SENSE ABOUT SCIENCE F INANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 5 APRIL 2005

Transcription

1 Reg i stered Char i ty SENSE ABOUT SCIENCE F INANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 5 APRIL %o i ~~ ~ aego~f ED $t~ ~ COA11Pt, l AN~. SPILKIN KNIGHT ACCOUNTANTS AND REGISTERED AUDITORS FARRIERS THE STREET ALBURY GUILDFORD SURREY GU5 9AE ^

2 TRUSTEES' REPORT OBJECTIVES OF THE CHARITY The Trust i s a reg i stered Char i ty estab l i shed under Trust Deed da ted 6 August The ob j ec t i ves are :.. 1. To advance the educa t i on of the pub l i c i n any branch of sc i ent i f i c research ( i nc l ud i ng soc i a l sc i ence) and i n par t i cu l ar by the d i ssemi na t i on of such research and use fu l i nforma t i on about such research. 2. To promote ( for the bene f i t of the commun i ty) the know l edge and understand i ng of the pub l i c of, and to st i mu l a te i nterest of the pub l i c i n, the crea t i on, presentat i on and use of sc i ent i f i c research. Sense About Sc i ence se ts out to ach i eve i ts ob j ec t i ves i n two ways : by work i ng w i th sc i ent i sts to respond to the mi srepresentat i on of sc i ence and sc i ent i f i c ev i dence on i ssues tha t ma t ter to soc i e ty, par t i cu l ar l y when they are cont rovers i a l ; and by under tak i ng l onger - term ac t i v i t i es tha t he l p the pub l i c to understand the na ture of sc i ence and ev i dence. POLICIES AND STRUCTURE OF THE CHARITY The Trust spec i f i es tha t a cha i rman shou l d be e l ec ted annua l l y and the Deed g i ves the power to e l ec t or co-opt i nd i v i dua l s to the Trust. Organ i sa t i ona l St ruc ture Sense About Sc i ence i s an i ndependent char i tab l e t rust funded by dona t i ons f rom founda t i ons, sc i ence bod i es, i ndust ry and i nd i v i dua l s. Fund i ng does not ent i t l e any organ i sa t i on to dec i s i on-mak i ng author i ty. Our ac t i v i t i es are coord i na ted by a. sma l l of f i ce team and suppor ted by a w i de ne twork of organ i za t i ons and vo l unteers f rom a l l areas of sc i ence. The Board of Trustees i s the dec i s i on mak i ng body. Sense About Sc i ence i s suppor ted by an Adv i sory Counc i l, wh i ch i s a vo l untary ne twork prov i d i ng t i me and adv i ce. The i =e are 14 t rustees and there were no changes i n the year to 5 Apr i l The Adv i sory Counc i l was i ncreased by four members and rema i ns open to nomi na t i ons. We were very sad to l earn of the dea th of Professor Pe ter Campbe l l, a va l ued and ac t i ve member of our Adv i sory Counc i l, i n February In 2005, there are p l ans to i ncrease the number of staf f to ensure the smooth hand l i ng of a grow i ng vo l ume of work. An i nternsh i p programme i s a l so p l anned. Page 1

