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7/21/08

AN AGREEMENT TO ESTABLISH A TRANSATLANTIC POLICY CONSORTIUM

The below Signatories of this Agreement are hereinafter referred to as “the Consortium.”

NOTING that the Transatlantic Declaration adopted by the European Community and its member states and the Government of the United States of America in November 1990, as updated in the New Transatlantic Agenda of December 1995, makes specific reference to strengthening mutual cooperation in various fields which directly affect the present and future well being of their citizens, including education and culture;

AND FURTHER NOTING that an agreement was reached in December 1995 by the United States of America and the European Community to establish cooperative programs in higher education and training;

ACKNOWLEDGING the important contributions, on both sides of the Atlantic, of public policy/management education and training institutions to public policy research and the achievement of rational discourse on the major policy issues of the day;

AND FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGING that domestically focused applied policy research and training organizations often lack international sensitivity and exposure, thereby limiting the range of policy competence; AND that policies implemented in other countries have an impact on domestic policy options;

RECOGNIZING the members of the Consortium have much to contribute to public knowledge about these issues, and much to learn and gain from the exchange of information and interactions with each other;

AND DESIRING to establish a more formal basis for the conduct of cooperative activities in public policy education and research;

THE MEMBERS OF THE CONSORTIUM HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

ARTICLE 1

Purpose: This Agreement establishes a cooperative program among not-for-profit U.S. and European educational and research organizations involved in applied public policy analysis and education. The institutions listed below as signatories constitute the initial membership of the Consortium. New members of the Consortium will be chosen by consensus of the Consortium.

The Consortium will also accept government, educational, and research organizations on a selective basis as associate members.

ARTICLE 2

Objectives: The objectives of the Consortium, and this program, shall be to:

1). Establish ties of friendship and professional cooperation for the purpose of promoting mutual understanding of the crucial transatlantic public policy issues facing our societies.

2). Improve our collective abilities to analyze, arrive at, and implement these public policy choices.

3). Inventory the research interests of the members and to provide an opportunity for collaborative research activities; the exchange of pedagogical information and techniques in public policy/management education; joint conferences; and joint participation in seminars and academic meetings.

4). Exchange information on data sets, methodology, and concepts.

5). Assist each other, where needed and possible, in the location and placement of short term international internship assignments for students of the Consortium members.

6). Provide the opportunity for faculty, staff, and student exchanges, where such exchanges would be in the joint interests of the participating institutions.

ARTICLE 3

Communication:

1). In order to provide a regular forum for Consortium interaction, and to enhance the exchange of information and ideas, the Consortium will meet approximately every 12-18 months in a 2-3 day colloquium. The site of the colloquia will alternate among the members of the Consortium. The overarching theme of these colloquia will focus on a particular policy issue(s) confronting the Transatlantic partners. The colloquia will be designed so as to enhance personal interaction and the exchange of information of the participants. The proceedings of the colloquia will ordinarily be published.

2). The Consortium has established a web site providing information about its activities and its members.

Governance:

The affairs of the Consortium will be governed by an Executive Committee made up of representatives of each member of the Consortium. There will be two Co-Chairs of the Consortium - one from Europe and one from North America. The Co-Chairs will be selected annually by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall select its own membership, with nominees from the Co-Chairs.

The functions of the Executive Committee will be to:

* review and evaluate the cooperative activities envisaged under this Agreement;
* make all policy decisions concerning the Consortium annual program and activities;
* approve any grant, contract, or other financial functions associated with Consortium activities;
* decide on the site and topic of the periodic Consortium colloquia;

Decisions of the Executive Committee shall be reached by consensus. Minutes, comprising a record of the decisions and principal points discussed, shall be taken at each meeting.

The Co-Chairs shall appoint such other working committees as deemed appropriate for the work of the Consortium.

Secretariat:

In order to perform any administrative or financial activities associated with the affairs of the Consortium, the Consortium members will periodically select one of the member institutions to act as the Consortium Secretariat. The Secretariat shall maintain the records referred to above on the activities of the Consortium, and shall carry out any other assignments relevant to Consortium programs as shall be determined by the Joint Committee.

ARTICLE 4

1). This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the date on which the Consortium members shall have notified each other of their intent to participate in the Consortium.

2). The agreement to participate in this Consortium may be terminated, with 12 months notice, at any time, by any of the Consortium members.

This Agreement does not imply any financial commitments of the membership; however, in order to continue in good standing, member institutions are expected to participate regularly in the colloquia and other activities of the Consortium.

ARTICLE 5

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorized, have signed this Agreement.

INSTITUTION NAME, AUTHORIZING INDIVIDUAL AND TITLE, DATE