Terms and conditions for standard agreement with the Nordic Council of Ministers

The administrative body is responsible for the implementation of the action in compliance with the objectives, terms and financial framework as well as deadlines stipulated in the agreement.

The administrative body must plan the action properly and efficiently, ensuring as a minimum that the action, to the greatest extent possible, is financially and administratively managed in the same manner as the administrative body's own usual activities, including the keeping of accounts for the action.

The administrative body assumes administrative responsibility and legality control for the action under national legislation.

As the recipient of the funding, the administrative body is responsible for the proper administration of the funding, including clarifying any questions with national tax/VAT authorities.

The administrative body's obligations and responsibilities under this agreement are not restricted by the fact that persons, agencies, groups or other parties, subject to agreement with the Nordic Council of Ministers, have assumed responsibilities and obligations in connection with the performance of the action; however, the administrative body must respect such agreements.

The administrative body is responsible for managing the project/programme and must appoint a project or programme manager, see clause 2 of these terms and conditions. As a main rule, the project/programme manager represents the administrative body vis-à-vis the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The administrative body is obliged to ensure and arrange that the project manager complies with the responsibility and assignments resting on the person in question. Vis-à-vis the management of the administrative body, the project/programme manager is responsible for the action progressing as planned and with the agreed contents. The project/programme manager must approve all costs expected for the the implementation of the action.

If, during the course of the implementation of the action, it becomes necessary to replace the project/programme manager, the Nordic Council of Ministers must be informed thereof as soon as possible. If the Nordic Council of Ministers has participated in selecting the project/programme manager, the Nordic Council of Ministers is entitled to participate in selection of the new project/programme manager.

The administrative body is obliged to immediately inform the Nordic Council of Ministers of any circumstances that may result in postponement of the completion of the action or which otherwise entail the lack of possibility of complying with fixed targets and expected results in the enclosed project/programme description.

At the request of the Nordic Council of Ministers, the administrative body must always provide information about the status of the action and insight into all information concerning implementation of the action, irrespective of the nature of storage of this information.

In accordance with the national legislation to which it is subject, the administrative body assumes the liability of an employer for the project manager, the administrative body’s other employees and such other third parties as may participate in or provide support for the preparation or implementation of the project agreement or otherwise carry out work in relation to the action or on the administrative body’s instructions.

The Nordic Council of Ministers can in no way be held liable for actions and omissions performed by persons participating in the implementation of the agreement.

The administrative body is also responsible for the contact with relevant authorities and in relation to its owns employees, responsible for dealing with the processing of pay, taxes, duties, pension, insurance etc.

According to this provision, liability and obligations rest with the administrative body, notwithstanding the extent to which the project/programme manager, other employees or third parties have been appointed by or directly/indirectly elected by the administrative body, and whether or not the administrative body has informed the Nordic Council of Ministers or given them notification thereof.

If the administrative body leaves it to a third party to perform assignments within the framework of the agreement and thus pays funds for sub-projects or activities, a written agreement must be concluded with the said third party ensuring that the administrative body's obligations to the Nordic Council of Ministers are always provided for.

In that connection, the administrative body is obliged to observe the Nordic Council of Ministers' rules on disqualification.

Vis-a-vis the Nordic Council of Ministers, the administrative body is responsible for the entire reporting and presentation of financial statements for the action. If the administrative body has left it to a third party to implement the action, or parts thereof, it is the responsibility of the administrative body, that a report and financial statements are submitted to the administrative body for all subprojects and activities implemented by third parties. Reporting and presentation of financial statements must be submitted at least once a year and always in connection with the completion of the action..

The administrative body may not, without the written consent of the Nordic Council of Ministers, use sub-contractors or enter into partnerships on the fulfilling of this agreement unless expressly stated in the agreement. The Nordic Council of Ministers may not withhold such acceptance without providing an objective explanation.

The administrative body is liable for sub-contractors and the affairs of parties under this agreement in the same way as it is liable for its own activity. Thus, the administrative body is i.a. under an obligation to ensure that all agreements or contracts entered into between the administrative body on the one hand and sub-contractors or partners on the other hand contain provisions ensuring the Nordic Council of Ministers at least the same powers and rights as those applicable under this agreement.

Disputes etc. that arise between the administrative body on the one hand and sub-contractors or partners on the other hand are of no concern to the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Under this agreement, the sub-contractors or partners of the administrative body cannot make any types of claim against the Nordic Council of Ministers, nor claims for payment or claims for compensation.

The administrative body is responsible for ensuring that the action is managed and completed in due time within the agreed period, see section 1 of the agreement on the commencement and completion dates of the action. Where there a particular grounds the administrative body must, as soon as possible and no later than one month before the completion date, submit a written request to the Nordic Council of Ministers for a postponement of the completion date.

