The initiation of a cooperation agreement often initially emerges from individual staff contacts. When these agreements are established, they are often formalized in a contract at departmental or institute level. If several departments of two universities cooperate and it is necessary, for example, to attract external funding, a coooperation agreement may be signed at institutional level.

Information on initiating a cooperation or on existing collaborations as well as an overview of the employees responsible for the respective target region can be found under Initiation of a cooperation.