Principles for Independent Research and Convening

Diversity of funding

The institute benefits from a wide range of funding sources, including membership subscriptions, conference delegation fees, philanthropic donations, publication income, and grants towards research activities.

Chatham House aims to secure funds from multiple sources or to apply some of its own discretionary resources in the case where the project or research leads to a report containing policy recommendations.

Chatham House pays significant attention to sustaining a balanced approach to political or government funding.

Conflicts of interest

Chatham House will not accept any donation which would or might impose a constraint on its intellectual independence or limit its ability to pursue its mission in any way. Chatham House retains full editorial control of all of its outputs.

Ethical and political considerations

Chatham House recognises that the acceptance of certain types of contributions, or contributions from certain sources, could negatively affect the institute’s reputation and / or run counter to the principles of cooperative international relations and accountable governance which animate its research.

Chatham House will not accept funding if such action could:

• damage Chatham House’s reputation;
• harm the institute’s ability to fundraise or work on collaboration with other stakeholders.

The institute will also not accept funding if the donor is under indictment for activity judged to be illegal by an international court or if receipt of the donation were to contravene any applicable law or regulation.

Reflecting the United Nations (WHO) Compact on Tobacco, Chatham House does not accept funding from the tobacco industry.

Anonymity and transparency

Unless there is a valid request for anonymity, Chatham House will always acknowledge publicly the source(s) of funding for its research and other sponsored activities.

In exceptional circumstances, other donors can request anonymity if they are concerned about their privacy or have some sort of organizational requirement for privacy, providing that the identity of the source is known to the institute’s Director and Council.

Chatham House does not accept funding if the donation is made through an intermediary who is not prepared to identify the donor to the institute.

Chatham House will not accept an anonymous gift from any governmental or political source.

Private work

Commissioned work intended for private circulation will be accepted only through mutual agreement of a contract, on the basis that:

1. The work supports the pursuit of the institute’s mission;
2. Wherever possible, Chatham House retains the rights to use the intellectual property developed through such work as it wishes in the future, under its own name;
3. Private work will account for no more than a maximum of 5% of the institute’s budgeted income within a given financial year.

Structure and process

Through its role as the overriding governance body of the institute, Council reviews these principles and the methods of implementation on an annual basis. It is also kept informed by senior management of any cases that fall within the categories described above. Formal processes are in place to ensure that these principles are upheld by all staff in their day-to-day work.

• The principles and implementation standards outlined in this document, alongside the institute’s Research Code of Practice, are provided to Chatham House’s staff and associates,whether full-time or working on fixed-term contracts, during their induction briefings. They are also discussed and reviewed at least once a year in the staff Forward Planning Meeting.
• The institute has a Research Director for Risk, Ethics and Resilience, who reviews in the first instance potential external conflicts of interest or risks to the institute’s reputation, in consultation with the Director. The Research Director can also be consulted privately by staff in the event of a conflict of interest and can report directly to the Council member chairing the Council’s Research Committee.
• The Director informs Council of contributions to the institute from individuals of over £50,000, and any donors contributing £200,000 and above in a given financial year. The Director also provides an annual report to Council on the implementation of the standards in the previous year.
• A ‘Conflicts of Interest’ form is completed annually by all members of Council and by senior staff, to ensure full transparency of any outside relationships that might have a bearing on their formal involvement with, or work for, Chatham House.

• Chatham House operates the Charity Commission’s ‘Know your Donor’ principle. It also conducts due diligence reviews of donors internally, whenever necessary, to ensure that their support does not raise ethical considerations or conflicts of interest that might have a negative effect on the institute.
• The institute carries out a due diligence process via a third party for any potential major capital or endowment gifts, which is reviewed internally among senior management and relevant research experts. The conclusions of the third party provider, senior management and relevant experts are then shared with Council, which authorises whether or not to move forward with the request.
• Cases which raise questions about ethics, conflicts of interest, anonymity and requests for private work are reported to the Research Committee and or the Executive Committee of Council for initial review. If Council members deem necessary, such cases and the necessary response are discussed with senior management in the full Council.
• The Chatham House Foundation operates its own Conflicts of Interest policy, per the requirements of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.