The agreement applies until the action has been completed and the Nordic Council of Ministers has approved the final report and financial statements, even if the final date indicated in the agreement has passed. This also applies if the administrative body has left to a third party to implement the action. The responsibility for the action lies with the administrative body until it may lapse according to the general statute of limitation rules of Danish law.

The contract sum includes all costs incurred by the administrative body in connection with the action.

Funds paid to the administrative body must be used within two calendar years following the year when the Nordic Council of Ministers decided to grant funds to the action. Cf. Year of Grant under clause 3 of the agreement.

Funds that have not been used within two calendar years following the year of the grant shall be paid back to the Nordic Council of Ministers. For funds that have been transferred from an older agreement, the year of grant that is indicated in the older agreement shall apply.

The Nordic Council of Ministers is not obliged to finance any additional costs that the administrative body may incur in connection with the action.

Interest that has been added to the action after the funds were paid by the Nordic Council of Ministers belongs to the action.

If the action is performed at costs lower than the contract sum, the excess funds belong to the Nordic Council of Ministers.

In case of self-funding from the administrative body or funding from other parties, funds that remain unused when the action has been completed shall be paid back to the Nordic Council of Ministers in proportion to the share of the contribution of the Nordic Council of Ministers to the total financing of the action.

Only according to agreement and to a limited extent can funds be allocated to cover for overheads in the budget. Overheads must be substantiated and can only contribute to supporting the professional activities of the work.

The completion of the action must be made within the approved budget framework. Re-allocation between the headings in the in the approved budget may take place without prior permission by the Nordic Council of Ministers by up to 10% of the budget. However, a maximum of DKK 50,000 can be re-allocated without prior permission.

Re-allocation by up to 10% must, if made without submission to the Nordic Council of Ministers, always take place within the general purpose of the action. Re-allocation concerning the budget for payroll costs and other employee benefits may only take place according to prior permission by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The administrative body must submit a status report using the Nordic Council of Ministers' status reporting form through the web portal of the Nordic Council of Ministers when partial payments of funds are requested according to the agreement.

No later than two months after the action has been completed shall the administrative body submit a comprehensive final report and complete financial statements via the web portal of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The financial statements must be signed by two authorised persons in the administrative body. One of them must be the financial manager. The remaining part of the grant cannot be paid until the Nordic Council of Ministers has received and approved the entire reporting.

The financial reporting must be made in either Danish, Swedish, Norwegian or English.

The administrative body must keep all relevant information about the action, including accounting records, irrespective of the nature and storage form, for the entire action period and until at least five years following the completion of the action.

Funds are paid in DKK and shall be reported in DKK. Eventual currency differences shall be included in the financial statements. Financial reporting shall be made at the exchange rate prevailing when the funds were paid.

At the request of the Nordic Council of Ministers or the National Audit Office of the country of domicile, the administrative body must provide full insight into this information in the said storage period or as long as the information or part thereof exists. Administrative bodies domiciled in a country that does not participate in the Nordic cooperation under the agreement of 23 March 1962 (the Treaty of Helsinki) undertake to provide the Danish National Audit Office with full insight into the information in question.

The funds from this grant must be included in the ordinary audit of the administrative body. The inter-Nordic audit rules apply to all actions funded through the Nordic Council of Ministers' budget. This means that the overall audit responsibility for the funds of the action lies with the National Audit Office of the administrative body's country of domicile.

If the financial statements of the administrative body are not audited by a National Audit Office in one of the Nordic countries, and the grant is of DKK 500,001 or more, the financial statements must also be audited by the administrative body that fulfils the requirements in the audit instructions of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The auditor must use the audit instructions of the Nordic Council of Ministers and the audit opinion for the purpose of the auditors' report.

Costs for the audit of the action must be included in the total budget.

In connection with the allocation of the grant, the administrative body must state the contact information of the auditor appointed by the administrative body.

The administrative body also has the responsibility for settling all expenses for taxes and duties which may be imposed on the administrative body in relation to the relevant tax authorities.

The administrative body undertakes to supply the products and services specified in the agreement and appendices and included in the funding from the Nordic Council of Ministers in the form and quality dictated by a properly and efficient business management.

The administrative body is obliged to ensure that translations of texts are correct and of the required quality.

The administrative body undertakes to observe the Nordic Council of Minister's publication strategy applicable at any time and other guidelines for publication and release etc. that the Nordic Council of Ministers may lay down.

