Company: Academy for Research and Technology (ART Ghana)

Representative: Silas Asani Abudu, Chief Executive Officer

Contact: acarestech@gmail.com

Consultant: The individual whose name, email address, and digital signature appear upon submission of this Agreement through the ART Ghana platform.

Together the Company and the Consultant are referred to as the "Parties."

This Agreement becomes effective on the date the Consultant creates an account on the ART Ghana platform and digitally accepts these terms. The Agreement remains in force for the duration of the Consultant's engagement with ART Ghana and for a period of twelve (12) months following the termination or cessation of that engagement.

The Consultant agrees to maintain the strictest confidentiality with respect to all information encountered through or in connection with ART Ghana's platform and service delivery. Specifically, the Consultant shall not disclose, share, publish, or otherwise make available to any third party:

• The identity, personal details, or contact information of any ART Ghana client;
• The research topic, subject matter, or academic context of any client project;
• Any raw data, survey responses, interview transcripts, or field notes gathered for a client;
• Any interim or final findings, analyses, conclusions, or deliverables produced for a client;
• Internal pricing structures, project valuations, or payment terms;
• Any proprietary methodology, framework, or tool developed or used by ART Ghana;
• Communications between ART Ghana and its clients, or between ART Ghana and its staff.

This obligation applies during and after the Consultant's engagement. Breach of confidentiality will be treated as a material breach of this Agreement.

All research outputs, deliverables, reports, analyses, data visualisations, written content, and other work product created by the Consultant in the course of fulfilling a project assignment on the ART Ghana platform are the exclusive property of the commissioning client.

The Consultant irrevocably waives any and all intellectual property claims over such work product, including but not limited to copyright, moral rights, and any rights of attribution, to the extent permitted by the laws of the Republic of Ghana.

ART Ghana retains the right to use anonymised, aggregated, or de-identified data and outputs for internal quality improvement, training, and research purposes.

The Consultant agrees that during the term of this Agreement and for a period of twelve (12) months following its termination or cessation, they shall not, directly or indirectly:

• Solicit, contact, or engage any client of ART Ghana for the purpose of providing research, academic, or consulting services outside the ART Ghana platform;
• Accept payment, compensation, or other consideration from any ART Ghana client for services that would otherwise be delivered through the platform;
• Encourage, induce, or assist any ART Ghana client to terminate or circumvent their relationship with ART Ghana.

The Consultant acknowledges that ART Ghana invests significantly in client acquisition and that circumvention of this clause would cause material harm to the Company.

ART Ghana maintains a rigorous, proprietary research methodology designed to ensure quality, originality, and academic integrity. The Consultant agrees to:

• Follow the ART Ghana approved research methodology for all assigned projects;
• Not misrepresent the nature, extent, or source of any work delivered;
• Not submit work that was produced by another individual (including AI language models as a primary author) as their own, beyond the thresholds specified in the ART Ghana Quality Policy;
• Accurately disclose the use of any AI-assisted tools in the pre-submission checklist;
• Adhere to the academic integrity standards of the client's institution where specified.

The Consultant agrees to maintain professional conduct at all times on the platform. This includes:

• Communicating respectfully with ART Ghana staff and clients in all platform messages;
• Meeting all agreed milestone deadlines or providing timely written notice of delays;
• Completing all required training modules before being assigned to client projects;
• Accepting QC outcomes as final, subject to the formal override request process;
• Maintaining accurate availability status so that project matching is effective;
• Not accepting project assignments beyond their declared capacity;
• Promptly reporting any actual or potential conflict of interest to ART Ghana management.

A breach of this Agreement may result in one or more of the following consequences:

• Immediate account suspension pending investigation;
• Permanent account termination and removal from the Consultant Programme;
• Withholding of any outstanding or future payout for the project(s) in which the breach occurred;
• Clawback of previously released earnings if the breach resulted in a client not receiving the agreed service;
• Legal action under the laws of the Republic of Ghana, including but not limited to claims for damages, injunctive relief, and costs of proceedings.

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Ghana. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Ghana.

Prior to commencing legal proceedings, the Parties agree to attempt to resolve any dispute through good-faith negotiation. If negotiation fails within thirty (30) days, either Party may pursue their legal remedies.

All notices, requests, and communications under this Agreement shall be directed to:

• Email: acarestech@gmail.com
• CEO: Silas Asani Abudu
• Organisation: Academy for Research and Technology (ART Ghana)

Electronic notices sent via the ART Ghana platform or the above email address shall be deemed effective upon receipt.

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to its subject matter and supersedes all prior oral or written agreements. No modification to this Agreement shall be valid unless made in writing and signed by both Parties. ART Ghana reserves the right to update this Agreement; updated versions will be presented for acceptance through the platform.