Statement of IFORD’s Mission
1. Engagement. The International Forum of Research Donors (IFORD) seeks to engage, in an open and informal fashion, important funders of research for development. Membership is open to private and public sector funders by invitation.
2. Information Exchange. IFORD seeks to exchange information among members on issues of shared concern. These may include discussion of hot topics, “horizon issues,” informal debate on issues slated to be discussed more formally elsewhere, or facilitation of operational exchange, co-funding, or joint ventures.
3. Systematic Learning. In addition to informal exchange, IFORD also encourages systematic learning among its members. Topics identified as particularly important include: evaluating research-to-results (on policy and poverty outcomes); methods and methodologies (how to operationalize relevance, how to operationalize transdisciplinarity); communication (research to policy, actionable research, engaging users at the outset); and policy dialogue.
Toward that end, the host of each meeting will prepare a background paper that will describe and contrast various approaches. Southern colleagues may also be invited as part of our meetings to further enrich the debate.
4. Communication. IFORD is also committed to providing a collective mechanism to communicate with “clients” who may seek funding from member agencies.
5. Horizon-setting/strategy conceptualization. IFORD also serves as a venue for horizon-setting and strategy conceptualization on development research funding. Topics may focus on modalities of funding and on research themes.
6. Advocacy. IFORD also forms a community that may advocate, as the need arises, for the importance of funding research for development in other fora.
7. Standard setting/benchmarking on research for development practice. IFORD may also grow to provide standard-setting/benchmarking work for the worldwide community through our systematic learning. Options for developing that function may be pursued at a later date.
