Memorandum

A. Policy for Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

The primary objective of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between two or more.

Universities/HEIs/Industries/Research Institutions is to create a means for cooperative efforts that positively contribute to academic and research activities of faculty, post-doctoral & doctoral fellows, and students of all disciplines. An MoU is mutually beneficial to establish and promote the development of joint studies, research and training activities, and other educational exchanges of mutual interest.

The MoU can be chosen to be legally binding which is a general agreement

between the participants that covers the broad understanding. The MOU can also be legally non-binding where participants may not be legally bound to comply with it but mere confirmation that participants will act on good faith

in pursuit of the set targets.

Further, even in case of MoUs which are legally non-binding, participants

may choose to have the obligations on confidentiality as binding since they

may be sharing sensitive and confidential information with the other parties in order to enable them to carry out further investigations or due diligence before finalising all the details of the set targets.

For MoU with the Central University of Kathmandu (CUK), the participants may

include individuals, government or private educational/research institutions, government or private companies/industries/Societies, NGOs etc.

Essentials for entering MoU

 MoU shall be on mutually acceptable terms to all the participants.

 In case of MoU with an individual, the participant must be competent

to enter into a contract.

 MoU should clearly indicate the mutual benefits of the participants.

 In case of financial and/or legal binding clauses, MoU should be

discussed with the relevant statutory bodies or competent authority or

legal advisors of the university.

 For entering MoU with international bodies, guidelines of the Government of Nepal should be strictly followed.

 For undergoing MoU with government agencies, it is required to get approval of the competent authority for adopting their standard terms and conditions.

 For renewal of MoU, a proposal containing detailed report of

achievements of previous duration of the MoU, and justification for

renewal should be approved by the competent authority.

The MoU can be broadly classified into following different types:

1. MoU with academic/research institutions (government as well as

private)

2. MoU with various Ministries/Departments of Government of Nepal/District  Governments.

3. MoU with industrial partners or individuals.

4. MoU with International bodies/Foreign Institutions. Contents of MoU Document.

An MoU should clearly state the following aspects:

 Details of parties involved

 The contact details of all relevant parties

 The context of the agreement

 The duration of MoU

 The broad purpose of the agreement

 Expected mutual benefits

 Intellectual Property Rights involved, if any

 Arbitration clause/Jurisdiction clause

Format for MoU

 Article I - Introduction of Participants should specify the parties of MoU and their details.

 Article II - Purpose of Agreement should clearly state the mutual

benefits of MoU.

 Article III - Scope of Activities should be defined very clearly including the financial implications, if any.

 Article IV – Duration of MoU should be for a period of maximum 5 years, and can be renewed after 5 years with mutual consent of the parties.

 Article V - Competent Authority includes Head of the Institution.

 Article VI - Force Majeure terms and conditions should be stated

clearly.

 Article VII – Arbitration clause should be specified.

 Article VIII –Signature of parties of MoU.

B. Policy for Memorandum of Academic Support/Association

(MoAS/MoAA)

The primary objective of a Memorandum of Academic Support/Association.

(MoAS/MoAA) between two or more collaborative parties (Individual Faculty Members and Departments) of different Universities/HEIs/Industries/

Research Institutions is to create synergy and ensure cooperation in the field of education, research and development. A MoAS/MoAA is beneficial mutually for entering into joint collaborations (joint publications shall be exempted) and exchange of expertise of mutual interest.

MoAS/MoAA is agreed upon between two individual faculty members,

laboratories and/or departments at least one of which is part of Central

University of Kathmandu upon receiving consent from the competent authority. The policy is legally non-binding. Nonetheless it shall be fundamental in operation of MoAS/ MoAA. The participants shall act in good faith in pursuit of the targets. However, the participants may reach a mutual consent to protect Intellectual Property Rights enabling them to carry out further investigations or due diligence before finalising all the details of the set targets.

For MoAS/MoAA with the Central University of Punjab (CUP), the participants may include individuals, government or private  educational/ research institutions, government or private companies/industries/Societies, NGOs etc.

Essentials for entering MoAS/MoAA with CUP:

 MoAS/MoAA shall be on mutually agreed terms to all the participants.

 In case of MoAS/MoAA with an individual, the participant must be

competent to enter into a contract.

 MoAS/MoAA should clearly indicate the mutual benefits of the

participants.

 For undergoing MoAS/MoAA with government agencies, it is required

to get approval of the competent authority for adopting their standard

terms and conditions.

 For renewal of MoAS/MoAA, a proposal containing detailed report of

achievements of previous duration, and justification for renewal should

be approved by the competent authority. 

 There shall be no financial liability on university for entering into

MoAS/MoAA.

The MoAS/MoAA can be broadly classified into following different types:

5. MoAS/MoAA

with academic/research institutions

(government/NGOs/private)

6. MoAS/MoAA with industrial partners or individuals therein.

Note: For collaboration with international bodies/NGOs, MoU shall be preferred.

Contents of MoAS/MoAA Document

An MoAS/MoAA should clearly state the following aspects:

 Details of parties involved

 The contact details of all relevant parties

 The context of the Memorandum

 The duration of Memorandum

 The broad purpose of the Memorandum

 Expected mutual benefits

 Intellectual Property Rights involved, if any.

Format for MoAS/MoAA:

 Article I - Introduction of Participants should specify the parties

entering MoAS/MoAA and their details.