3 TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED), STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES In conformi ty w i th cur rent prac t i ce the Trustees are requ i red to prepare f i nanc i a l statements for each f i nanc i a l year 'wh i ch g i ve a t rue and fa i r v i ew of the state of a f fa i rs of the Trust and of the i ncome and expend i ture of the Trust for tha t per i od. In prepar i ng those f i nanc i a l statements the Trustees are requ i red to se l ec t su i tab l e account i ng po l i c i es and then app l y them cons i stent l y ; make j udgements and est i ma tes tha t are reasonab l e and prudent ; state whe ther app l i cab l e account i ng standards have been fo l l owed, sub i ec t to any ma ter i a l depar tures d i sc l osed and exp l a i ned i n the f i nanc i a l statements ; prepare the f i nanc i a l statements on the go i ng concern bas i s un l ess i t i s i nappropr i a te to presume the Char i ty w i l l cont i nue for the foreseeab l e future. The Trustees are respons i b l e for keep i ng proper account i ng records wh i ch d i sc l ose w i th reasonab l e accuracy a t any t i me the f i nanc i a l pos i t i on,of the Trust and to enab l e them to ensure tha t the f i nanc i a l statements comp l y w i th the Trust Deed. They are a l so respons i b l e for sa feguard i ng the asse ts of the Trust and hence for tak i ng reasonab l e steps for the prevent i on and ' de tec t i on of f raud and other i r regu l ar i t i es. F INANCIAL POSITION The pr i nc i pa l i ncome of the Trust i s der i ved f rom Grants and Dona t i ons. There was a ne t de f i c i t for the year f rom unrest r i c ted funds of 8,597 ( de f i c i t 17,462). Rest r i c ted funds unspent amounted to 26,810. REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS Respons i ve Work In the past year, the Trust ' s staf f and vo l unteers have responded to an i ncreas i ng range of i nqu i r i es and concerns about sc i ent i f i c ma t ters under pub l i c d i scuss i on. These covered areas as d i verse as nuc l ear phys i cs, gene t i cs, p l ast i cs, vacc i nes, nut r i t i on, pub l i c op i n i on about sc i ence, sc i ent i f i c research f raud, d i agnost i cs, hormones, p l ant breed i ng and nanotechno l og i es. The range of organ i za t i ons and sec tors seek i ng ass i stance has a l so expanded, i nc l ud i ng med i ca l char i t i es, l oca l government, par l i amentar i ans, j ourna l i sts, hea l th profess i ona l s and parent groups as we l l as sc i ent i f i c bod i es. Over 2005, Sense About Sc i ence i ntends to i nvest i ga te the requ i rements and concerns of d i f ferent groups and put i n p l ace appropr i a te fund i ng, contac t po i nts and st ruc tures to respond e f fec t i ve l y and systema t i ca l l y across a broader range of i ssues. Mee t i ng the needs of susta i ned pub l i c d i scuss i on There. are some sub j ec t areas where there i s an ongo i ng oppor tun i ty to i mprove s c I ent l i c i nput i nto pub l i c d i scuss i on, for examp l e concern ' i n g vacc i1 nes, che i ca l s, nuc l ear power and p l ant research. Poss i b l e ac t i v i t i es are i dent i f i ed by staf f adv i sers and Page 2

4 TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) vo l unteers, and agreed a t the quar ter l y mee t i ngs of the t rustees. Our pr i or i t i es are those areas where there i s a c l ear gap and an oppor tun i ty to bu i l d ongo i ng re l a t i onsh i ps be tween sc i ent i sts and c i v i c groups or to crea te resources such as br i e f i ngs, exper t pane l s and i nforma t i on ne tworks tha t have an ongo i ng ro l e. We ar ranged a ser i es of v i s i ts and mee t i ngs be tween c i v i c groups and sc i ent i f i c research i nst i tut i ons. Bu i l d i ng on a formu l a of shor t, cha l l eng i ng br i e f i ngs on sc i ent i f i c work to i nterested par t i es, over 2004 we a l so he l d mee t i ngs on advances i n rad i o l ogy and the demand for d i agnost i c screen i ng, the use of an i ma l s i n sc i ent i f i c research and the use of pub l i c op i n i on surveys on sc i ent i f i c i ssues. In Oc tober 2004, a rev i ew mee t i ng was he l d on Government ' s use of soc i a l research and op i n i on po l l s i n the area of sc i ence, r i sk and techno l og i ca l i nnova t i on : Towards the end of the year, p l ans were deve l oped for work i ng pane l s on nuc l ear energy, and on percept i ons about chemi ca l s i n the l i festy l e sec tor, wh i ch w i l l respond predomi nant l y to med i a- l ed d i scuss i ons. An ear l i er pane l on endocr i ne d i srupt i on cont i nued to work as an e f fec t i ve response group. Equ i pp i ng the pub l i c w i th an understand i ng of sc i ence In June 2004, Sense About Sc i ence pub l i shed a 50-page repor t on the f i nd i ngs of i ts work i ng par ty on equ i pp i ng the pub l i c w i th an understand i ng of peer rev i ew. The repor t, ent i t l ed `Peer Rev i ew and the Acceptance of New Sc i ent i f i c Ideas ' ( ISBN X), exp l a i ns why the pub l i c shou l d be i nterested i n the peer rev i ew of sc i ent i f i c research f i nd i ngs and how the peer rev i ew process works. I t se ts out cha l l enges for the sc i ent i f i c commun i ty and others i nvo l ved i n sc i ence commun i ca t i on. The repor t was d i scussed i n the popu l ar and sc i ent i f i c med i a, l ead i ng to over 10,000 cop i es be i ng requested or down l oaded f rom the Sense About Sc i ence webs i te. D i scuss i on of the repor t prompted requests f rom educa tors, po l i cy-makers, hea l th char i t i es and pub l i c i nforma t i on prov i ders for a shor t summary of the peer rev i ew process for w i der pub l i c c i rcu l a t i on. In March 2005, Sense About Sc i ence estab l i shed a programme of workshops to deve l op the content and l anguage for th i s, w i th ass i stance and fund i ng f rom sc i ent i f i c pub l i shers, soc i e t i es and med i ca l char i t i es. Th i s shor t gu i de w i l l be ava i l ab l e f rom the end of Promot i ng a ne twork of sc i ent i sts Sense About Sc i ence encourages sc i ent i sts to p l ay a ro l e i n pub l i c deba te. Awareness of our ac t i v i t i es and ne twork has i ncreased drama t i ca l l y th i s year, par t i cu l ar l y through the pub l i ca t i on of ar t i c l es by staf f, adv i sers and vo l unteers, and through ' a programme of speak i ng engagements. Th i s has produced a rap i d expans i on i n our " contac t da tabase. We have responded w i th p l ans for a membersh i p scheme and a fac i l i ty. for every k i nd of organ i sa t i on to contac t sc i ent i sts about cont rovers i a l or wor ry i ng i ssues. A grant f rom the Esmee Fa i rba i rn Founda t i on w i l l enab l e us to recru i t a Coord i na tor for th i s work i n Page 3

