Since 2010, REFEDS has operated with an informal sponsorship process as set out in the REFEDS participant agreement. Whilst this has enabled REFEDS to have an active workplan on an annual basis, the informal nature makes it complex for organisations to agree funding for REFEDS. The REFEDS Coordinators have proposed the following updated model for sponsorship. The aim is achieve consistency and fairness amongst sponsors and provide a more stable funding mechanism for REFEDS. In the longer term, the hope would be to encourage more organisations to contribute sponsorship.
The new sponsorship model, which will be used as Jan 2015, would have a tiered approach as indicated below:
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To streamline the process a light weighted funding agreement with each sponsoring organisation will be implemented. The agreement would indicate:
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