Funding the IAU IYA 2009 Secretariat

1. Funding the IAU IYA 2009 Secretariat I F Corbett IAU Assistant General Secretary

2. The IAU IYA Secretariat is an important resource for all IYA activities • It is a key element in the success of IYA at the GLOBAL level • Tasks are as set out by Lars in his presentation. • Needs 1 FTE in 2007, 2 FTE in 2008, 2009 and into 2010 • The people must be professional and experienced – the Secretariat must get up and running very quickly – there is little time for a learning curve. • Such people do not exist within the IAU office and IAU cannot afford the required budget without cutting key activities such as symposium support. • ESO will host on behalf of IAU, and provide essential but basic infrastructure, but cannot pay either. • So IAU will need to find extra money.

3. minimum budget has been estimated as: • 2007/8 80k EUR • 2008/9 120k EUR • 2009/10 120k EUR • 60k EUR • A detailed business plan is now being prepared • It is truly URGENT to start the work of the Secretariat – Lars has been doing a great job but cannot continue indefinitely! • IAU Executive Committee has agreed to underwrite by about 30 k EUR per year – this is about the level of support for a Regional Meeting. • For 2007/8 IAU has asked agencies and organisations for contributions at the level of 5,000 – 10,000 EUR. This is “seed” money. So far some countries have offered to help, but overall response has been rather disappointing. • For 2008 onwards IAU needs major sponsorship from one or more global scale companies

4. Why should IYA attract a global sponsor or sponsors? • This will be a global website – we expect 100’s of millions of hits • Major media and public resource – efficient way of communicating a “corporate message” to a vast number of people • A “feel good” factor - Astronomy is attractive and interesting to people world-wide – association with something with very wide public recognition and linked to education, youth, culture, etc gives a very positive image of sponsor. • Perfect for enhanced worldwide brand recognition in a wholly positive way. • A small number of sponsors means we can tailor their exposure precisely to meet their goals. • The amount requested – at least 250 – 300k EUR – is small compared to even one advertising campaign. • If we get more than the basic requirements the IAU can (a) expand the Secretariat activities, and (b) expand normal IAU activities (e.g. Regional Meetings) with focus on IYA 2009

5. Problems and Issues • We need a very clear and concise action/strategic plan for the Secretariat and how it ties in with national activities. • We need a real “business plan” for the Secretariat to back up our ‘marketing’. • We need a short ‘glossy’ to set out our aims, objectives, what we can do, and what we offer. • The hard part is getting access to people in potential sponsors who can make decisions – we need contacts – and the issue is urgent. • We need to think more broadly than just “Google” – even if Google is a perfectly valid potential sponsor. • IN CONCLUSION, WE MUST • GET OUR ACT TOGETHER VERY QUICKLY • GET ACCESS TO POTENTIAL SPONSORS • CLOSE A DEAL BEFORE END OF JULY 2007