• Section 1 - Purpose and Scope
• Types of Agreements
• Section 2 - Process and Key Controls
• Section 3 - Key Requirements
• International Agreement proposal
• Proposal Approval
• Agreements
• Executing an Agreement
• Monitoring and Review of Agreements
• Section 4 - Roles, Responsibilities and Accountabilities
• UQ International Agreements Team
• UQ Staff
• Directors of Portfolios or Divisions, Executive Deans and Directors of Research Institutes
• Section 5 - Monitoring, Review and Assurance
• Section 6 - Recording and Reporting
• Section 7 - Appendix
• Definitions, Terms and Acronyms

Section 1 - Purpose and Scope

(1) This Procedure outlines the processes required for establishing and managing partnership agreements with International Partners.

(2) This Procedure supports the International Agreements Policy and covers agreements that establish, document and support collaborative relationships and activities with International Partners (i.e. governments, institutions, and business), and includes undergraduate, postgraduate and higher degree research student and staff mobility programs, pathway articulation programs, sponsorship/scholarship arrangements and agreements that support general research collaborations with International Partners (e.g. International Cooperation Agreements, Memoranda of Understanding, Memoranda of Agreement, Letters of Intent, etc).

(3) This Procedure applies to UQ staff involved in:

1. the development of International Agreement proposals; and
2. the ongoing management of International Agreements.

(4) Any sponsored research, contract research, collaborative research, research infrastructure, consultancy, visiting fellow, intellectual property or research-related agreements with international funding providers or partners, and where UQ is a collaborator, recipient or distributer of contract research funding, grants or service fees, are not within scope of this Procedure and are subject to the Administration of Research Funding - Applications, Grants and Contract Research Policy and the Consultancy, Secondary Employment and Internal Work Policy.

(5) Donations and research philanthropy must be administered in accordance with the Philanthropy and Fundraising Policy.

Types of Agreements

(6) Collaborative international partnership agreements can engage UQ at a University-wide, Faculty, Institute, or other division level. Engagement may be bilateral or multilateral, and include partners from within Australia and abroad. Partner institutions may be higher education institutions, corporations, government bodies, not-for-profit organisations and other entities; although UQ expects that the majority of partners will be higher education institutions.

Section 2 - Process and Key Controls

(7) Before proposing a new International Agreement, UQ staff must consider:

1. its strategic purpose and how it aligns with UQ’s International Agreements Policy;
2. its business planning and risk management implications in consultation with relevant UQ stakeholders; 
3. the most appropriate type and level of engagement;
4. the approvals required from UQ and external partners to execute any formal agreement; and
5. ongoing management of agreements, including their monitoring, review and reporting requirements.

(8) Proposals to establish an International Agreement must be developed in writing using a Proposal Form for a New International Agreement (see clause 11).

(9) UQ staff must consult Global Partnerships and seek the required approvals (outlined in clauses 16-17) prior to committing UQ to any International Agreement.

(10) The execution of an International Agreement involving UQ must comply with UQ’s Delegations Policy and Financial and Contract Sub-delegations Procedure. 

Section 3 - Key Requirements

International Agreement proposal

(11) Faculties and Institutes seeking to establish an International Agreement must develop a written proposal using a Proposal Form for a New International Agreement. The proposal must:

1. show how the proposed collaborative activity aligns with UQ’s strategic priorities and Global Engagement Framework;
2. include due diligence of the International Partner with support from Global Partnerships, Research Partnerships and other relevant areas;
3. include appropriate business planning and risk management measures commensurate to the type of engagement;
4. identify expected outcomes of the activities and how success will be measured;
5. confirm that consultation that has been undertaken with relevant stakeholders across UQ; and
6. identify either an individual or a management team within UQ that will be responsible for managing the activities of the agreement.

(12) Additional consultation and approvals may be required for certain types of agreements, including Student Mobility, Recognition of Prior Learning (Articulation, Credit Transfer), Double Degrees, Joint Awards, Scholarships, and agreements relating to Transnational Education.

(13) Descriptions of these agreements are provided in the appendix (section 7).

(14) Further information about additional consultation and approvals is provided in the International Agreements Guideline.

(15) Faculties, Institutes and Divisions should contact Global Partnerships for assistance and advice in developing their proposals, including more detailed information about their proposal’s consultation and approval obligations.

