Agreements

Agreement on Cooperation between São Paulo Research Foundation and Russian Federation for Basic Research

The SÃO PAULO RESEARCH FOUNDATION, established by Law nº 5.918, of October 18th, 1960, with headquarters at Rua Pio XI, 1500, Alto da Lapa, São Paulo, SP, enrolled in CNPJ/MF under nº 43.828.151/0001-45, herein represented according to article 11, “a” of Law nº 5.918, combined with its General Rule approved by Decree n° 40.132, of May 23, 1962, represented by its President, Prof. Dr. JOSE GOLDEMBERG, in the exercise of the powers delegated by Act of the Governor of the State of São Paulo, published in the Official Gazette of the State, of August 22nd, 2015, hereinafter referred to as FAPESP, and the RUSSIAN FEDERATION FOR BASIC RESEARCH, established by a Presidential order № 426, of April 27 in 1992, with headquarters at 32A Leninsky prospekt, Moscow, represented by its Board Chairman, academician Vladislav Panchenko, hereinafter referred to as RFBR, and both to as "Parties”:

CONSIDERING the importance of promoting cooperation in basic scientific research between Russia and the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, wishing to strengthen this cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit;

CONSIDERING the need to strengthen the links between the scientific communities of both countries and also to encourage new forms of collaboration between their research centers;

WISHING to promote initiative s collaboration in scientific research and technological development in priority areas of interest to both parties;

Agree as follow:

1. Purpose

Through this Cooperation Agreement, the Parties will promote and support scientific and technological cooperation between researchers from Russia and from the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, through the funding of joint research projects.

2. Methods of Cooperation

The Parties will promote national researchers collaboration observing their international obligations and domestic laws and other existing regulations through mechanisms such as:

a) Funding of joint research projects in the fields of common interests;

b) Launching of coordinated calls to select joint research projects for worthy of bilateral support;

c) Organization of institutional exchanges to promote interaction between the Parties and research groups relevant to both Parties, with the goal of identifying future areas for cooperation;

d) Supporting mobility of the collaborating national researchers that will help prepare the ground for the development of cooperative research between teams from the State of São Paulo, Brazil and from Russia, including but not limited to, scientific exchange visits, workshops and bilateral scientific seminars.

(i) In this case, the Parties shall consider themes and topics that contribute to the basis for a joint research proposal.

e) Coordination of the Parties participation in the common international multilateral programs and projects.

3. Areas

Areas of common interest can be specified jointly by the appointed Steering Committee, in the calls for research proposals.

4. Implementation

a) In establishing methods of collaboration pursuant to Section 2 above, the Parties will do so in accordance with the scholarly relevance and the national legislation in Brazil and in Russia, respectively, and each Party’s budget availability.

b) The Parties will each appoint three representatives, one of them a contact person, to serve on a Joint Steering Committee responsible for the implementation and continuation of this Agreement and for drafting the call for joint proposals and their assessment.

c) The Parties may agree to host delegation meetings, workshops, correspondence and other procedures, as applicable.

d) While announcing regular joint calls for proposals, each Party will receive and review the joint proposals according to its own criteria and rules. After the revision of the joint proposals, the Parties will decide which proposals will be supported.

The Parties may establish joint procedures for the submission and review of the proposals in case of mutual interest and the decision of the Joint Steering Committee.

5. Funding

a) For each of the research projects that are approved, the RFBR will assume the funding of research teams from Russia and FAPESP of the research teams from the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in all cases according to their national rules and regulations and budget availability.

b) The amount of funding necessary to support Collaborative Research Projects will be defined by the Joint Steering Committee in each Call for Proposals.

6. Intellectual Property

a) The Parties agree that when the actions taken by virtue of this Agreement result in products of commercial value and intellectual property rights, they will be regulated by national legislation and international conventions in force. Participants should also observe the Intellectual Property Policy of the Party responsible for the funding of their team.

b) In the case of joint ownership of Intellectual Property, the relevant parties will in good faith endeavor to establish a joint ownership agreement regarding the allocation and terms of exercising that joint ownership, taking into account the relevant contributions of the parties.

7. Term

a) This Agreement shall be valid for a period of 5 (five) years from the date of its signing and may be extended by mutual agreement between the Parties in a written amendment to this Agreement.

b) Either Party may terminate this Agreement by a six months’ advance written notice.

c) The termination of this Agreement shall not bring harm to the implementation of projects and programs already approved or which had already started, in which case the Parties should keep their budget for the projects and programs during the term of their validity.

8. Modifications

This Agreement may be amended by mutual consent of the Parties and made official by Addenda.

9. Miscellaneous

a) Each Party covers its own administration costs regarding its contribution to the Call for Proposals, unless otherwise jointly decided.

b) The Parties shall maintain the highest ethical and legal standards in funding research under this Agreement.

c) The Parties agree that this Agreement is produced in good faith, so that any dispute and / or interpretation arising therefrom in relation to its implementation, execution and compliance will be resolved jointly by them and shall be in writing. If no agreement is reached between the Parties, this document will be terminated without liability to the Parties that should agree how to conclude the actions in progress to date of notification of termination by either party. Neither party may use any identifying marks of the other without the express written permission of the other party.

Signed in Sao Paulo, Brazil and in Moscow on May 14, 2018, in three original copies in English, Russian and Portuguese, all texts being equally authentic.

FAPESP
José Goldemberg – President
RFBR
Vladislav Panchenko – Board Chairman