IHDP-related research activities are funded by a large number of national, regional and international bodies around the world. IHDP's support structure carries out the essential networking and integrating activities and provides a base from which additional funding can be raised to carry out specific research activities.

Income

The total income of IHDP in 2006 was US$ 1,024,496.25; plus additional special contributions to the IHDW of US$ 109,000.00. In 2007 the overall income for the Secretariat increased slightly to US$ 1,133,762.50. The most important development in the Programme’s financing was a marked shift in and diversification of its donor base. The German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) remained the most important donor, but significantly cut its contribution in 2007. Therefore, its share in the overall budget fell from two-thirds during the initial years to about 50% in 2006 and less than 40% in 2007. The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) extended its role as second core partner. American scientists and well-known science centers always formed a central part of IHDP’s scientific community. In 2007, the NSF awarded IHDP a significant increase in funding; matching the strong interrelations with greater ownership. Due to this developments, the U.S. share in IHDP funding sharply rose from 14% in 2006 to 21.6% in 2007. IHDP fully acknowledges the internal policies and priorities of its core donors to leverage individual grants through parallel funding. In the last year, the Secretariat has been successful in broadening respectively internationalizing its donor base. Additional income included national contributions by several European countries, such as The Netherlands, Spain, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, and Finland, as well as contributions by China and multilateral donor agencies such as ISSC. Switzerland granted a specific fund for the first high profile Science Policy Dialogue Workshop 2006 in Berne. The IHDW in 2006 was supported by several multilateral donor agencies such as APN, IIAI, START and IFS.

Expenses

From the total expenditure in 2006 and 2007 (estimated US$ 2,16 million, including the IHDW 2006), about 21% were spent on contributions to core and joint projects, including expenses for the synthesis phase of IDGEC and the development phase of several new projects and initiatives. Travel and scientific meetings accounted for 13% of expenses, outreach and publications, including the new Strategic Plan, for roughly 9%. Nominally, only 1% of the overall budget was spent on Capacity Development activities; including the IHDW increases the share to 11% in 2006. Academic personnel engaged in the Programme’s core activities accounted for about 37%, operating cost and administration for roughly 18% of expenses.

Outlook

Over the next years, IHDP will seek to further broaden and internationalize its donor base; the goal of this strategy is to achieve full global ownership for the Programme. IHDP’s research already proved its high relevance for Asia, and several countries expressed strong interest in joining the ranks of our donors. Negotiations are well-advanced, so Asian contributions are expected to play a more prominent role in the future. In Europe, encouraging negotiations are 83 under way both with potential partners for new cooperation and with established partners for increased contributions in the light of IHDP’s successes and challenges. In contrast, some world regions do not yet provide substantial contributions to the IHDP network, notably Africa and Latin America. Both regions will be the focus of regional activi-ties over the next years; both to strengthen Global Change research capacities in these regions, and to increase Latin American and African ownership for the Programme.