ISC funding and finances
Core funding
The Council’s principal source of core income is dues from Members, supplemented by a grant from the Government of France, the ISC’s host country. Other major sources of income are grants from various organizations and foundations for specific projects or areas of activity.
Annual membership dues are paid in accordance with Statute 54: “Each Member of the Council shall pay annual dues on a scale determined by the General Assembly following the advice of the Governing Board.” The present scale of dues is based on the decision at the joint meeting of ISC’s predecessor organizations ICSU and the ISSC in 2017 to maintain the existing dues structures of ICSU and the ISSC, in parallel, until such time as a new, unified dues structure could be developed and adopted. A new dues structure, appropriate to the current global context, is under preparation.
The current dues scale for the period 2022–2024 (as approved by the General Assembly in 2021) can be downloaded here: Overview ISC membership dues 2022-2024.pdf.
External funding
Significant financial resources are raised in the form of grants from governments, external organizations and foundations for specific projects or areas of activity, including from:
- The US National Science Foundation, to support ISC work on sustainability from 2023–2028.
- The Frontiers Foundation, which funds the ISC to promote Global South participation in the Frontiers Planet Prize (2022–2025).
- The New Zealand Government, which has supported ISC work on freedom and responsibility in science since 2016..
- The United Nations Environment Programme, which funds the ISC’s contribution to a joint research effort on foresight in 2023–2024.
- The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), which supported the transdisciplinary work, notably the Transformations to Sustainability (T2S) and LIRA 2023 programmes from 2014 to 2022.
Furthermore, several governments, organizations and foundations contribute to the ISC’s activities either with in-kind contributions or with direct financial support to ISC members or partners, including:
- The Australian Government, to support the ISC regional presence in Asia and the Pacific from 2022 to 2027.
- The Colombian Academy of Sciences, to host the ISC regional presence in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, to support efforts to establish an academy of sciences in the Pacific Islands region.
- Co-sponsors of ISC Affiliated Bodies, which provide a range of services and resources to the bodies, in-kind and in cash.
Financial planning and oversight
The General Assembly approves a multiannual budget for the next planning period upon proposals received from the Governing Board. The Governing Board approves the annual budgets. After consideration by the Committee for Finance, Compliance and Risk and the Governing Board, the audited annual accounts are sent to all Members for approval and subsequently published in the annual report.
The ISC Foundation
The ISC has established a charitable foundation in the UK, called the International Science Council Foundation (UK). The objects of the charity are, for the public benefit, to advance such charitable purposes (under the law of England and Wales), and in particular to advance science, in particular by providing grant funding to, in particular but not exclusively, the International Science Council for research projects (with the useful results of such research being disseminated to the public).
Learn more about the ISC Foundation.
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