5 ' SENSE ABOUT SCIENCE TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) Vo i ce of Young Sc i ence ' Invo l v i ng young sc i ent i sts i s a pr i or i ty of Sense About Sc i ence. In September 2004, we ran an an i ma ted and successfu l p i l ot event, br i ng i ng toge ther 35 mot i va ted young sc i ent i sts w i th j ourna l i sts. The a i m of the event, sponsored by sc i ent i f i c soc i e t i es and ass i sted by the Sc i ence Med i a Cent re, was to i ncrease the number of younger sc i ent i sts w i l l i ng to cont r i bute to pub l i c deba tes about sc i ent i f i c research. The day he l ped to I 'denf 1, i f y bar r i ers to th i s. Almost ha l f of the a t tendees have s i i nce ;wr i t ten about the conc l us i ons and i nvo l ved themse l ves i n re l a ted ac t i v i t i es and med i a d i scuss i ons. The event w i l l be repea ted over 2005, i nc l ud i ng a shor tened vers i on p l anned w i th NESTA' s Cruc i b l e programme. Young sc i ent i sts l ack conf i dence about cont r i but i ng to pub l i c deba tes and many have contac ted Sense About Sc i ence about se t t i ng up a suppor t ne twork. Th i s w i l l be deve l oped i n the comi ng year. R i sk Management The Trustees ac t i ve l y rev i ew the ma j or st ra teg i c, bus i ness ar i d opera t i ona l r i sks to wh i ch Sense About Sc i ence i s exposed. At the i r mee t i ng of 23 February 2005 the Trustees reso l ved to i mp l ement a reserves po l i cy, e f fec t i ve f rom 6 Apr i l 2005, whereby a mi n i mum of 5,000 per quar ter shou l d be se t as i de, and he l d i n a su i tab l e i nterest -bear i ng bank account, toward estab l i sh i ng a reserve equ i va l ernt to s i x months opera t i ng costs. Progress w i l l be rev i ewed a t quar ter l y. Trustees ' mee t i ngs and the amount se t as i de w i l l be rev i sed i n accordance w i th pro j ec ted i ncome and expend i ture. On beha l f of the Trustees... ~.. a Cha i rman Da te : ~),, -, ) -, C _-, 4 Page 4

