UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE POLICY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF CONFERENCES, SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS

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1 UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE POLICY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF CONFERENCES, SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS

2 Document number Document name Coordinating Executive Committee of Senate (ECS) member Contact person Status Approved by Date approved Effective date Date last amended Date for next review Related policies and documents Policy for the management of conferences, seminars and workshops Vice Rector: Academic UFS documents UFS Strategic Plan UFS Policy for the Management of Intellectual Property Strategic Framework for Research Development at UFS General conditions of service for academic staff Legislation Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act, No 51 of 2008 Consumer protection Act 2 P age

3 CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION... 4 HOSTING OF CSWS AIM, OBJECTIVES AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES... 4 AIM AND OBJECTIVES... 4 GUIDING PRINCIPLES SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL PROCEDURE THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF THE OFFICE FOR INNOVATION AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION... 7 INSTITUTIONAL INDIRECT COST RECOVERY LEVY... 7 PRICING... 7 REMUNERATION OF PRESENTERS... 7 SHARING IN THE SURPLUS GENERATED... 7 PAYMENT PROCEDURE... 8 MANAGING LOSSES/DEFICITS NON-PROFIT EVENTS P age

4 POLICY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF CONFERENCES, SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS 1. INTRODUCTION The University of the Free State (UFS) as an engaged institution is committed to transferring and sharing its knowledge resources and expertise with the community it serves. Conferences, Seminars and Workshops (CSWs) offered under the auspices of the UFS serve as one of the vehicles of engagement and service delivery to the community it serves, in particular industry. The Policy applies to CSWs offered on an ad hoc basis and in addition to the normal teaching duties of staff members. CSWs may be internally initiated or offered on request from industry. The income generated by these CSW offerings is classified as third stream. Hosting of CSWs This Policy is not applicable to CSWs held under the auspices of an external organisation (e.g. the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa, etc) on a UFS campus. In such cases the relevant University unit (faculty, department, etc) merely acts as the host of such a CSW event and is usually only responsible for the organisation of the event. The UFS may, however, charge a facility rental and/or service fee if the CSW is hosted on one of its campuses. 2. AIM, OBJECTIVES AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES Aim and objectives The aim of this Policy is to ensure that: CSWs are properly managed within faculties, departments and entities. A balance is maintained between CSWs and the UFS s core function of teaching, research and community service. Staff members undertaking these activities are suitably rewarded for their endeavours by way of additional remuneration. CSWs are aligned with and support the vision and mission of the UFS and its focus areas and impact positively on the institution and its students. Appropriate quality assurance and content approval mechanisms are put in place aimed at enhancing quality of service, academic excellence, promoting the brand of the UFS in a responsible manner and minimising financial risks. Guiding principles Third stream income generated by CSWs is governed by the following guiding principles: Any staff member with the applicable knowledge and expertise may initiate and develop CSWs. CSWs must collectively benefit the UFS, the relevant faculty and department and the project leader/s that initiate, develop, present and/or manage CSWs. 4 P age

5 Projects presented in partnership with, or in response to requests from, outside parties must take place within the UFS policy framework with respect to contractual arrangements for income-generating activities. Only the UFS may enter into a service level agreement with outside parties. The UFS must receive adequate compensation for the use of its facilities, personnel and brand. The UFS must recover overhead costs from the client and/or CSW participants for the provision of services rendered. Projects are offered only after a project plan has been submitted in the prescribed manner by a project leader and approved by the Director: Innovation and Business Development, or his/her nominee. The above guiding principles will enable the UFS to: protect and monitor the quality of service delivery, the course content and the UFS brand;. provide the necessary infrastructure, legal, financial and administrative support; ensure that institutional rules and procedures are adhered to; secure adequate compensation for the use of its facilities, personnel, and name; and protect individual staff members from professional liability risk. The responsibility for the management and presentation of these projects is devolved to the initiating staff in their official capacity as UFS employees. 3. SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL PROCEDURE To facilitate and initiate CSWs the following prescribed procedure should be adhered to: Step i. Project Plan Description The project initiator(s)/leader(s) must submit a project plan of the proposed CSW to the relevant Head of Department (HoD). The full details pertaining to the project must be provided in the prescribed format. The Director: Innovation and Business Development may amend the prescribed format from time to time. ii. iii. Approval by Head of Department Academic quality assurance The HoD must approve the project at departmental level before submitting the project plan to its Faculty Management Committee (FMC) for consideration and approval. The FMC approves the course content in terms of standard academic quality assurance principles. This may include 5 P age

