Guidelines for Funding Support

The Association of Environmental and Resource Economists is an international organization dedicated to the encouragement of exchange of ideas, research, and other professional activities relating to environmental and natural resource economics and management, including that of an interdisciplinary nature. For these purposes it issues publications, newsletters, organizes meetings and symposia to stimulate work in its area of interest, and promotes the education and professional activities of its members.

The Association is dedicated to freedom of discussion and research and undertakes to avoid partisan positions with respect to any individual, group, political philosophy, or research method. The Association accepts funding to support its activities including conferences, workshops, publications and other projects and activities.

The Association will not accept funding support that violates any of the principles listed above. Notably, the Association will not accept funding that would require the Association to promote the views of sponsors at public events, on its website or in its communications, etc. as a condition for funding.

Categories of Support

Unencumbered Support for the Association

The Association will accept unencumbered support from government, industry, non- governmental organizations, universities or other entities. Unencumbered support includes donations to the Association or any other funding support that does not have specific requirements for the use of the funds.

Institutional and University Memberships 

The Association receives funds from institutions (industry, government, non-governmental organizations, universities, or other entities) for institutional memberships and university memberships. These memberships provide specific benefits that are described by the Association (including listing in Association publications and web pages, etc.).

Funding Support for Conferences and Symposia

The Association will accept support for conferences or symposia providing that the support does not place any restrictions on the Association’s ability to promote free discussion of research ideas and results. AERE may accept funds for conferences that are restricted in some fashion (e.g., prohibitions on purchases of alcohol), though AERE representatives reserve the right to determine whether those restrictions are in conflict with its guidelines. The Association will acknowledge the support provided for conferences, workshops and other similar activities by identifying sponsors in conference program materials and at conference venues. The Association will not accept funding that limits the Association’s ability to provide open discourse. The Association Officers and Board of Directors and the Conference Organizing Committee will be responsible for the assessment of offers of funding support and their consistency with these guidelines.

Some examples of specific forms of conference funding are identified below:

  • The Association will accept funds for specific components of the conference – for example funding for refreshment breaks, luncheons, dinners, or other similar components of the conference. The institution providing such funding will be acknowledged in the program for the conference, verbally at the event, and with signs posted at the event.
  • The Association will accept sponsorship for travel support for specific groups or individuals including keynote speakers, attendees from developing countries, students, or other individuals that the Association and / or the conference organizers wish to invite. In all cases the decisions of whom to invite remain with the Association.
  • The Association will allow the development of tiered funding support for conferences where higher levels of funding support are acknowledged by including the sponsor in a higher tier (e.g., gold, silver, bronze tiers each tied to a minimum funding amount). The determination of the number of tiers and minimum funding for each tier will be the responsibility of the Conference Organizing Committee.
  • The Association will also offer entities such as book publishing companies the opportunity to provide a display of books and journals and similar products and services. The fee for such exhibits and displays will be determined by the Association for each conference.

Other Support for the Association

The Association will accept support for other activities, beyond conferences and symposia, as long as the funding does not violate any principles outlined above. The AERE Board reserves the right to determine whether any restrictions on support are in conflict with its guidelines.

The Association will be transparent in terms of funding it receives by providing information upon request regarding sources of funding for all activities. In addition, the Association will report on its website an annually updated list of all sources of funding including institutional and university memberships, and organizational financial supporters of AERE activities that donate more than $5,000.

As approved by the AERE Board of Directors on November 11, 2023.