Development Initiatives

DI was established by Judith Randel and Tony German in 1993 as a consultancy specialising on aid and poverty, with a special focus on statistics and communication for development.

In September 2007 DI established DI Poverty Research as a not for profit organisation. DI’s Global Humanitarian Assistance programme was transferred from the consultancy to DIPR, alongside the DIPR’s new aidinfo programme.

DI continues to undertake consultancy work on aid, poverty and development – and undertakes a limited range of poverty related initiatives on a pro bono basis. DI provides services to DIPR (accommodation, finance, admin and HR etc) on an independently verified ‘at cost’ basis.

Like most large charities, DIPR is a ‘not for profit’ company limited by guarantee. But DIPR is not a registered charity and therefore does not have Trustees. Instead it has two Non Executive Directors whose role is to advise, ask questions about the finance and governance of the organisation - and make sure that DIPR resources are used as effectively as possible to promote poverty elimination.

DIPR’s Company Objects (what it exists to do) are spelled out in its Memorandum & Articles of Association

To undertake research, education, advisory and operational activities designed to:

• Increase access to and understanding of statistical and other information relating to poverty, development cooperation, human rights, humanitarian and development assistance; and
• increase awareness of the factors which cause and perpetuate poverty.

All of the money DIPR receives has to be spent on programmes designed to contribute to these objectives. DIPR’s most recent accounts are for the year ending 31 December 2009 will be available shortly. Accounts for the year ending December 2008 are available to download here. These accounts are produced in line with Companies House reporting guidelines. If you look at these accounts you will see it talks about ‘profit’, which may seem odd in a ‘not for profit’ organisation. The explanation is that technically, a company limited by guarantee does make a surplus or profit – but 100% of these profits must be allocated to achieving the poverty objectives in the Objects (shown above).

Because key concerns of DIPR are access to financial information, transparency and accountability, DIPR will publish financial information in accordance with SORP Guidelines as soon as possible. In the meantime, the brief narrative below aims to fill out the basic financial information provided in the accounts, with explanations on how we are spending money and what we are aiming to achieve. If you can’t find answers to any questions you might have here, please email or phone and we will try to provide you with information you require.

DIPR currently has two major grant funded programmes Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) and aidinfo .

The GHA programme is funded by a consortium of donor countries: Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden and UK. DI provides regular reports on progress. You can see all the things the programme is doing on the GHA website. If you are interested in seeing how the programme is progressing compared to original plans you can see the latest overall progress report which we submitted to our funders and you can also look at the latest financial report for the programme.

The aidinfo programme has been principally funded by major grants from the Hewlett and Gates Foundations. Again you can see what the programme is currently doing by checking out the aidinfo website. And you can see how the programme is shaping up in relation to original objectives and spending plans by looking at our progress reports to our funders and the financial reports we have submitted. Please note that as our funders may be supporting different parts of programmes, you may need to look at all the information to get a complete picture. And if you want more information on progress of financing you are welcome to email or phone us on + 44 1749 671343.