Ethics and Values

As a not-for-profit organisation, MHID operates with a specific set of objectives. We are legally obliged to conform to UK Company law www.companieshouse.gov.uk but we have extended our obligations to include the following commitments:

Any unrestricted surplus made by the organisation at the end of the year is invested directly in innovative mental health projects overseas. Indeed, one of the objectives of MHID is to successfully generate sufficient surplus from its products and consultancy to operate a radical programme of development through user empowerment and public action.

MHID voluntarily operates within the regulations, advice and good practice promoted by the UK Charity Commission www.charity-commission.gov.uk and international codes of conduct. We have therefore adopted a number of these guidelines in our operational policies and standing financial instructions. At the same time we operate fully transparent accounts and a policy of openness in our activities and organisational learning. We use the MHID website as a portal for all information and materials about the organisation and actively encourage inquiries and questions about our activities. As an organisation that itself promotes best practice in organisational development we believe it is beholden on us to demonstrate this in our practice and operations. At the same time we recognise our need to be a reflective organisation that is continuously learning and so seek feedback and support at all opportunities.

Our Memorandum and Articles of Association are freely available to any interested party and our annual general meeting (AGM) offers an open invitation to participate in a review of the organisation and the extent to which we have achieve our objectives.

We make it totally clear to all parties that we are not a UK charity and do not have charitable status. However, we do work n partnership with a large number of UK and international charities and NGOs. We use the established tool of Memoranda of Understanding to openly demonstrate our formal relationships with other organisations.

In the context of international development we operate the following ethical principles:

• We pay consultants at an agreed locally appropriate rate which is in line with local practice and does not distort the local labour market in an unfair way



• Users are paid the same rates as other experts and professionals



• Per diems are paid at a consistent universal rate for all staff, directors and consultants working on official MHID business when in another country from their own



• Flights and travel are sourced at the lowest possible cost and everyone flies economy class



• We only use comfortable, safe hotels within the low to mid range cost band



• Activity budgets reflect realistic costs based on experience and we do inflate costs to create a surplus



• Budgets will be broken down to the detailed costings of individual constituent parts - we do not collate a number of different costs under one larger budget code. Funders are therefore able to see exactly where their money goes



• We do not double fund costs from the same activity to two or more different funders.

For more information about the ethical practices of MHID, please contact our Company Secretary Ray Rowden on rayrowden@mhid.uk.net

Values

MHID promotes the following values and principles in all aspects of our work:

• Respect



• Openness



• Trust



• Dignity



• User Involvement



• Bottom-up grassroots development



• Learning together.

We regularly seek feedback on our work and evaluate how successful we are in working to these values, principles and ethics.

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