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CHAIRMAN'S REPORT 2004
This year has been another significant one for the Neurological Foundation with the announcement of a further increase in the research budget to $1.25 million.
When I became a member of the Council in 1990 the allocation to research was $350,000. In the intervening years it has been increased by $50,000 to $100,000 each year until recently when the generous support of the community has enabled the Executive Committee to recommend increases of $250,000. The figure for this year – more than three times as much as when I joined the Council – is a milestone in the history of the Neurological Foundation.
The Foundation has now reached the stage when its contribution makes a significant impact in the research and clinical areas. Neurological Foundation trained doctors and scientists are now at the forefront of neurology and neuroscience in New Zealand. |
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Mr Greg Thompson (Deputy Chairman-NF National Council)
Mr Ian Robertson (Chairman-NF National Council) |
The Foundation’s founders and other Council members over the past 30 years or so can be rightly proud of the solid foundation they laid which has meant that this very considerable sum can be committed to neurological research and the training of doctors and scientists in neurology.
Various charitable trusts continue to support the Foundation and they make a significant contribution. The Lodge Ara Charitable Trust, the N. H. Taylor Trust and the J. A. Redwood Trust administered by Guardian Trust, the Levene Charitable Trust, the Thanksgiving Trust in Dunedin, the Dowdall Trust administered by the Public Trust and the H. B. Williams Turanga Trust have all made generous grants which have provided equipment, supported specific research projects or helped the Foundation with its running costs. We are most grateful for their support.
However, the major part of the $1.25 million which will fund research this year has come from donations and bequests from individual donors throughout New Zealand. The Neurological Foundation is a community organisation which does not receive government funding; that’s rare these days when many so-called charities are in fact agencies of, and funded by, the Government. The New Zealand Government has its own research body, the Health Research Council, which is an important funder of medical research. But it is required to conform to the policies of the government of the day, of course. A charity which does not receive Government funding but rather is entirely supported by the community can set its own policies. The Neurological Foundation evaluates research proposals made by New Zealand doctors and scientists and then approves those which it feels meet its criteria of excellence and relevance. Those are the only factors the Foundation takes into consideration. The result is that we have a body of neurological research underway which is up to international standards, covering a wide range of topics. Perhaps even more important, we have a group of young doctors and scientists with skills in the neurological area who are poised to make a major impact. With up to six or seven PhD candidates under training at any one time plus four or five post-doctoral fellows and mid-career neurologists, the Neurological Foundation’s professional education programme is New Zealand’s main source of neurological researchers and clinicians. This investment in people has the potential to pay an enormous dividend to New Zealand both in knowledge and in clinical care.
These young people are able to continue their work – studies and research – because of the support of the community channelled through the Neurological Foundation. We, the Foundation and the researchers, owe all of our supporters a special thank you. Without your help none of this would be possible.
We also are indebted to our Appeal sponsor, Mitre 10, and to their advertising agency, FCB; their help with our Householder Appeal makes a huge difference. Fundraising is an expensive activity but, along with the rest of a charity’s running costs, not the reason that donors give us their support. They want their money to go towards neurological research and rightly so. Anything that can be done to reduce the Foundation’s costs is greatly appreciated and Mitre 10 and FCB make a significant contribution in this regard.
I would also like to add a message to the volunteers who work both in the Divisions throughout New Zealand, on the Council and the Scientific Advisory Committee and at the National Office, to the staff of the National Office and to our Community Liaison Officers: thank you for all of your efforts. You are vital components in this endeavour to search for the causes of neurological disorders and look for ways to alleviate the suffering that results from them.
Ian Robertson
Chairman
National Council
Click here to view the Chairman's Report 2008
Click here to view the Chairman's Report 2007
Click here to view the Chairman's Report 2006
Click here to view the Chairman's Report 2005
Click here to view the Chairman's Report 2003
Click here to view the Chairman's Report 2002
Click here to view the Chairman's Report 2001
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