Sponsorship policy

It is essential that a potential sponsor is sufficiently vetted including gaining information about its associated businesses, other activities or interests and financial position so that a complete picture can be established, and a proper assessment of the sponsor can be done prior to any arrangement being formalised. These checks should continue during the term of the sponsorship agreement.

Council Officers and Members are required to declare in advance if they have any personal interests, involvement or potential conflict of interest with any potential sponsor. In the event of a potential conflict of interest, that Officer or Member will take no part in the consideration of sponsorship with that organisation.

Each sponsorship proposal must be subject to consideration of risk. This includes:

• ensuring that the sponsorship benefits for the sponsoring organisation or individual do not outweigh the level of sponsorship
• ensuring that the type or form of sponsorship is not inconsistent with the strategic priorities or core values of the Council
• ensuring that any sponsorship proposal does not anticipate explicit endorsement of the sponsor or sponsor’s products, as this form of proposal is not acceptable to the Council
• ensuring no conflict of interest arises from the sponsorship
• ensuring the capacity of the Council to provide adequate resources and facilities to meet the terms of the proposed agreement

If such an assessment concludes the risks are unacceptably high or the Council is receiving minimal value from the proposal, the Council should discontinue consideration of the proposal at this stage.