Proposal Approval

(16) Proposals developed within Faculties, Institutes or other Divisions must be:

1. endorsed by the relevant Executive Dean, Institute Director* or Division Head; and
2. provided to the Manager, International Agreements.

(17) The International Agreements team will arrange for endorsed proposals to be progressed to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Partnerships) for approval.**

Agreements

(18) Once a proposal for an International Agreement has been approved, the International Agreements team will prepare a formal agreement between UQ and the external party in relation to the approved international engagement activities. The team will prepare all agreements, preferably using template International Agreements provided by Legal Services, in consultation with the proposing Faculty, Institute or Division and relevant internal stakeholders. In some cases, it may be appropriate to accept a template agreement provided by the partner, which the International Agreements team will review in consultation with Legal Services.

(19) Refer to the International Agreements Guideline for types of agreements.

Executing an Agreement

(20) International Agreements must be executed in accordance with UQ’s Delegations Policy and Financial and Contract Sub-delegations Procedure. In accordance with the Schedule of Contract Delegations and Sub-delegations, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Partnerships) has delegated authority to sign International Agreements.

(21) The International Agreements team arranges for the execution of International Agreements between UQ and partner organisations.

Monitoring and Review of Agreements

International Agreements

(22) The Faculty, Institute or other Division that initiates the International Agreement must have ongoing monitoring and review mechanisms in place to assess the collaborative activity outlined in the agreement.

(23) The Global Partnerships Office will conduct a formal annual review of expiring agreements and require the responsible Faculty, Institute or Division to:

1. report on activity and outcomes under the agreement as identified in the original proposal; and
2. make recommendations to Global Partnerships on the merits of the agreement’s renewal or termination.

Student Mobility Agreements

(24) Student Enrichment and Employability Development will monitor student exchange agreements and advise Global Partnerships on the performance of UQ’s formal student exchange agreements (undergraduate and postgraduate coursework). Advice should include emerging barriers and the balance of student exchange numbers with partner institutions and make recommendations on the merit of the agreement’s renewal or termination.

(25) The Graduate School will monitor, review and advise Global Partnerships on the performance of Higher Degree by Research mobility agreements including recommendations on the merit of the agreement’s renewal or termination.

Review Reports

(26) A summary of the review report recommendations will be presented to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Partnerships) for endorsement and approval.

(27) Agreements under which there has been little, or no activity should be reviewed.

Section 4 - Roles, Responsibilities and Accountabilities

UQ International Agreements Team

(28) The International Agreements team facilitates the development of International Agreements (subject to this Procedure), which formalise international engagement activities and is responsible for the following:

1. providing UQ staff with policy and procedural advice on establishing International Agreements;
2. conducting research relating to institutional partners;
3. facilitating and managing UQ’s International Agreements process as outlined in this Procedure, including drafting and editing International Agreement documentation, the execution of agreements and record-keeping requirements;
4. conducting an annual review of UQ’s International Agreements; and
5. assisting with high-level reports and maintain a database of the UQ’s international engagement agreements.

UQ Staff

(29) UQ staff must comply with this Procedure when seeking to establish an International Agreement involving UQ, including consulting the International Agreements team and Global Partnerships early in the development phase of any proposal.

Directors of Portfolios or Divisions, Executive Deans and Directors of Research Institutes

(30) Directors of Portfolios or Divisions, Executive Deans and Directors of Research Institutes must comply with this Procedure, including when exercising their approval authorities in relation to International Agreement proposals and agreements. For institutes within faculties, the approving authority is the Executive Dean.

(31) Contract delegations and sub-delegations must be exercised in accordance with the Schedule of Contract Delegations and Sub-Delegations.

Section 5 - Monitoring, Review and Assurance

(32) The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Partnerships) is responsible for the implementation of this Procedure, including ensuring that Executive Deans, Institute Directors and other Division leaders report on their international engagement activities as required under this Procedure.

(33) The International Agreements team will review this Procedure as required to ensure its currency and relevance to the management of international engagement activities at UQ.

Section 6 - Recording and Reporting

(34) The International Agreements team is responsible for reporting to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Partnerships) on all International Agreements.

(35) The International Agreements team maintains an International Agreements Database that keeps a record of all proposed and current International Agreements. The team is also responsible for conducting an annual review of expiring agreements with recommendations compiled in a Review of Expiring Agreements Report for presentation to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Partnerships).

Section 7 - Appendix

Definitions, Terms and Acronyms