About INASP
INASP's vision
INASP's mission
History
Organisational Structure and Governance
Funds
INASP's Vision
"Effective access to, use, validation and communication of information are key drivers of democracy, good governance and poverty reduction."
While INASP’s vision encompasses information of all kinds and from all sources, its work has focussed on research information. Research is critically dependent on and driven by the ability to create and disseminate research content. Researchers can only do this in a context which allows them to access, use, validate and communicate research information.
INASP's Mission
"Enable a sustainable network of stakeholders that owns and drives access, use, dissemination and communication of research information."
Collaborating with a wide network of partners in sister organisations, development agencies and publishers, INASP has implemented programmes in more than 40 countries world wide. These programmes are designed for stakeholders engaged in all stages of the research communication cycle, with activities targeted to the needs of researchers, editors, national publishers, and librarians as well as ICT professionals.
Key to the success of INASP’s activities has been that they are developed in close collaboration with stakeholders. This enables the organisation to adapt its activities to their needs within the significant changes in the research communication environment caused by the advent of new information and communication technologies.
History
INASP was established by the International Council for Science (ICSU) in 1992, as a direct response to a study on how to meet the information needs of scientists in the developing world. INASP operated within the legal entity of ICSU until 2003, and was formalised as an Interdisciplinary Body of ICSU in 2005. INASP has been a limited company in the United Kingdom since 2003 and was registered as a charity in 2004.
Under the auspices of Carol Priestley, who was director from 1992 to 2006, INASP grew from two to 15 staff. Having thus evolved from a very small organisation to a significant size, INASP has now undergone an extensive reorganisation process to put in place systems and structures which will enable the organisation to enter a new era of growth and success.
Organisational Structure and Governance
Key elements of the new organisational structure of INASP are:
- a strong Management Team equally representing programmes and general management
- a central administration as service provider for the programmes
- a clear distinction between planning and implementation of programme activities. The former responsibility resides with the Heads of Programmes, the latter with dedicated Programme Officers.
While the Management Team is responsible for strategy, objectives and budgets, the ultimate management responsibility resides with the Directorate, which reports to the Board of Trustees. The International Advisory Panel provides additional expertise to the Board of Trustees. Please see the Organiasational Structure Chart for more information.
Funds
INASP’s work is supported by financial resources provided by a wide range of partners. The organisation maintains a best practice of accountability and transparency with regular detailed reports to partners, stakeholders and authorities.