8.10 Consolidation and related parties

Consolidation

Consolidated Group

The consolidation includes the financial data of the Tilburg University Foundation (Stichting Katholieke Universiteit Brabant) (hereafter 'Consolidated Group') together with those related parties in which there is a majority interest or who have a decisive voice, as well as the proportional part of joint operations.

The Consolidated Group involves the following parties in addition to the Tilburg University Foundation:

  • TiU Holding B.V., Tilburg, 100%, executive director Tilburg University Foundation;

  • KUB Career Services B.V., 100%, executive director Tilburg University Foundation;

  • TIU Knowledge Transfer BV, 100%, executive director Tilburg University Foundation;

  • TIAS Business School B.V., Tilburg, 80%;

  • Tilburg University Fund Foundation (Stichting Universiteitsfonds Tilburg), Tilburg, 100%, partial personal union between the Tilburg University Executive Board and the Board of the Tilburg University Fund Foundation.

Where there is a majority interest of less than 100%, a third-party interest is included separately in both earnings and group equity.

TIU Knowledge Transfer B.V.'s minority participating interest in Starterslift Investments B.V. is not included in the consolidated financial statements of the Tilburg University Foundation.

For the purpose of administrative management and governance, an Affiliated Companies Policy is used. The Affiliated Companies Policy is consistent with the recommendations in Chapter 8 of the Code for Good Governance in Dutch Universities (VSNU, 2019).

Proportional share Joint Operations

Tilburg University has a multi-year collaboration agreement with TU/e, the province of North Brabant, and the municipality of 's-Hertogenbosch for the joint Graduate School in 's-Hertogenbosch (JADS), as well as the joint Bachelor’s in Data Science with TU/e. In 2022, in addition to tuition fees and the variable government contribution related to funded students, degrees, theses, and designer certificates, the universities have each provided a financial contribution of €0.425 million to JADS. From 2022, the province and the municipality will provide project grants for the implementation of the JADS 2021-2025 Project Plan as a contribution to the data economy strategic agenda. Between Tilburg University and TU/e, a joint arrangement as referred to in Article 8.1 of the HERA was agreed upon in 2019. JADS is processed proportionally. This means that Tilburg University and TU/e account for the joint assets, liabilities, revenues, and charges of JADS in proportion to the interest in their financial statements (50% each). Surpluses and deficits arising from this collaboration are also distributed accordingly. The deficit of JADS for 2022 amounted to €1,910 million.

Negligible participating interest

Legal entity L-Logic B.V., whose significance in relative financial terms is negligible, is not included in the consolidated financial statements of the Tilburg University Foundation. This legal entity was dissolved in 2022.

Related parties

Related parties include all legal entities over which dominant control, joint control. or significant influence can be exercised.

There are also related parties in which there is a minority interest and/or a partial personal union at management level without decisive management control. These legal entities are not included in the consolidation. The following legal entities in particular are not included in the consolidation:

  • Endowed Chairs Foundation

  • Tilburg Orientation Program Foundation

  • Netspar Foundation

  • CentERdata Foundation

  • Brabant Startup Alliance Foundation

  • Starterslift Investments B.V.

  • Mindlabs Association

  • Brainport Foundation

  • Midpoint Brabant Foundation

In addition, there are three so-called support foundations:

  • Tilburg University Fund Foundation (part of Consolidated Group)

  • Foundation Support Fund for Catholic Higher Education (no related party)

  • Professor Cobbenhagen Foundation (not a related party)

Significant transactions with related parties are disclosed to the extent that they are not entered into under normal market conditions. Of these, the nature and extent of the transaction and other information needed to provide insight are disclosed.

Strategic collaboration partners

In addition to the collaboration with related parties, the Tilburg University Foundation also cooperates strategically and more or less administratively with various other legal entities. In particular, these include student organizations, collaboration partners in the field of research and education, sector organizations such as UNL and SURF, and regional authorities. Persons who are more or less administratively and/or substantively involved with these legal entities on behalf of the Tilburg University Foundation are accountable to their managers and ultimately to the Executive Board.

In 2022, the Executive Board entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with Centerdata Foundation and designated the Centerdata Foundation as Official Partner Tilburg University. In 2021, a similar strategic collaboration agreement was established with Het PON & Telos Foundation.

In line with the intentions in the strategic institutional plan, the desire is to enter into strategic collaborations with several external partners in 2023 and beyond, whether or not in the context of forming joint academic collaborative centers.

Accountability

The functioning and management of the legal entities that are part of the Consolidated Group and collaboration with related parties and strategic collaboration partners is periodically the subject of consultation between the Executive Board and the Board of Governors.

Entering into and continuing strategic collaborations and connections is always done in the interests of Tilburg University's perceived social mission. In line with Chapter 8 of the Code for Good Governance in Dutch Universities (VSNU, 2019), when the Executive Board makes decisions on Tilburg University entering into new financial and/or managerial involvement in other legal entities and/or partnerships, it is clear how this contributes to the implementation of the university-wide strategy. The challenge is to always be open to new (research) collaborations and associated requests for customization. In practice, the intrinsic need for collaboration among our researchers and Schools sometimes raises questions about how to give the various collaborations a permanent character, which collaborations can count on q attention for reasons of the university-wide strategy, and how to organize the financial and personnel administration. These questions will be involved in the development of the strategic institutional plan.

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