Funding for Operating Organs

A recent survey of our member centres highlighted support for fundraising as a vital need. While it is the Secretariat’s responsibility to seek funding for Network activities, it is not the mandate of the Secretariat to raise funds for centre-specific activities. Funding for centre-specific activities, when it occurs, should be conceptualised as part of the Network’s community building, facilitation and capacity development strategies. In other words, the Secretariat can organise capacity development activities that might include training in proposal writing but would not take on particular research proposals for centre-level research activities. That role lies with member centres. This will further reinforce the fact that it is member centres and Working Groups who own and drive the Network’s scientific agenda. 

Funding options for the INDEPTH Network include:

1. Grants for the Network’s main organs including Secretariat, Scientific Advisory Committee, Board
2. Research grants for multi-site collaborations and Working Groups
3. Sponsorship for events e.g. AGM and ISC
4. Fee for service (training, AGM/ISC participation, field opportunities for students)

The Secretariat acts as the single point of contact for multi-centre collaborations, having clear responsibility for articulating the scientific justification for the work, for guaranteeing delivery of the outputs and for ensuring the primacy of the Network’s interests in its relationship with its partners.