Transparency statement ARDD 2024
The 11th annual Aging Research and Drug Discovery Meeting is a non-profit conference.
The ARDD Meeting has grown a great deal in a relatively short time: from a small forum in 2014 to a separate and independent meeting with over 600 participants onsite and over 6000 watching online in 2023. From its start as a small forum during EMBO Conference, ARDD has expanded, including short talks of young scientists, industry panel discussions, workshops (NEW in 2021) and a student ambassadors program (NEW in 2021).
From 2014 till 2019 the ARDD Meeting was a part of bigger conferences (EMBO and Basel Life), in 2020 ARDD became an independent event. For most of its history, ARDD has been run on a shoestring with some support from our extensive close collaborators and KOLs in the field. From 2020 all the expenses, including travel and venue costs have to be covered by the ARDD organisers.
In the last few years, we received financial sponsorship to go alongside the in-kind support that we've had in previous years. That income is essential to our growth and is now helping us to secure the future of the ARDD Meeting.
In the spirit of transparency, we would like to explain how we are creating and funding a sustainable network, where that money is coming from, where it goes, and what we plan for the future. We want to make sure that everyone — whether speaker, volunteer, organiser, sponsor or event participant — has the opportunity to see how the ARDD is paid for and organised.
The ARDD Meeting has grown a great deal in a relatively short time: from a small forum in 2014 to a separate and independent meeting with over 600 participants onsite and over 6000 watching online in 2023. From its start as a small forum during EMBO Conference, ARDD has expanded, including short talks of young scientists, industry panel discussions, workshops (NEW in 2021) and a student ambassadors program (NEW in 2021).
From 2014 till 2019 the ARDD Meeting was a part of bigger conferences (EMBO and Basel Life), in 2020 ARDD became an independent event. For most of its history, ARDD has been run on a shoestring with some support from our extensive close collaborators and KOLs in the field. From 2020 all the expenses, including travel and venue costs have to be covered by the ARDD organisers.
In the last few years, we received financial sponsorship to go alongside the in-kind support that we've had in previous years. That income is essential to our growth and is now helping us to secure the future of the ARDD Meeting.
In the spirit of transparency, we would like to explain how we are creating and funding a sustainable network, where that money is coming from, where it goes, and what we plan for the future. We want to make sure that everyone — whether speaker, volunteer, organiser, sponsor or event participant — has the opportunity to see how the ARDD is paid for and organised.
Stewardship
The ARDD finances are currently generously managed by the University of Copenhagen.
| Funding Distribution Academic Speakers expenses We offer our speakers reasonable travel expenses and overnight accommodation during the annual event in Copenhagen. On-site The average cost for catering of just one on-site delegate is $300 for the duration of the conference (even with 200 on-site delegates it is $60K). Venue We are using the Grand Hall of the University of Copenhagen and the current A/V management quote is $20K. A substantial amount of money needs to be raised via sponsorship to make the conference accessible and affordable. |
Funding Sources
Corporate
sponsorship
sponsorship
This is at present the main source of finance for the ARDD. We will need to raise a substantial amount via sponsorship to make it accessible and all of us are chipping in.
Ticket sales
for the ARDD annual meeting
for the ARDD annual meeting
This will help to pay some of the costs of staging the event, but note that ticket sales do not cover all costs, even with capacity sales, as we think it's important to keep tickets affordable.
People
The team of the ARDD 2024 Meeting is working on a voluntary basis.
- Morten
Scheibye-Knudsenwith the ARDD team since 2016 - Daniela Janina
Bakulawith the ARDD team since 2019 - Alex
Zhavoronkovwith the ARDD team since 2014 - Evelyne Yehudit
Bischofwith the ARDD team since 2021 - Max
Unfriedwith the ARDD team since 2022 - Stephanie
Tsangwith the ARDD team since 2022
Like any such social enterprise, ARDD is always in a state of growth and always adapting to changing circumstances. The above statement is meant as a guidance for readers so that they understand our position, and it is current as of April 2021. We will do our best to keep it up to date as and when new developments occur. If you have a specific question about anything in the above, please do get in touch.
