ECOLOGIA Newsletter Jul/Aug 1994 Issue #29

ECOLOGIA's Policy For Cooperation With Consultants and Profit-Making Corporations

ECOLOGIA's Board of Directors has established a policy for cooperation with consulting companies or other for-profit businesses. This policy requires that Non Governmental Organizations - organizations of citizens with a base in the area - are actively involved in every step of cooperative projects. ECOLOGIA hopes that these criteria will serve as a starting point, and a model for similar organizations.

  1. The project must have participation by NGOs from the beginning - when the project is first set up. This participation includes discussion of the project's goals, plans for sharing monitoring data and other technical information, opportunities for questions from the affected public, and formal mechanisms for incorporating advice and recommendations provided by local NGOs.

  2. The project must have a specific outcome benefiting the environment: for example, to determine the best site for a sewage treatment plant for a particular city. Long term academic research projects without a practical application are not considered appropriate partnership activities.

  3. The project must have open sharing of information at every step. The issue of proprietary information must not be used as an excuse for withholding information from NGO members.

  4. Agreements about the partnership must be put into writing, with copies signed and kept by both parties.

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