 Article II - Purpose of Agreement should clearly state the mutual

benefits of MoAS/MoAA.

 Article III - Scope of Activities should be defined very clearly including the financial implications, if any...

 Article IV – Duration of MoAS/MoAA should be for a period of

maximum 3 years, and can be renewed after 3 years with mutual

consent of the parties.

 Article V - Competent Authority means Head of the Institution.

 Article VI - Force Majeure terms and conditions should be stated

clearly.

 Article VIII – Signature of parties of MoAS/MoAA. Parties involved here

may be individual or Head of the Department after due approval of the

competent authority.

The individuals/departments will submit a duly signed copy of the

MoAS/MoAA in the office of the Dean Academics, who shall be

responsible for monitoring of the Memorandums.

If you work in an office, you likely have to write memorandums. A memorandum, or memo for short, is quite easy to put together. In their most basic form, memorandums are just a short form of a letter. There may be a heading written in bold or italics for emphasis. Additionally, the memo may address a certain issue or request permission to do something from an upper level executive.

Simple Steps for Memo Format

A memo is a written business communication that conveys basic information. Using a simple, straightforward format makes that easy. You should always check whether your workplace has a standard form for memorandums. If not, follow the steps below for a universally acceptable memo format.

a). Title: The word "Memorandum" should be in a significantly larger font, bolded and either centered or placed in the top left-hand corner.

b). Recipient: Begin this heading with "TO:" and write down your recipient(s).

c). Source: Immediately after the recipient, write "FROM:" along with your name and position.

d). Subject: Write a short summary of the memo's purpose (no more than about four words).

e). Date: Include the date of when the memo is sent.

Keeping to strict styles like this improves clarity and avoids the danger of poor grammar or unclear communication.

Tips for Writing a Memo

a).Check for stylistic requirements with your job. Does the company have a standard form when it comes to writing memos? If so, is it downloadable?

b). Make sure that the body of the text is clear, concise and grammatically correct.

c). Keep things simple. Avoid long sentences and wordy phrasing.

d). Do not use a salutation. You should simply go right into the subject of the memo.

e). Use bulleted lists and headings to convey your message.

f). Conclude the memo with any closing statements that may inspire the recipient to take action.

g). Mention any and all attachments at the end of the memo by using the single word "Attachment."

h). Once you've completed a draft, share it with a colleague. An extra pair of eyes always helps to catch errors and improve readability.

Writing Your Memo

Open with an introductory paragraph in which you introduce the purpose of the memo. You can start your memo with a sentence as simple as "the purpose of this memo is to…" Once you state the purpose, you can move forward to the next section.

The next section of your memo would be to describing the issue surrounding your memo, discuss what you have done to research the issue surrounding your memo. Include as much basic information as possible. Additionally, if confirmation is needed from the recipient, you will need to make sure that you stipulate (mention niyat) that clearly.

To state all relevant information in the shortest space available, Keep the differences between business writing and academic writing in your mind; memos should follow the rules of business writing.

You need not try to squeeze a lot of information into the memo because it is not necessarily a project proposal. The whole purpose of a memo is to make the recipient aware of an issue. If you keep it simple, it will be an easy task for you and for the company you have been working for. Do not make it complicated for others to read the memos.

Example Memorandum

TO: All Employees

FROM: KP Oli, Facilities Manager

SUBJECT: Building Renovation

DATE: November 22nd, 2021

The purpose of this memo is to update all employees on the scheduled building renovation and maintenance and ensure cooperation.

A crew will be renovating and repainting the parking lots on the weekend days. Please park your vehicle in the indoor garage, which will be free of charge on Monday for this purpose.

Power-washing of the building facade will begin from Thursday. As much of the cleaning as possible will be performed outside operating hours, but some may coincide with work. Please keep your phone use to headsets and earpieces rather than speaker to avoid excess noise on calls.

Window-washing will take place Thursday itself from 10 to 4.

Cleaning and renovation of the building's interior will begin on Friday.

I would like to thank you for your patience you will be showing with the process, Our a week in work will be an offsite fresh air day. Free drinks and snacks will be available in behalf of our office.

We on the Maintenance team will be grateful for your cooperation. Your patience with this process will be rewarded with a beautiful and more friendly surrounding building atmosphere.

We request that all employees read this memo. Please direct any questions to brightlandcollege@nepalgunj.com

Again, we thank you for your patience. We'll see you at Tesla Nepalgunj!

Memo Mentality

Memos can be the easiest piece of correspondence that an administrative professional will ever have to write but it is important to just keep formatting standards at the forefront and grammatical errors should be avoided. Always make it a point to edit and proofread (revise) your memo prior before sending it out.

Basic Elements of Report:

Combination:

Letter-text combination form is the widely adopted from the origination for writing long report. Letter-text combination form finally takes the book form (when it's full) and it is presented or handed over to the authority formally.

Form:

The materials of a report are short, brief and informal, they can be arranged as a form of business letter. The main parts of a letter report are heading or title, date, address, salutation (abhivadan), the body, complimentary close and signature.

Memorandum Form:

Simple way of presenting report is a memorandum form as it maintains less formality. The date of the report is mentioned at the top. It is followed by the name of the person to whom the report is addressed, the name of the writer and the subject of the report. Next follows the actual text and the conclusion. Like the letter form, the text of the report here is also divided into paragraphs with headings and sub heading.

-Sarvesh SJB Rana

PhD in Political Science