6 Step Description iv. Approval by the Office for Innovation and Business Development continuous professional development (CPD) credits. Once approved by the FMC, the project plan is submitted to the Director: Innovation and Business Development for further verification and for the purpose of ensuring that institutional policy and procedures have been adhered to and also for inclusion in a management system (i.e. a database of activities reflecting the UFS s expertise, etc). v. Service level agreement vi. Allocation of financial entity CSWs co-presented by the UFS in partnership with outside parties require that a contract be drawn up between the parties. The Office for Innovation and Business Development and the UFS Finance Department record and categorise the project as generating third stream income and allocate a cost centre code and name to the project. A separate cost centre/entity must be used for each CSW. vii. viii. ix. Transactions Printing of certificates Collaborators All transactions pertaining to the CSW must be channelled through the UFS financial system. The prescribed procedure must be followed before an official UFS certificate may be published. A service level agreement for all service providers must be in place. 4. THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF THE OFFICE FOR INNOVATION AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT In collaboration with faculties, departments and other relevant entities, the Office for Innovation and Business Development will: Assist with the preparation of project plans. Facilitate and provide support in negotiations with external clients. Provide guidance and input relating to institutional policies and procedures with regards to the generation of third stream income. Provide business and accounting support for the preparation of financial statements of each project. Record, monitor and maintain a database of existing and planned projects (CSWs). Facilitate and coordinate existing and planned projects aimed at preventing the duplication of tenders submitted for managing projects (CSWs). Maintain a register of intended UFS involvement with outside parties/consortiums. 6 P age

7 5. FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION Institutional Indirect Cost Recovery Levy The UFS should recover expenses incurred for the involvement of its staff, use of its brand and facilities and to reduce financial risk. An institutional levy of 15% will therefore be raised on costs. Pricing The UFS regards CSWs as an important component of a coordinated strategy and vehicle for innovation, community engagement and part of graduate and postgraduate academic training and development. While these projects may present a significant source of third stream income, the UFS recognises that the principles that underlie the CSW s pricing will vary, and include value for money, maximising profit, contributing to professional development and addressing the needs of the external community. Remuneration of presenters Remuneration of UFS staff, including the project leader(s), who participate as presenters in CSWs shall be on an hourly basis. This must be included in the project plan as a direct cost and be approved by the FMC before the commencement of the project. A project may not run at a deficit as a result of salary claims against the income received from the project. Sharing in the Surplus Generated The net surplus resulting from third stream income generating CSWs is calculated as follows: Project Turnover Less: 15% of project costs (UFS levy) Less: Project expenses (including fees payable to presenters in terms of 5.3) = Project Surplus Subject to 5.5 below, the project surplus accrues to the project leader(s) and his/her/their department(s) according to the following ratio: 7 P age

8 Beneficiary Relevant academic department(s) Project leader(s) Research Capacity Entity of project leader(s) Strategic Fund for Innovation and Business Development Percentage 30% of Project Surplus 30% of Project Surplus can be taken as a salary subvention. At the request of the project leader(s) this portion may also be transferred to his/her Research Capacity Entity. Once the decision has been taken to put it in the Research Capacity Entity the decision cannot be reversed. 20% of Project Surplus 20% of the Project Surplus The relevant academic department(s) can use the funds accrued to them for operating expenses of the department, innovation and research-related activities and bursaries. Salaries of additional personnel to create capacity can be funded from this entity but must be signed off by the FMC. Payment Procedure The appropriation of the project surplus or hourly paid remuneration must take place according to the following procedure: i. Project leader(s) submit a project report in the prescribed manner within 14 days after the occurrence of the project to the Director: Innovation and Business Development for approval. ii. A claim form signed by the HoD and Director: Innovation and Business Development as a payment mandate is forwarded to the Finance Department for remittance. iii. In the case of externally sponsored projects, the project leader(s) may be required to submit externally verified final accounts to the funder. Managing Losses/Deficits In the event of a CSW (project) incurring a loss, the following course of action is to be adopted: i. When considering the project plan, it is the responsibility of all the parties involved to ensure that realistic provisions have been made to cover the risk of losses/deficits. ii. In all instances where a project has in the end incurred a loss, the FMC will decide how this deficit will be dealt with. iii. No salary subvention is permitted in the event of a deficit or loss, or while outstanding payments are due from participants or clients. 8 P age

9 6. NON-PROFIT EVENTS In cases where it is foreseen that a CSW will be presented on a break-even basis, the FMC must certify it as such in terms of the following procedure: i. The initiator(s) of the project must submit a budget for the proposed CSW via his/her HoD to the FMC. ii. The FMC must approve the budget and satisfy itself that no UFS staff member who is involved with the CSW in one way or another derives any financial benefit from such involvement. iii. Any losses and/or deficits shall be for the account of the faculty. Copyright 2012 University of the Free State All rights reserved Copyright notice: No part of this policy may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without the prior written permission of the University of the Free State. Acknowledgement: Permission has been obtained from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University to use its copyright material for the development of this Policy. 9 P age