Independence and Funding

A think tank is only as useful as it is trustworthy. Readers need to know that our conclusions are our own, and not those of whoever paid for the work. This page explains the rules we follow.

Our principles

1. Conclusions are not for sale. No funder, partner or government body may determine, edit or veto our findings or recommendations.
2. We publish what we find. We do not accept funding that allows a funder to suppress results it dislikes.
3. We are non partisan. We do not accept money from political parties, and we do not campaign for or against any party or candidate.
4. We are transparent. We disclose our sources of funding, and we disclose the funder of each specific project in the publication itself.

Sources of funding

CRGD may be supported by:

• donations from individuals who share our aims
• grants from philanthropic foundations and trusts
• research grants from Indian and international academic or public bodies
• commissioned research from government bodies, under the conditions below
• fees for courses and programs run by the CRGD Academy, set to recover costs and supported by scholarships

Conditions for commissioned work

When a government department, public body or private organisation commissions research from us, the agreement must state that:

• CRGD retains full control over methods, analysis and conclusions
• CRGD may publish the findings, after any agreed and limited period for review of factual accuracy
• the commissioning body is named in the publication

We decline commissions that do not meet these conditions.

What we do not accept

• funding from political parties or their affiliated organisations
• funding conditional on reaching a particular conclusion
• anonymous donations above a threshold set by the Governing Board
• funding from sources that the Governing Board judges would damage public trust in our work

Disclosure

Our annual reports list our major sources of funding. Each publication carries a note naming any specific funder of that work.

Conflicts of interest

Researchers, board members and advisers declare relevant interests, including employment, consultancy, shareholdings and close family relationships. Where an interest could reasonably be seen to affect a piece of work, it is disclosed or the person steps away from that work.

Questions

If you have questions about our funding or believe our independence has been compromised in any way, please write to us. Concerns about independence are reported to the Governing Board.