6 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER 'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF SENSE ABOUT SCIENCE i E REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER We repor t on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 5 Apr i l 2005, wh i ch are se t out on pages 6 to 10. Respec t i ve respons i b i l i t i es of the t rustees and exami ner As the Char i ty ' s t rustees you are respons i b l e for the prepara t i on of the accounts ; you cons i der tha t the aud i t requ i rement of sec t i on 43(2) of the Char i t i es Ac t 1993 ( the Ac t ) does not app l y. I t i s our respons i b i l i ty to state, on the bas i s of the procedures s pec i ' f ' i ed I i n the Genera l D i I rec t i ons g i ven by the Char i ty Commi ss I i oners under sec t i on 43(7) (b) of the Ac t whe ther par t i cu l ar ma t ters have come to our a t tent i on., Bas i s of i ndependent exami ner ' s repor t Our exami na t i on was car r i ed out i n accordance w i th the Genera l D i rec t i ons g i ven by the Char i ty Commi ss i oners. An exami na t i on i nc l udes a rev i ew of the account i ng records kept by the Char i ty and a compar i son of the accounts presented w i th those records. I t a l so i nc l udes cons i dera t i on of any unusua l i tems or d i sc l osures i n the accounts, and seek i ng exp l ana t i ons f rom you as t rustees concern i ng any such ma t ters. The procedures under taken do not prov i de a l l the ev i dence tha t wou l d be requ i red i n an aud i t, and consequent l y we do not express an aud i t opt i on on the v i ew g i ven by the accounts.! I ` Independent exami ner ' s statement In connec t i on w i th our exami na t i on, no ma t ter has come to our a t tent i on : 1. wh i ch g i ves us reasonab l e cause to be l i eve tha t i n any ma ter i a l respec t the requ i rements " to keep account i ng records i n accordance w i th sec t i on 41 of the Ac t : and " to prepare accounts wh i ch. accord w i th the account i ng records and to comp l y w i th the account i ng requ i rements of the Ac t have not been me t ; or 2. to wh i ch, i n our op i n i on, a t tent i on shou l d be drawn i n order to enab l e a proper understand i ng of the accounts to be reached. Sp i l k i n Kn i ght Far r i ers The St ree t Alburv Gu i l dford Sur rey GU5 9AE Page 5

7 ' SENSE ABOUT SCIENCE STATEMENT OF F INANCIAL ACTIVITIES YEAR ENDED 5 APRIL 2005 INCOMING RESOURCES Notes Unrest r i c ted Rest r i c ted Tota l Tota l Funds Funds Funds Funds ' Grants Amberstone Trust 25,000 25,000 - Esmee Fa i rba i rn Founda t i on 31,085 31,085 -, Income f rom dona t i ons 2 38,940 38,940 57,141 Sponsorsh i p 5,370 5,370 2,243 Other i ncomi ng resources Tax Reba te ~! Tota l i ncomi ng resources 70,093 31, ,178 ~ RESOURCES EXPENDED Costs of genera t i ng funds,, Fundra i s i ng and pub l i c i ty Char i tab l e expend i ture Costs of ac t i v i t i es i n fur therance of ' The char i ty ' s ob j ec ts: - Staf f costs 70,430 3,800 74,230 70,451 - Dona t i ons Runn i ng costs 3 4, ,174 3,697 Management & admi n i st ra t i on Costs 4 3,481-3, Tota l resources expended ,965 76:846 Ne t i ncomi ng/ (outgo i ng) resources - Ne t movement i n funds (8,597) 26,810 18,213 ( 17,462 ) Tota l funds a t 6 Apr i l 2004 ( 8,510 - (8,510 ) 8,952 Tota l funds a t 5 Apr i l ,810 9,703 (8,510 ) The notes on pages 8 to 10 form par t of these accounts. Page 6

8 BALANCE SHEET AS AT 5 APRIL 2005 Notes F IXED ASSETS Tang i b l e asse ts 1,5 574 CURRENT ASSETS Cash a t bank 13,102 6,670 CREDITORS : amounts fa l l i ng due w i th i n one year 6 3, NET CURRENT ASSETS/ (LIABILITIES) (8, 510 ) TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES ( 8, 510 ) FUNDS Rest r i c ted funds Unrest r i c ted funds : Genera l funds (8,510 ) ACCUMULATED FUNDS (8,510 ) The f i nanc i a l statements on pages 6 to 10 were approved by the Trustees on and s i gned on the i r beha l f by :. The notes on pages 8 to 10 form par t of these f i nanc i a l statements. Page 7