Unless otherwise specified in the agreement, the title, copyright and any other right in material and results that have emerged during the realization of the action, belong to the administrative body. The administrative body's use of the rights is, however, limited to the Nordic Council of Ministers' rights, see below, and is subject to the following restrictions:

- the use may not be contrary to section 10 of these terms and conditions concerning a duty of confidentiality,

- the use may not have any commercial purpose, 

- the use may not infringe a third party's title, copyright or other right.

On publication of material and results, the administrative body is under an obligation to state that they have been produced during the realization of the action funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The Nordic Council of Ministers acquires a permanent, unlimited and cost-free right to use material and results produced during the realization of the action of the work and may transfer this right to others. The right to use the material and results includes among other things:

- the right to copy preliminary or final reports, 

- the right to publish material and results,

- the right to have material and results translated into other languages,

- the right to use material and results in all activities of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

All rights to publication in all current and future printed and electronic formats belong to the Nordic Council of Ministers, which has the right to publish material and results under the licence used by NCM. However, the administrative body is entitled to publish the final result of the project if the Nordic Council of Minister has not published the result within six month after the completion of the action.

The administrative body warrants in any event that it has the necessary rights in the material, including images, supplied to the Nordic Council of Ministers according to the agreement, so that the Nordic Council of Ministers' use of the material supplied is not hindered or restricted. It is for the administrative body to ensure, among other things, that the Nordic Council of Ministers obtains a right to publish and use all images for both electronic and printed publication.

In this connection, the administrative body undertakes to indemnify the Nordic Council of Ministers against any claim concerning infringement of third-party rights that may arise as a result of the Nordic Council of Ministers' use of the material supplied by the administrative body.

Neither the Nordic Council nor the administrative body will be considered liable to other parties if such liability arises from circumstances that are beyond the parties’ control, which the parties could not have taken into consideration on entering into the project agreement, and could not have avoided or overcome. Force majeure can only be invoked if the invoking party has given written notice to the other party no later than ten working days after the situation to which it applies has arisen.

The administrative body is subject to a duty of confidentially regarding information and matters that may come to its attention as a result of the action and which, due to their nature or by request from the Nordic Council of Ministers, must be treated as confidential. This duty of confidentiality remains in effect after the completion of the action.

The administrative body is required to follow the instructions concerning public access to information set by the Nordic Council of Ministers and to ensure that all the persons involved in the implementation of the action are also bound thereby.

If the administrative body materially sets aside its obligations under the agreement, including sets aside its obligations concerning the supply of products and services, the Nordic Council of Ministers can cancel the agreement and claim repayment of any paid contractual funds whether or not part of the action has been completed. To the extent that the Nordic Council of Ministers benefits from part of the action having been completed, the Nordic Council of Ministers can limit the duty of repayment in compliance therewith. All costs that may result from the administrative body's breach of its obligations under the agreement are paid by the administrative body.

If the final financial statements are submitted later than the deadline specified in clause 6, the Nordic Council of Ministers has the right to reduce the agreed contract sum by 15% for each month that the deadline is exceeded.

In accordance with the general compensation rules of Danish law, the Nordic Council of Ministers can claim compensation for losses that the Nordic Council of Ministers may sustain as a result of the administrative body setting aside its obligations under the agreement.

The Nordic Council of Ministers is entitled to transfer its rights and obligations under the agreement to a public authority or institution owned by the public or essentially finances with public funds.

The administrative body cannot transfer its rights and obligations under the agreement without the Nordic Council of Ministers' prior written consent.

Either party is entitled to terminate the agreement at three months' notice. On termination of the agreement, the Nordic Council of Ministers funds no more that the share of the action which has been performed until that time or the costs that must inevitably be spent in connection with the discontinuation and winding up of the action. However, the Nordic Council of Ministers may in all situations deny funding if the Nordic Council of Ministers finds that the administrative body has failed to properly document the costs incurred.

Any disputes concerning the agreement that may arise between the Nordic Council of Ministers and the administrative body must first be sought to be resolved amicably between the parties.

If the dispute cannot be resolved amicably, any dispute that may arise in relation to this agreement, including disputes on the existence or validity of the agreement, must be determined by arbitration according to the "Rules of arbitration procedure adopted by the Danish Institute of Arbitration" in compliance with Danish law applicable for the actions of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Each party appoints an arbitrator, whereas the chairman of the arbitration tribunal is appointed by the Danish Institute of Arbitration. If a party fails to appoint an arbitrator within 30 days of having submitted or received notification on a request for arbitration, also this arbitrator is appointed by the Danish Institute of Arbitration in compliance with the above rules.

The Nordic Council of Ministers may at any time amend these standard terms and conditions. In the event of material amendments, the Nordic Council of Ministers has a duty to inform the administrative body in writing of the said amendments giving at least three months' notice before the entering into effect of the amendments.