General Terms & Conditions
1. Scope of the terms and conditions
1.1. These terms and conditions apply to all trainings, which are organized and carried out by IPDET. The successfully submitted application for one of the offered trainings means at the same time approval and acceptance of these general terms & conditions. The inclusion of the customer’s own conditions is hereby contradicted unless something else has been agreed.
1.2. Customers of IPDET within the meaning of Section 1.1 are both participants and entrepreneurs, whereby a participant is any natural person who concludes a legal transaction for purposes that can predominantly neither be attributed to their commercial nor their self-employed professional activity. On the other hand, an entrepreneur is any natural or legal person or a partnership with legal capacity who, when concluding a legal transaction, acts in the exercise of their independent professional or commercial activity.
2. Course organization
2.1. For organization reasons, IPDET reservers the right to postpone or combine courses or to change the venue. If an instructor drops out, IPDET may change Instructors or appoint a substitute instructor. IPDET reserves the right to change the on-site courses. The data privacy policy applies, which is available at ipdet.org.
2.2. In order to run the courses under optimal conditions, IPDET sets a minimum and maximum number of participants for each course, which can be adjusted if necessary. Course places are allocated in the order of successfully completed applications (subject to timely and full payment).
If there are not enough participants, the course will usually not be held and the course fee (excluding the administration fee) will be refunded. IPDET further reservers the right to cancel courses announced in the program due to other reasons beyond IPDET’s control. In this case, any course fees already paid (excluding the administration charge) will be refunded. Further claims of the participants, in particular claims for damages in case of changes or cancellation of a course, are expressly excluded.
2.3. IPDET reserves the right to exclude participants from the course. In case of exclusion, the participant is not entitled to a refund of the course fees, i.e. there will be neither a proportional nor a full refund of the course fees. This applies in particular if there are serious reasons for exclusion (defamation, harassment of any kind, bodily injury, intentional damage to property, etc.). See also under 8. Code of Conduct.
3. Conclusion of Contract
3.1. The product presentations contained on the website and within the application process serve to enable the customer to submit a legally binding order.
3.2. To apply for a course or an event, an IPDET account needs to be created. Therefore the customer has to register on ipdet.org.
3.3. The customer can submit the application via the online order form integrated in the dashboard under MY IPDET. When applying via the online order form, after entering their personal data and clicking the “Apply” button in the final step of the application process, the customer submits a legally binding contractual declaration with regard to the goods contained in the shopping cart and undertakes to pay the course fee. Before the binding application is submitted, all entries can be continuously corrected using the usual keyboard and mouse functions. In addition, all entries are displayed again in a confirmation window before the application is bindingly submitted.
3.4. IPDET will immediately confirm receipt of the customer’s application by email. IPDET is entitled to refuse to accept the application. The contract is concluded upon receipt of full payment of course fee by IPDET.
3.5. The application data is stored by IPDET and can be called up by the customer after sending his application via the password-protected customer account. IPDET’s data protection guidelines apply to the account created, as mentioned under 10. Data Privacy.
3.6. Application processing and contacting take place via email and automated application processing. The customer must ensure that the email address provided by the customer for application processing is correct so that the emails sent by IPDET can be received at this address. When using SPAM filters, the customer must ensure that all emails sent by IPDET or by third parties commissioned to process the application can be delivered.
4. Prices and terms of payment
4.1. The prices given by IPDET are final prices. They include all price components including statutory sales tax, as documented in the fee information page on ipdet.org. The prices are in Swiss Francs.
4.2. After checking the submission IPDET will confirm your application and make the invoice electronically available (via email). For online program, full payment is required 14 days before course starts. For on-site program, full payment is required 35 days before program starts. The application will be cancelled automatically if the payment deadline is overdue.
4.3. With full payment of the fee, the consumer acquires the right to participate in the chosen IPDET course or event.
4.4. Group Discount
This applies for the on-site program only. A 5% discount is offered to organizations that notify IPDET in advance before submitting an application of their intention to send and sponsor five or more individuals to IPDET’s on-site program and for whom a single group invoice can be prepared.
4.5. Administration charge
The fee for (online & on-site) courses include a non-refundable administration charge. The non-refundable administration charge-amount is documented within the fee information page on ipdet.org.
4.6. Refund and cancellation policy
4.6.1. Cancellation by participant
Cancellation of application must be made in writing (e.g., email) and sent to IPDET ([email protected]).
If the participant cancels an online application up to 14 days before the start of the course or event, participants receive a full refund less the non-refundable administration charge (as documented within the fee information page on ipdet.org).
If the participant cancels an on-site application up to 30 days before the application deadline, the participant receives a full refund less the non-refundable administration charge (as documented within the fee information page on ipdet.org).
If the participant cancels an on-site application within 30 days before the application deadline, the participant receives a 50% refund within the next 30 days less the non-refundable administration charge. There are no refunds if cancellation is requested after application deadline.
If the participant has not yet paid the tuition fee when cancelling, this does not affect the above agreement to pay for the course or event.
The participant cannot derive any rights from the non-achievement of learning objectives / results, in particular no refund of course fees. Courses not attended cannot be repeated and will not be refunded.
