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INKEx closes due to lack of funding

The Irish Non Profits Knowledge Exchange (INKEx) recently announced that it was ceasing trading with immediate effect due to lack of funding.

Established in 2009, INKEx had set about the task of compiling a single repository of data on the Irish not-for-profit sector. By 2011, the Irish Nonprofits Database was complete, housing a comprehensive database of governance and financial information on more than 8,000 public benefit companies, sourced from publically available information.
 
The company hit difficulties in mid-2011 when a government funding agreement was terminated. Speaking at the launch of INKEx’s sector report “Irish Nonprofits – what do we know” earlier this year, Chairman Ian Duffy said:
 
“We hope Government has some alternative plans to provide for the infrastructural needs of the sector, which can hardly be over-stated in terms of its centrality to a whole, healthy society. We believe, particularly in an environment of cutbacks and austerity, that reliable, independent information is essential to the decision-making of future funding needs. At present, it is our view that such information is not available leaving the decision making-process open to subjectivity, bias and anomalies.”
 
Prior to its closure, Boardmatch spoke to former CEO, Patricia Quinn who also voiced disdain for the government’s treatment of the organisation:

“INKEx was established in the midst of the economic downturn and this has thrown big obstacles in our way, particularly with regards to funding. The funding that has been received to date is now under threat and we are trying to persuade the government that this is an infrastructure worth investing in.

Such a resource drastically cuts administration costs for government funding agencies and because government resources for the sector are already limited, I feel this is certainly a resource worth keeping.”
 
The company is now in discussion with charitable entities that are interested in acting as custodians of the data and other intellectual assets created by the project.