Annual General Meeting 28 June 2016 Ottawa, Canada IDEAS Annual General Meeting 28 June 2016 Ottawa, Canada

Agenda Opening and introduction – Rob D. van den Berg, President, IDEAS Agenda of the meeting Transparency on finances and a budget for IDEAS (PowerPoint, handout, circulated note) A new constitution for IDEAS (PowerPoint) First ideas for the 2017 IDEAS Global Assembly Progress in initiatives (website development, ITIGs and working groups, collaboration with development evaluation programmes) Honorary members of IDEAS Other business Closing of the meeting

Finances and budget IDEAS went through difficult time: funding from fees was barely sufficient to maintain essential services Global Assemblies financed themselves thanks to donor support Donor support is likely to decrease and both IDEAS and its Global Assemblies will need to stand on their own feet First effort was to increase registration fees for the Global Assembly 2015 and to undertake this jointly with UNDP Now we need to take a second important step towards transparency in financing and budgeting

Time for Transparency Financial reports have been submitted to the UK Charity Commission and been published on its website These are technical documents full of audit terminology The financial year does not follow the calendar year We propose a shift to the calendar year The Treasurer has prepared a financial statement as per 31 December 2015 This allows us to present a budget for the years 2016 and 2017 However, we also need to discuss and decide on some fundamental issues in our financial system

Revenue/expense statement (in US$) Table 1 – IDEAS Oct 2014 to Dec 2015 Revenue/expense statement (in US$) Revenues   GA2015 Sponsorships $165,000 Registration fees $78,916 Other income $1,910 Membership fees $38,024 Total revenues $283,850 Expenses Global Assembly 2015 $173,890 DFID funding carried over $18,334 Accounting fees $4,439 Admin $35,685 Bank charges $1,643 Total expenses $233,991 Balance $49,859 Cash statement Opening bank balance USD $83,687 Opening bank balance GBP (in USD) $2,197 Total opening bank balance $85,884 Expenditures $233,990 Closing bank balance per 31 December 2015 $135,743

Issues Membership fees need to be increased annually to ensure sufficient income The Board proposes the following increases per 1 January 2017: Annual fee for developed country members: $90 Annual fee for developing country members: $50 Annual fee for institutional members: $600 Annual fee for civil society organisations: $350 The distinction between developing and developed countries needs to be fine- tuned Many countries in the world still have relatively (very) low income levels Yet many “developing” countries are now recognized as “emerging economies” and some have income levels that are now as high as those of traditional developed countries. One way forward may be to shift as from 1 January 2017 to the list of “Least Developed Countries” of the United Nations

Lifetime Membership IDEAS offers a lifetime membership and has a growing group of lifetime members Problem is that they pay once and do not pay again, so do not generate a steady flow of income First option is – whole recognizing existing lifetime members – to abolish the category for new members as per 1 January 2017 Second option is to increase lifetime member fees substantially: $750 for developed country members $500 for developing country members

Financial oversight The Board will reorganize its financial functions The Treasurer will remain fully responsible for financial management One or two Board members will provide support to the Treasurer and ensure continuity of the financial management function The members should be involved – possibilities are: A financial committee appointed from the membership to report to the Annual General Meeting on the financial reporting and budgeting process? One of the institutional members volunteering to peer review (focused on learning and best practice) the financial system? Other suggestions?

Elements for a budget General balance per 1 January 2016 $135,743 DFID grant for publications/website (remainder of grant for GA2013) $13,717 DFID grant for professionalization (remainder) $18,334 Untied balance (= general balance minus DFID grants) $87,948 Administrative support $26,400 Various administrative expenses $750 Accounting services $5,000 Bank charges $1,000 Annual General Meeting in Ottawa $2,000 Website software, maintenance and continuous development Total $40,150

Proposed Budget Untied balance $67,000 DFID grants $32,000 Income from membership fees (current amounts) $65,000 Available for 2016-2017 budget $164, 000   Budget 2016-2017 Core administrative and logistical support $90,000 Activities budget Professional development/credentialing (sponsored by DFID) $20,000 Support for mentoring $10,000 Publication support (sponsored by DFID) $15,000 ITIG support Preparations for Global Assembly 2017 Collaboration with evaluation training programmes $4,000 $74,000 Total allocated amount for 2016-2017 $164,000

Proposed procedure The budget is proposed for ”initial” approval This means the Board can start to work on concrete plans for the budget categories Comments and suggestions on the budget note are invited – please send these to the Treasurer and the President, with a copy to the Secretary, with Friday July 15 close of business as deadline The Board will discuss the comments and revise the note The revised note will be presented to the members for electronic vote A simple majority of the voters will be sufficient for approval

Constitution Constitution in 2003 was under the Companies Act in the UK and established IDEAS as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation Situation has changed in the UK and IDEAS has been shifted to the Charity Act of England and Wales Constitution should be in line with the Charity Act The Charity Act provides templates for Associations to develop a constitution While the 2003 constitution is full of legal language, the new requirements of the Charity Act enable simpler, clearer language and require fewer details Details to be provided in by-laws, such as for elections

Proposed procedure Draft constitution is now in its last stage of discussion in the Board Will be circulated to members in July A webinar will be organized where the President presents the new constitution followed by a Q&A session Comments and suggestions to be welcomed in a three week period These will be taken into account by the Board The final version of the constitution will be subject of an electronic vote of the membership The new constitution will be adopted if it is accepted by two-thirds of the voters