Governance and Organisation

The governance structure of TNI is set up as follows:

• The Supervisory Board, which is responsible for supervising the management of the Foundation and the general course of affairs, and to provide the Management Board with advice.
• The Management Board (Executive Director), which is responsible for the realisation of the objects of the Foundation, the strategy, the policy and the results thereof.
• The Fellowship consisting of recognised international experts in the substantive areas that are relevant for the work of TNI, which also advises the Supervisory and the Management Board on issues of substance.
• The Board of Advisors, composed of eminent international experts, which renders assistance to the organisation in more general terms.

The structure is set out below:

The composition of each of these organs is based on a careful balance to ensure participation of the various stakeholders relevant for TNI and to reflect its international composition and orientation as well as its ambitions. This includes considerations of gender, continental representation, scholarly capacity, engagement with social movements TNI seeks to serve, as well as the relevant disciplines and skills required by TNI.

Composition of the Supervisory Board in 2022

The Supervisory Board is selected on the basis of the criteria laid down in the by-laws, and profiles which are regularly reviewed and revised. A committee – comprised of one Supervisory Board member, one staff member (usually the Executive Director), and one fellow – interviews candidates and makes a recommendation to the Supervisory Board, which makes the final decision. Our fellows’ terms ended in 2020, and have not been replaced pending restructuring, so since 2021 there are no fellows on the selection committee.

The Supervisory Board members serve a four-year term, once renewable, and are not remunerated. The Supervisory Board meets at least three times per year, approving budgets, annual reports, policies and to discuss operational progress. Detailed information about the Supervisory Board members can be found on the TNI website here.

Susan George has served as President of TNI since 2015, which is an honorary position.

The composition of the Supervisory Board in 2021 was as follows:

Pauline Tiffen, Chairperson	12/12/2014 – 11/12/2022 (2nd term)
Frenk van Enckevort, Secretary	15/06/2022 – 14/06/2026 (2nd term)
Ruth Kronenburg, Treasurer	29/10/2022 – 28/10/2026 (2nd term)
Imad Sabi	01/03/2021 – 28/02/2025 (1st term)
‍Sadet Karabulut	17/03/2022 – 01/09/2022 (1st term)

In 2022, we were fortunate to have Sadet Karabulut join us as a new member of the Board. Unfortunately for us, she had to resign 6 months later due to a stipulation of her new employer, who required her to stand down from all Boards registered with the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce. In 2023, TNI will seek to appoint two new members of the Board.

Composition of the Management Board

The Management Board consists of one person – the Executive Director, Fiona Dove. The following staff report directly to her: the Personnel Officer, Programme Directors, Communication Coordinator, Evaluation Officer and Community Builder. In addition, the contact point at Jac’s Den Boer en Vink, which administers TNI’s accounts, reports to her.

The leadership expected from the Executive Director is to provide vision and to help staff think strategically. She is supported in the daily management by a Management Team, comprised of the Personnel Officer, a Programme Director, a Project Coordinator and the Communication Coordinator, which meets weekly. The gender breakdown for the Management Team in 2022 was 60% women, 40% men.

The Supervisory Board determines the remuneration of the Executive Director. The remuneration complies with both the guidelines of Goede Doelen Nederland as well as those of the Dutch Government (Wet Normering Topinkomens).

Remuneration of the Executive Director:

	2022	2021
	€	€
Gross salary	89.080	86,740
Holiday pay	7.126	6,939
End of year payment	500	500
	96.706	94,179
Taxes and premiums paid by TNI	10.711	9,905
Pension contribution from TNI	16.858	14,735
	124.275	118,819

Composition of the International Fellowship

As currently laid down in the Institute’s by-laws, Fellows serve a four-year term, renewable once. Former Fellows join the ranks of TNI Associates, which may also include other researchers and scholars who make substantial ongoing contributions to the TNI community. Together, they have constituted the ‘think tank’ dimension of TNI. The current Fellowship expired at the end of 2020. In line with TNI’s new five-year Strategic Plan, the nature and role of Fellows and Associates has been reconceptualised within the newly established Knowledge Hub. The finalisation of this, including required amendments to the Articles of Association and Bylaws, and appointment of new Fellows and Associates is expected to be effected in 2023.

Composition of the International Advisory Board

The International Advisory Board, and its composition, is also under consideration in line with the new five-year Strategic Plan. It was not operational in 2022. Changes are expected to be effected in 2023.

