FAQ 28: Are your services free?
We have a vast range of resources available without charge on the website, and we are always willing to brief researchers and journalists.
None of this is ‘free’ in the sense that it does cost us time and money to provide, of course. We therefore need to replenish our resources by charging research, consultancy and media appearance fees when that is possible and appropriate. We hope that those using our services will respect this.
Our non-employed staff rely upon freelance income for their (modest!) livelihoods, since we have operated on a low budget with no corporate support over the past twelve years.
We are also strictly limited in our own ability to pay contributors at the moment, but seek to do so wherever possible -- especially to those on low incomes or with particular needs.
We do not expect people who earn an income from writing to work unpaid for us and we are actively looking for ways of funding contributors and researchers.