4.6.2. Cancellation by IPDET
IPDET reserves the right to cancel an online course or event up to 10 days before the course or event date (e.g., because there are too few applications). In this case, participants will be offered a place in another online course (if applicable and available) or receive a full refund less the non-refundable administration charge. Beyond this, claims for damages because of the cancellation of a course or event are excluded.
IPDET reserves the right to cancel an on-site course or event up to 35 days before the course or event date (e.g., because there are too few applications). In this case, participants will be offered a place in another on-site course (if applicable and available) or receive a full refund less the non-refundable charge. Beyond this, claims for damages (travel bookings, etc.) because of the cancellation are excluded.
4.6.3. Full refunds (less the non-refundable administration charge) will be made only for cancellations of online and on-site courses until a specific yearly defined date. This is documented within the fee information page on ipdet.org.
4.7. Refund and cancellation policy in catastrophic events
4.7.1. In case IPDET cancels one or more on-site courses or events due to unforeseen events, including but not limited to, acts of God, natural disasters, communicable diseases, terrorism, fires, water damage, labor disputes, or governmental measures IPDET will pay back full fees less the non-refundable charge. IPDET may not be held responsible for any further costs, expenses or claims to any other party (travel bookings, etc.) for any failure or delay of performance under this agreement.
4.7.2. Guidelines and further information can be found under ipdet.org.
5. Scholarships
5.1. Criteria
In order to be eligible for a scholarship, the participant must be a national and resident of a low income, lower middle income or upper middle income country (according to the World Bank Country and Lending Groups list) and has no other funding available to finance the tuition fees.
5.2. Responsibilities
The Scholarship Selection Committee reviews all applications in a fair and equitable manner and makes selection recommendations. Each application is considered on a case-by-case basis according to the defined scholarship criteria. Compliance with all criteria alone does not guarantee a scholarship. Attention will be paid to the applicant’s ability to improve evaluation practice and their ability to disseminate lessons learned at IPDET. The Scholarship Selection Committee consists of the Head of Program, one other member of the IPDET Steering Group, and one IEG representative.
Scholarship recipients are responsible for ensuring that they provide all required information within the stipulated timeframe and that all information is correct and accurate, to the best of their knowledge. Scholarship recipients are also responsible for sharing post-course information (i.e., sharing a qualitative letter and filling out a quantitative survey). The exact process of scholarship applications for the on-site and online program is outlined within the scholarship information pages on ipdet.org.
5.3. Cancellation policy for scholarships
5.3.1. Cancellation by scholarship holders
Selected scholarship holders have to comply to the requirements set by IPDET as soon as they have been awarded with the scholarship (i.e., written acceptance of the scholarship – detailed information will be provided by email). Violation of the requirements will entail exclusion from any IPDET scholarship for the following 5 years.
5.3.2. Cancellation by IPDET
Article 4.6.2 applies.
5.3.3. Cancellation of on-site scholarships due to catastrophic events
In case IPDET cancels one or more on-site courses or events due to unforeseen events, including but not limited to, acts of God, natural disasters, communicable diseases, terrorism, fires, water damage, labor disputes, or governmental measures, the scholarship can be used for the following year or converted into an online workshop scholarship. IPDET may not be held responsible for any further costs, expenses or claims to any other party (travel bookings, etc.) for any failure or delay of performance under this agreement.
6. Liability / Participant’s responsibilities
Participants who have not missed more than 20% of the course receive an official IPDET certificate of participation at the end of the course.
Participants are required to follow the instructions of the organizers when using IPDET facilities or facilities rented by IPDET for the course or event (e.g., non-smoking and other house rules). More information is provided on ipdet.org.
Participants are responsible and liable for damage occurring because of their neglecting of these rules.
IPDET is not liable for personal injury and property damage, except in cases of intent or gross negligence on the part of IPDET. IPDET is not liable for accidents, theft, or damages of any kind. Each participant is responsible for their personal property.
7. Medical Insurance (for on-site program only)
Visitors to Switzerland are not covered by Switzerland’s health system. It is important to ensure you have adequate coverage for medical emergencies while attending the on-site program by checking with your insurance provider or by purchasing medical travel insurance before you depart for Switzerland. You should carry proof of insurance with you. Please note that IPDET does not cover any personal health costs. In special cases, IPDET may request proof of coverage for specific medical treatments.
8. Code of conduct
IPDET expects of all participants to behave appropriately and decently. Any form of discrimination is a violation of personal integrity, the dignity of individuals and fundamental rights.
9. Copyright
Course or event material and literature of any kind provided by IPDET is protected by copyright, yet it may be reproduced for educational purposes. The materials should carry a disclaimer that reads: “This material has been developed for the International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET). It reflects the views of the author(s) and does not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, CEval or University of Bern or other organizations with which the author(s) is affiliated.“
10. Data Privacy
The data privacy policy applies, which is available at ipdet.org.
11. Applicable Law and Jurisdiction
Swiss law applies to all legal relationships between the parties. The place of jurisdiction is Bern.