Several people have expressed a wish to see the report below. It has 
been scanned in so apologies for any errors.

DRAFT REPORT OF THE CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP WORKING
 GROUP

Submitted to Council of the Royal Geographical Society (with The 
Institute of British Geographers) on Monday 18th March 1996. 

Members of the working group

Sir Crispin Tickell (Chair), Professor Peter Haggett, Professor Ron 
Johnston, Professor David Rhind, Professor Judith Rees, David Hall 
and Dr Tim Unwin (Secretary). 

Preamble

Corporate sponsorship is not new. We now take for granted the 
benefits to research and scholarship provided in the past by, for 
example, News International's sponsorship of the Rupert Murdoch Chair 
of Media Studies and IBM's funding of the Environmental Change Unit in 
the University of Oxford. 

Without such support, the world of scholarship and research would 
have been much the poorer. In addition, the pressures on learned societies and 
research and education bodies are becoming ever more acute. There is therefore
an understandable pressure to seek external 'new' funding to 
facilitate the work of such bodies. 

Learned societies and related bodies also have a very strong 
commitment to scientific integrity and are rightly concerned about any question
 that support buys influence. This paper arises from discussion on these issues
 within the Fellowship of the Royal Geographical 
Society (with The Institute of British Geographers) and in the Council of that body.
 It sets out the issues involved and makes a set of recommendations.
 These are designed to enable the society both 
to attract increased support and also to operate ethically and to be seen to do so. 

The main points considered by the working group were: 

1. Advantages and Disadvantages of Corporate Support for a Learned 
Society

It was noted that the Society is not unique in its relationships with 
financial supporters, and that whatever applies to other learned societies
 also applies to us. 

Advantages include:    

*	the provision of financial support to enhance the Society's 
activities    
*	the maintenance of subscription levels at a level lower than would 
otherwise be the case    
*	enabling the Society to develop its charitable objectives and 
better to propagate its aims
*	fostering closer links with the worlds of academe, industry, 
commerce and government 

Disadvantages include the risks of:  

*	giving legitimacy to a sponsor's values, which might not be 
consonant with the Society's aims 
*	giving credibility in the public eye to a sponsor's activities when 
directly related to the   Society's areas of expertise 
*	compromising the academic freedom of members of the learned Society 

*	fallout from adverse publicity affecting a sponsor 

2. The current position

The Working Group agreed that the activities of the Society had 
benefited from support from Shell, British Airways, Land Rover and more recently
 HSBC Holdings (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation).
 Funding from these supporters, known as Corporate Patrons, had 
been generously given, mainly to support specific areas of the Society's activities,
 notably the Expedition Advisory Centre, the Society's overseas research projects,
 and logistical assistance, as in the form of flights. Other companies have generously
 supported various of the Society's activities. 

The relationship between the Society and its main Corporate Patrons, 
established over the last five years, has so far, not been subject to any formal agreement
 other than an exchange of letters. The main Corporate Patrons have generally
 demanded little acknowledgement in return for their money, although Land Rover
 specifically requested that their support be given appropriate publicity, in part 
because, on top of its donation, Land Rover has also provided 
vehicles for the Society's overseas research programmes. Consequently, it was decided
 that the logos of all of the main Corporate Patrons
 should be put on the Society's notepaper and publications, and be 
displayed in the Society's lecture theatre and main entrance. 

3. Corporate Support

The Working Group distinguished between 'uncommitted core' funding 
and 'targeted' support. 

It was agreed that:

*	there were potential difficulties in accepting uncommitted core 
funding from specific companies 
*	it was desirable to receive uncommitted funding from charitable 
foundations 
*	even in the case of targeted support, there were ethical 
considerations to take into account 
*	the Society should continue seek financial support from sponsors, 
subject to clear guidelines 

It should go without saying that corporate support would not entitle 
the donor to a seat on the Society's Council or Committees. 

It was agreed that the term "corporate supporter" would be more 
appropriate than "Corporate Patron" across all areas of the Society's activities. The
 word "Patron" should only be used for its original purpose in
 referring to royal patronage. 

The Working Group attached particular importance to the drawing up of 
clear guidelines which would determine the ethical, environmental and other 
criteria for acceptance of financial support. Officers and Staff of the Society 
should use these guidelines in their dealings with corporate supporters,
 would report on these activities to each Council meeting,
 and in the Society's Annual Report. 

4. Recommendations

The Working Group recommends that: 

i)	Strenuous efforts should be made to increase the level of 
corporate support, subject to meeting the guidelines recommended below. Such 
support has considerable value to the Society in general as well as in monetary 
terms.
ii)	The Society should actively continue to seek the receipt of 
financial support from charitable foundations for all purposes.
iii)	The Society should actively seek targeted support from 
appropriate companies.
iv)	A small standing group should be established by Council to:
	* draw up and review periodically criteria against which all 
potential supporters can be evaluated 
	* prepare broader ethical guidelines concerning the Society's 
activities 
	* be responsible for advising on the Society's corporate support 
policy, and give advice, as appropriate, to the Officers and Staff of the Society
 in their dealings with corporate supporters 
v)	There should be clear accounting procedures, indicating the uses 
to which all corporate support has been directed. These should be reported to Council
 and noted in the Society's Annual Report. 
vi)	Corporate Patrons should be renamed corporate supporters across 
all areas of the Society's activities. 
vii)	Logos of all supporters should be used appropriately to indicate 
the specific areas in which their support had been received, as on expedition
 notepaper or conference brochures, but not on the Society's general
 headed notepaper or journals and series. 
viii)	Any Society displays should where possible indicate the 
specific purposes for which corporate supporters have provided funding
 or other assistance. 
ix)	Full acknowledgement of all financial support received should be 
clearly indicated in a form agreed between the supporters and the Society. 
x)	It will be important to explain these changes to all existing main 
Corporate Patrons in sympathetic fashion at the top level. 

  


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