9 YEAR ENDED 5 APRIL 2005 NOTES TO THE F INANCIAL STATEMENTS 1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (a) (b) (c) Account i ng convent i on The f i nanc i a l statements have been prepared under the h i stor i ca l cost convent i on and i n accordance w i th app l i cab l e account i ng standards. They a l so comp l y w i th the Trust Deed and the Char i t i es Ac t In prepar i ng the " f i nanc i a l statements the char i ty has fo l l owed best prac t i ce as l a i d down i n the Statement of Recommended Prac t i ce "Account i ng and Repor t i ng by Char i t i es" (SORP 2000) i ssued i n Oc tober Incomi ng resources Grants and Dona t i ons are i nc l uded i n the per i od to wh i ch they re l a te. Resources expended Resources expended are charged to the Statement of F i nanc i a l Ac t i v i t i es on an accrua l s bas i s, i nc l us i ve of any VAT wh i ch cannot be recovered. The costs assoc i a ted w i th genera t i ng funds are i nc l uded as i ncur red. Management and admi n i st ra t i on costs are those assoc i a ted w i th the genera l, runn i ng of the char i ty. Char i tab l e expend i ture Th i s i nc l udes a l l the costs assoc i a ted w i th ac t i v i t i es and sundry expend i ture assoc i a ted w i th the premi ses, i n add i t i on to the costs i ncur red i n staf f i ng. (d) (e) Fund account i ng Funds are he l d by the char i ty as unrest r i c ted and rest r i c ted funds. Unrest r i c ted funds can be used, a t the d i scre t i on of the t rustees, for any purpose w i th i n the ob j ec ts of the char i ty., Funds he l d as rest r i c ted funds are i ncome funds expendab l e by the t rustees i n fur therance of some par t i cu l ar aspec t of the char i ty dec l ared by the donors. F i xed asse ts Tang i b l e f i xed asse ts are stated a t cost or va l ua t i on i nc l ud i ng any i nc i denta l expenses of acqu i s i t i on. Deprec i a t i on i s prov i ded a t 25% of cost. ( f ) Taxa t i on The Trust i s a reg i stered char i ty and i s not l i ab l e to taxa t i on. Page 8

10 YEAR ENDED 5 APRIL 2005 NOTES TO THE F INANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) ACCOUNTING, POLICIES (CONTINUED) 2 INCOMING RESOURCES Unrest r i c ted Funds Income f rom Dona t i ons Amersham - 10,000 ABPI Ast ra Zeneca BP 15,000 ` 15,000 GSK ~ - Pf i zer 10,000 ; 10,000 E l i Li l l y 2,000 - SGM Soc i e ty for Endocr i no l ogy Ind i v i dua l , Runn i ng costs Unrest r i c ted Rest r i c ted 2004 Pro j ec t Peer Rev i ew Conferences and Events Young Sc i ent i st Pack Interne t and Web Recru i tment Trave l Deprec i a t i on - owned asse ts 1,795 1, ' , `83-1,666 :,52 1, ,697 Management and admi n i st ra t i on Unrest r i c ted Rest r i c ted 2004 of the char i ty ' Te l ephone Postage and Stat i onery Sof tware Accountancy Fees Sundr i es 1, ,664-2, N~ , Page 9

11 YEAR ENDED 5 APRIL 2005 NOTES TO THE F INANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) ' 5 TANGIBLE F IXED ASSETS Tota l COST OR VALUATION, As a t 6 Apr i l Add i t i ons 765 As a t 5 Apr i l 2005 ' 765 D i rec t char i tab l e purposes : DEPRECIATION At 6 Apr i l 2004 Prov i s i on for year 191 As a t 5 Apr i l ~ 191 NET BOOK VALUE At 5 Apr i l At 5 Apr i l CREDITORS Other cred i tors ' 3 ;973 15t180 7 TRUSTEES REMUNERATION AND REIMBURSED EXPENDITURE The Trustees rece i ved no remunera t i on and no re i mbursement expenses f rom the char i ty dur i ng the cur rent year or prev i ous year. FUNDS Asse ts as shown on the Ba l ance Shee t compr i se unrest r i c ted funds of de f i c i t 17,107 for the pr i nc i pa l ac t i v i ty of the Trust and rest r i c ted funds of 25,810. Rest r i c ted funds ar i se f rom a Grant f rom the Esmee Fa i rba i rn Founda t i on to pay for the sa l ary of a Membersh i p Coord i na tor and costs assoc i a ted w i th se t t i ng up a membersh i p scheme. - Page 10