1. Who should USP staff contact for guidance on development assistance and strategic partnerships?

The Development Cooperation Unit (DCU) and the Manager, Strategic and International Partnerships are the primary contacts. Email on: dcu@usp.ac.fj

2. What is the first step if a staff member identifies a potential funding opportunity?

Discuss the opportunity with their supervisor/line SMT member or the Manager, Strategic and International Partnerships as soon as possible.

3. What is the minimum management fee/overhead that should be included in project budgets?

The budget should reflect a minimum 20% management fee/overhead on the total project cost.

4. What happens if a Development Partner will only fund management/overhead fees of less than 20%?

The School/Section responsible should request a waiver from the Vice-Chancellor and President through their respective line SMT.

5. What is the role of the DCU in the funding process?

The DCU advises on available funding, assists in the search for funding, reviews and edits proposals, reviews and clears all agreements before recommending it to the Vice-Chancellor for signatures/approval, facilitates communication with development partners, and ensures proper reporting and compliance.

6. What is the role of the SMT member in the funding process?

The SMT member must provide an in-principle endorsement for the proposal/agreement before it is submitted to the DCU. The SMT member also assumes all related risks with the agreement’s implementation  being recommended by him/her for escalation to DCU for approval and VC’s sign-off.

 MOUs and LOAs

7. Where can I find the MoU/LoA template/legal precedent that can be used to populate?

The templates can be accessed here: Templates

7. What is the difference between an MOU and a LOA?

    An MOU is a general agreement outlining areas of cooperation, while a LOA is more specific, committing funds and resources to specific activities. LOAs are legally binding. A number of other names are used for financial agreements, for USP, any agreement that involves a financial transaction will fall under the ‘LoA’/’funded partnership’ category.

8. Who has the authority to sign MOUs and Agreements on behalf of USP?

    Only the Vice-Chancellor and President, or their delegate, can sign these documents. DCU keeps a record of all delegations provided by VCP from time-to-time for a SMT to sign on behalf of the VCP, however, such delegations are provided in written and for a particular agreement only.

9. What is the process for renewing an MOU?

    Six months prior to expiration, the key focal point should provide the DCU with a report on achievements, lessons learned, and justifications for renewal.

10. What steps should be taken if termination of an agreement is being considered?

   The Focal Points must have done everything possible to resolve the issues in good faith. Following this, if termination is warranted, the focal point/project manager must complete the ‘Termination’ Process on the online system.

11. What is the process for amending an agreement?

  Amendments must be approved by the line SMT member and agreed to by the Strategic Partner. The DCU then reviews and makes a recommendation to the Vice-Chancellor and President for the amendment to effected. Every agreement will contain (within) a clause that guides the process on amendment.

Responsibilities & Compliance

12. What are the responsibilities of staff members managing development funds?

    Staff must be honest about their capacity, ensure project spending is restricted to allowable expenses, and provide timely and adequate reports.

13. What happens if a staff member breaches the Development Assistance Policy?

    The staff will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the University’s Ordinance Governing Staff Discipline and Conduct.

14. What should Project Coordinators/Managers do to ensure reports are satisfactory?

Reports should be results-focused and outcomes-based, highlighting achievements and forward-looking strategies. The Project Coordinators/Focal Points/Managers who are responsible for leading a particular project must also ensure that risks are managed, communicated to relevant stakeholders in a timely manner and are reported to the Assurance and Compliance Unit on a regular basis.

Refer here for the flow chart >FLOW CHART<

1. What is the purpose of the flow chart and process as outlined?
-This process ensures that all agreements align with USP Strategic Objectives, are legally sound, and have necessary approvals.

2. Who can propose an idea for a partnership?
Any staff member from relevant sections, institutes, or centres can propose an idea through a formal process.

3. What happens during the Preliminary DCU review?
-The Development Cooperation Unit (DCU)  evaluates the initial proposal for alignment with strategic priorities and feasibility.

4. How is an Agreement Administrator chosen?
The DCU, in consultation with the line SMT/Head of School assigns an appropriate administrator to manage the agreement process based on expertise and relevance.

5. What should be included in the Initial Proposal Development?
Include a detailed outline of the agreement’s scope, potential risks, stakeholder roles, and objectives.

6. What is involved in the Internal Approval process?
A vetting of all financial related clauses, including reporting and budget by the relevant school/unit/section finance officer or the USP Finance Section, a review and endorsement from the Head of School or the line SMT, legal/compliance checks by Assurance and Compliance Unit and/or DCU.

7. How are agreements drafted and negotiated?
Using a standard template, terms are drafted by the Agreement Administrator and negotiated with involved parties. These templates are available on the DCU website.

8. What happens when a submission for processing has been made to DCU via the online system?
The agreement officially submitted for feedback, allowing for final adjustments before concluding the process.The USP System (under DCU) officially records the agreements content, all related endorsements/vetting/checks, ensures that it is accurate, consistent, and aligned with organisational policies and then system generated sign-off will be initiated for the Head of School or the line SMT to endorse on the system before it proceeds to the Vice-Chancellor and President for final approval and signature. All these processes are automated via the Sharepoint system.

