Ok, here's the short version of the way we are set up at the Discovery Centre...
We are not owned by Ford Australia. Ford set the Discovery Centre up to operate through an independent charitable trust as part of it's commitment to Corporate Citizenship, or a chance to give something back to the local community and to the public of Australia. Ideally Ford would like the Centre to be self funding. The Centre is run as a non profit organization and is managed by a board of directors. We have an appointed Centre Director who oversees the day to day running but we are ultimately accountable to the Board. The Board includes two representatives from Ford Australia, one the head of Communications and the other who is Chairman if the Board is from Product Development. The remainder of positions on the board are filled by representatives from Deakin University (another sponsor), the Gordon Institue of TAFE and Scienceworks Museum.
This means we are not owned by Ford but we have their full support, and anything we do must be run past both the board, and in some cases Ford's legal department. In short, I guess the best way to explain it is that we are Ford but we aren't... :?:
Hope this helps.
