There are three bottom lines for funding the in the GPN:
1. The North owes a debt
So far there have been no reparations for the crimes committed by the colonisers and the massive
transfer of wealth from the colonies. Therefore we generally see it as an obligation to redistribute
funds from the North to the South. Within GPN, this means that funding needs and proposals of
Southern partners, while of course tied to these criteria like all other proposals, have high priority.
2. No trusteeship
Against the backdrop of colonialism, there must be no top-down decisions in particular from the
North. There are no trustees who know better than the people themselves how their lives can be
improved, neither in the North nor in the South. Funding decisions should be based on, as well as
promote, equal participation.
3. Responsibility
Nevertheless, it would be irresponsible to simply fund projects without asking: who is being funded
for what?
a) In the GPN, as a general emphasis, we want to fund progressive change, marginalised
people and alternative solutions, i.e.alternatives to the solutions offered by existing
capitalist, patriarchal and eurocentric structures – individual and market-based solutions are
funded by normal development agencies anyway and we do not believe that the market will
provide a good life for all.
b) For the projects, we want to fund research investigating shortcomings and possibilities of
partnerships in development cooperation, in the global economy, and in knowledge
production.
c) For the workshops (training and empowerment), we want to fund initiatives aiming at
cooperation (not competition), bottom-up processes, sustainability and local knowledge.
d) GPN research projects and workshops should aim for tangible results and/or follow-up
activitities, whether these are publications, follow-up proposals, activities in a practical or
political domain, or the like. Activities should not end in nothing.
e) GPN activities should include elements of cooperation within GPN. GPN activities
preferably include elements of external communication, aiming to reach additional
stakeholders beyond GPN or the already existing participants or stakeholdes of an activity.
4. Funding regulations
Of course, we can fund activities only within the confines our the regulations of our funding
organisation DAAD. Emergency relief goes beyond our funding possibilities:
