Funders
Overview of guidelines to funders.
Who is a funder?
Funders are those organisations, individuals, or groups of individuals that provide resources, but also administer, research projects, from the publication of a call through proposal evaluation and award to project reporting and reviews. They are intimately involved in the structure of research activities and the translation from research policy and agendas to research practice. By administering research funds they are in a strong position to shape future research directions. The key role they play in research explains the significant number of guidelines aimed at them here.
Why should funders promote civil society engagement in research?
Funding mechanisms are ways of implementing policy goals. Funders therefore need to understand research and innovation policy and shape their instruments and actions in a way that allows them to achieve the desired research & innovation policy outcomes. Their motivations for CSO inclusion mirror the underlying policy priorities. Building on the more general reasons to involve CSOs in research, the main justifications for funders to include CSO involvement within funding calls include:
To enhance transparency and accountability to the public
To bring knowledge that comes from working with a specific societal interest
To improve links between cutting edge research and societal interests
To improve commercial viability of any innovative product that may be developed
To give feedback during the research process
Key Recommendations