The project managers must also at least get a copy for reference.

The following is an example of the structure and content of a standard partnership agreement:

Contract number, date
CARE/partner name, address, contract manager and key staff if required
Start & End date
Goal, objectives and perhaps also more general core values
The scope of work/cooperation (what, where, when)
Roles and responsibilities, such as:
- meeting programme standards and adhering to codes of conduct
- ensuring coordination and management
Organisation-project management, coordination structures
Amount of grant and eligible expenses
Disbursements and bank details
Reporting requirements
Specific donor requirements (if any)
Asset and inventory management
Account keeping and audit
Methods of dispute resolution, amendment and termination
General issues-use of name, rights to work, visibility, force majeure, etc.
Clauses to insure against fraud, corruption, terrorism
Annexes should include:
- Activities, targets, work plan, budget and disbursement/reporting schedule. These might be in a donor-approved project proposal
- reporting requirements, reporting formats
- Procurement, logistics and financial management rules.
- M&E plan