9. How is the final decision communicated?
Every staff member who makes a submission on the system can track its progress.

10. What are the necessary post-signature actions?
Includes documenting the agreement, ensuring compliance, and storing records for future reference.

MOUs and LOAs

1.Where can I find the MoU/LoA template/legal precedent that can be used to populate?

The templates can be accessed here: Templates

2. What is the difference between an MOU and a LOA?

    An MOU is a general agreement outlining areas of cooperation, while a LOA is more specific, committing funds and resources to specific activities. LOAs are legally binding. A number of other names are used for financial agreements, for USP, any agreement that involves a financial transaction will fall under the ‘LoA’/’funded partnership’ category.

3. Who has the authority to sign MOUs and Agreements on behalf of USP?

    Only the Vice-Chancellor and President, or their delegate, can sign these documents. DCU keeps a record of all delegations provided by VCP from time-to-time for a SMT to sign on behalf of the VCP, however, such delegations are provided in written and for a particular agreement only.

4. What is the process for renewing an MOU?

    Six months prior to expiration, the key focal point should provide the DCU with a report on achievements, lessons learned, and justifications for renewal.

5. What steps should be taken if termination of an agreement is being considered?

   The Focal Points must have done everything possible to resolve the issues in good faith. Following this, if termination is warranted, the focal point/project manager must complete the ‘Termination’ Process on the online system.

6. What is the process for amending an agreement?

  Amendments must be approved by the line SMT member and agreed to by the Strategic Partner. The DCU then reviews and makes a recommendation to the Vice-Chancellor and President for the amendment to effected. Every agreement will contain (within) a clause that guides the process on amendment.

Responsibilities & Compliance

7. What are the responsibilities of staff members managing development funds?

    Staff must be honest about their capacity, ensure project spending is restricted to allowable expenses, and provide timely and adequate reports.

8. What happens if a staff member breaches the Development Assistance Policy?

    The staff will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the University’s Ordinance Governing Staff Discipline and Conduct.

9. What should Project Coordinators/Managers do to ensure reports are satisfactory?

Reports should be results-focused and outcomes-based, highlighting achievements and forward-looking strategies. The Project Coordinators/Focal Points/Managers who are responsible for leading a particular project must also ensure that risks are managed, communicated to relevant stakeholders in a timely manner and are reported to the Assurance and Compliance Unit on a regular basis.

1. Prior endorsements/discussions within the School/Section/Centre/Units

Ensure that you have discussed this proposed partnership/collaboration with your Head of School (or the Deputy where applicable) as well as a preliminary financial check with your school/unit/centre finance officer to avoid ‘surprises’ last-minute especially when the agreement is finalised and the finance/budget commitments need to be adjusted. Doing these consultations prior means that you will avoid delays.

2.  Keeping the Development Cooperation Unit (DCU) in the loop when discussions with the external party occurs

The DCU is the University’s central/focal point for all development assistance/partnership matters, so keeping them in the loop means that they are aware of the progress and can advise (at an early stage) if any issues (including legal/compliance) arise and these must be addressed during negotiation phases. Ensure that you document/take notes of your discussions (whether with internal stakeholders or external) as these will help you when applying for formal approval internally.

3. Using the right legal template for MoU/LoA’s

USP has its own legal precedent/templates that can be easily populated, they are accessible on the DCU website. If you are using the external partners template, ensure that a preliminary check-in with finance section and DCU is done because those templates usually have a stringent financial reporting, data privacy, intellectual property rights and access requirements.

4. The USP 20% overhead fees/administration charge

USP has a very strict policy on charging a 20% minimum overhead fees/administration charge on all externally funded projects/partnerships. Ensure that this charge is accurately reflected when the draft budget is being negotiated with the external party. Some partners have their own policy on how much overhead/admin charge could be applied, so ensure these are properly documented as these would be needed as evidence within USP when the final approvals are taking place.

5. Before you formally submit your request to DCU for processing via the share point system, ensure you have the following ready:

• A draft copy of the agreement (should be the one that has been cleared with the external party). But ensure that you notify the external party that this draft can only be deemed final after DCU has cleared it.
• An email record/paper trail (you can press ‘control & p’ on your keyboard to save emails as PDFs) of your conversations with your school/section/unit finance officers and Head of School/line SMT. If you don’t have this, you can always mention there names (same as tagging them) on the submission platform itself asking them to confirm that they had vetted or cleared the budget and commitments.
• A clearly outlined summary of what USP’s roles and responsibilities are for this partnership.
• A budget table containing allocations to activities
• Start and end date of the partnership
• A summary of reporting timelines

You can always ask for access to edit/update the submission from DCU by emailing us on dcu@usp.ac.fj