Membership

  1. Any government or other public sector organization, non-profit or for-profit non-governmental organization, seed association, or private seed company involved in hybrid rice development or hybrid rice seed production can become a member of the HRDC (Annex 1).
    • In the HRDC, a general distinction is made between:
      • “Public Sector” members defined as any not-for-profit institutions that are primarily supported by public funds (e.g., government-funded national research institutions, public universities, international or regional research centers, professional organizations with no direct commercial activities, Civil Society Organizations with no or little direct commercial activities etc.), and
      • “Private Sector” members defined as any not-for-profit or for-profit organizations or companies that have significant commercial activities related to rice R&D and/or selling of seeds and other products and services.
    • The HRDC has TWO categories (A and B) for private sector membership and ONE category for public sector members. Financial contributions (hereafter referred to as grants) under the consortium structure will depend on the membership category an organization has chosen, based on principles of (i) being simple, fair and transparent, (ii) honoring the different public and private sector roles and interests, and, (iii) providing a sustainable level of support for the wider range of HRDC functions.
    • HRDC membership categories and annual membership contributions:
      1. Private Sector Category A membership is designed for private companies or other organizations with well-established research, development and marketing infrastructure who wish to provide a higher level of support to the HRDC, and, in addition to participating in its activities, may also wish to utilize a wider range of early generation IRRI breeding lines in their own breeding programs.
        Annual membership contribution:
        USD $30,000
      2. Private Sector Category B membership can be chosen by private companies or other organizations who wish to provide support to the HRDC and participate in all its activities, but may have less need for early generation germplasm.
        Annual membership contribution:
        USD $10,000
      3. Public Sector members can join the HRDC under the specific guidelines for collaboration and germplasm exchange between IRRI and the public sector.
        Annual membership contribution:
        Voluntary
  2. Annex 1 describes the procedure for becoming an HRDC member. Private members choose the membership category that best fits with their overall hybrid rice R&D strategy and generally agree to a membership term of 5 years. All private sector membership contributions will be paid to IRRI as grants based on a Letter of Agreement (LOA) for a minimum of membership duration of five years.
  3. During the 5-year membership agreement, an upgrade from Private Sector Category B to Private Sector Category A is possible and acceptable, but not a downgrade from A to B.
  4. Members are encouraged to make additional voluntary contributions to the HRDC.

Annex 1: How to Become an HRDC Member?

Any public organization (defined as a not-for-profit institution supported by public funds) or nonprofit or for-profit nongovernmental organization, seed association, or private seed company involved in hybrid rice development or hybrid rice seed production can become a member of the HRDC.

  1. An interested organization sends an inquiry to the HRDC for membership information;
  2. HRDC sends a copy of the 2011 HRDC Guidelines and membership information sheet (Annex 5) to the inquiring party for review and filling of the necessary information.
  3. After receiving the membership application form from the inquiring party, HRDC sends it to the elected members of the HRDC Advisory Committee (AC) for assessment and recommendation;
  4. AC Members are given a period of two (2) weeks to provide their opinions on the information received. Absence of opinion/objection on the part of the Advisory Committee will be an assumption of concurrence with the membership application.
  5. After AC members’ review/recommendation, the HRDC Coordinator will prepare a Letter of Agreement (LOA) between IRRI and the prospect Private or Public member, and send it to the applying organization for signature;
  6. Two (2) signed copies of the LOA should be mailed by courier to IRRI within a period of four (4) weeks; otherwise the membership application will be stopped;
  7. Upon receipt of the signed copies of the LOA, the IRRI Director General’s office will approve the membership of the applicant to the HRDC.
  8. The signed LOA will be sent by e-copy to the new member followed by one (1) copy of the original document by courier or by mail. Another copy of the signed LOA will be kept by the HRDC;
  9. For a private organization, an invoice with the necessary bank details will be mailed by IRRI’s Finance Department to the new “Member” for payment of the annual HRDC membership fee.
  10. Membership should be renewed at the beginning of each year. Membership payment to IRRI is due by April 1 of each year or one (1) month after a new member’s organization has received the signed LOA. Membership benefits will be suspended if the membership fee is overdue.
  11. HRDC website log-in details will be assigned to the primary and secondary contact persons of the new member or to whom the new member prefers the log-in details to be assigned to.
  12. The new member will be included in all communication pertaining to HRDC, matters concerning every member and their organization.
  13. New members will be entitled to the benefits of being an HRDC member as stated in the guidelines.
  14. All incumbent members shall be informed of the recognition of the new HRDC member.

2011 HRDC Guidelines

Annex 5 HRDC Membship Application Form

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 13 November 2012 )

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