TNI puts a lot of effort into ensuring it acts internally in ways consistent with its values, and improving its accountability. Our internal organisational culture is non-hierarchical and highly consultative. As far as possible, decisions are taken through a process of consensus-building. Monthly staff meetings are held where news is exchanged, and consultations on policy are held.

While most staff are expected to be self-steering, there are also clear lines of accountability and recognition of the authority of the team leader to make final decisions. The gender breakdown for senior staff was 55% women, 45% men.

There is no hierarchy in respect of public representation with all staff encouraged to accept public speaking engagements, and to engage with the media.

Fair Employer

In line with TNI’s vision and values, we are an equal opportunities employer with a strict policy of non-discrimination and strive for as much diversity as possible within the organization. Twenty-seven nationalities are represented among our total complement of 76 workers, which includes payroll staff (26), consultants (36), interns/capstones (10) and volunteers (4).

Gender breakdown – All TNI workers

Staff

Regional diversity – All TNI workers

TNI is registered as an employer in The Netherlands, Belgium and, in 2022, this was extended to the United Kingdom. By the end of 2022, the foundation had 24.04 full time equivalent (FTE) employees (in 2021: 23.54) on the payroll, representing an increase of 0.5 FTE. The average number of FTE over the year was 23.94 (in 2021: 21.81) – representing an increase of 2.13 FTE on 2021. In part, this was due to the employment of a maternity replacement. In 2022, one staff member resigned, following her surprise election as mayor of a district of Tokyo.  At the end of the year, the total staff complement represented 26 individuals (in 2021: 27). These figures exclude three staff employed by TNI on behalf of external networks.

Two staff members had extended sick leave following surgery, with every effort made to support their recovery and gradual reintegration into the workplace. Covid infections continued to hit staff and their families in 2022, but thankfully, there were no serious cases. We had one staff member on maternity leave, followed by extended parental leave, and another two staff taking parental leave in the course of the year.

Staffing over past 5 years

TNI uses as its guideline the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CAO) for the Care and Welfare Sector in The Netherlands. Staff receive an incremental increase for each year of service, and any salary increases agreed in the CAO. There was no CAO increase in 2022. The ratio of the highest:median salary was 2.14 and the highest:lowest was 3.17 (on the basis of full-time equivalent). These figures do not take account of years of service or income tax differentials, which would bring down the ratios.

There is a training budget set at 1% of the personnel budget, and guided by a training policy. Three staff benefited from training courses in 2022 at a cost of Euro € 7.306. These included coaching, Dutch language courses and advocacy training. In addition, in-house collective training took place on outreach and financial administration, and weekly lunch-time accelerator sessions were self-organised by staff for self-education purposes.

The costs of the employees on the payroll rose by 6% in 2022. This was due to incremental increases, pension contributions which go up with age in TNI’s scheme, and internal promotions:

	2021	2022
	€	€
Salaries	1,101,984	1.187.617
Social security	191,066	204.653
Pension premiums	105,585	109.432
Sickness insurance	24,689	14.989
Other personnel costs	36,461	38.879
	1,459,785	1.555.570

Volunteers and Interns

Volunteers and interns are paid an honorarium in line with Dutch norms.

TNI had 4 volunteers in the course of 2022, with one subsequently given a short-term paid contract.

We welcomed 7 interns hailing from Spain (2), Italy (2), Netherlands (2) and the USA (2). Most were students at Dutch universities, with one joining remotely from the USA.

We also collaborated virtually with three students from the New School in New York on joint ‘capstone’ projects.

Consultants

TNI contracted a total of 36 consultants in 2022. Our consultants in 2022 were based in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Indonesia, Myanmar, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, USA, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, as well as the UK and the Netherlands. 81% of our consultants are considered to be programme team members. They are treated equally with payroll staff, with calculation of their fees pegged to TNI salary policy, with compensation added for social security and pension contributions, and then adjusted for local costs of living (source: www.numbeo.com). They are responsible for paying their own taxes.

Staffing of Fiscally Sponsored Projects

TNI serves as the fiscal sponsor for three projects where coordinators are contracted by TNI. These are:

• Handel Anders Network (Netherlands), two coordinators are on TNI’s payroll.
• Civil Society Mechanism of the Committee on Food Security at the FAO, with the Netherlands-based coordinator being on TNI’s payroll.
• Drug Policy Alternatives Group, with the coordinator and an assistant contracted on a freelance basis.