The CropXR partners are currently drafting a new consortium agreement. Why is this necessary, what does the agreement entail and when do we expect to conclude this process?
The need for a new CropXR consortium agreement
To understand the necessity for some amendments in the underlying legal structure of CropXR, it is useful to offer a brief overview of the current situation.
NWO granted the program PlantXR a subsidy. The program is dedicated to fundamental research on a new generation of breeding tools for extra-resilient crops. This led to the so-called PlantXR consortium agreement which has been signed by the nineteen parties involved. The PlantXR program is part of the wider CropXR program, yet it has its own budget and plan.
The National Growth Fund also gave the consortium an endowment to enhance its societal impact. For these accompanying programs, the so-called CropXR ‘institute’ agreement was created. In addition to fundamental research (PlantXR), it includes Agronomy (AgroXR), data-infrastructure (DataXR), human capital development (EduXR) and knowledge transfer and valorization (TransferXR).
Today, the PlantXR program is fully integrated into CropXR. The underlying legal structure, however, differs from the other programs. Originally, the different programs were considered independent pillars for which separate sets of arrangements would be best. Now, one year on the way, we recognize that all programs are very much interconnected. For example: in EduXR, the industrial parties, the universities of applied sciences and students collaborate on research projects to define resilience in various crops. Their results fuel the PlantXR program and the produced datasets are input for DataXR. Or think of new initiatives like the Flagship program. This program is not included in CropXR ‘institute’ agreement. This leads to an unforeseen discrepancy regarding the underlying legal framework.
We have, therefore, concluded that a new, generic CropXR consortium agreement is needed. This will better align the execution of CropXR and its underlying programs in the next 10 years. The PlantXR agreement, which will stay in place as it is, is used as a basis for this new agreement.
Process and timeline
In May, after consulting the Supervisory board and the Founders assembly and receiving their approval, the process of drafting a new CropXR agreement started. All parties involved were informed and requested to give their input during a consulting round table meeting. Subsequently, a lean working group was set up, consisting of two universities, two industrial full parties. Recently, the two technology parties joined in. This working group started drafting a concept agreement. All partners are invited to give their feedback on this draft when it is available.
Two independent external experts support us in this process. Bas Allart, who was involved as a quartermaster during CropXR’s preparatory phase, supervises the overall process. Fleur Tuinzing, legal counsel at the law firm Houthoff, supervises the legal procedure.
The process of honing the agreement is currently ongoing. The aim is to have a final version of the agreement ready latest in August. The intention is to have the agreement signed before the start of the new academic year.
Drafting a new agreement is an elaborate and intense process. We do our utmost best to make sure that the agreement is drafted with care. We value quality over speed in this process. We expect that the final version of the new agreement will offer an excellent framework to continue our current and future CropXR activities.