A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a non-legal agreement between two or more parties. Outlined in a formal document, it signals the parties’ willingness to move forward towards a formal contract.

The Defence Academy of the United Kingdom uses MOUs to strengthen its relationships with other defence academies and militaries from around the world.

Each MOU will be unique to the partnership it represents. It serves as a starting point for collaboration, allowing the parties involved to establish an understanding of their mutual objectives.

For the Defence Academy and its partners, this usually takes the shape of collaboration and the sharing of best practices in the field of professional defence and security education.

An MOU usually stands for a pre-determined period, unlike a long term, formal contract. Depending on the specific agreement, an MOU may include:

• overview of the MOU’s objectives
• clear identification of parties involved
• specific activities that the agreement will cover
• the responsibilities and roles of each party, and clarification of how they will achieve this
• timelines and key milestones that will be met
• detail of the handling of confidential or intellectual information

·The benefits of formalising a partnership through an MOU include:

• summarising the broad outlines of an agreement that the parties have reached
• clarity on the mutually accepted expectation of all parties involved
• indication that a binding contract will one day be created