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Funding budget is allocated as follows:

1. RESEARCH:

All matters related to research and all requests for funding will be decided by this committee following the principles below. The total yearly budget is R350 000.

Research funding

Research funding will be dependent on available funds and allocations will favour registrar’s projects. Funds may be used for expenses such as running costs, laboratory, staff, editing or author’s fees, but capital equipment cannot be funded, An attempt will be made to distribute funds equally between Obstetrics and Gynaecology and between all medical faculties in the country, but selection will be on a competitive basis. SASOG Council and this committee should prioritise research fields of interest and call for applications annually.

The maximum amount per project will be R50 000 per annum, once renewable. Grant recipients must acknowledge SASOG in all research outputs and provide Council with either their research output or a project report after 12 months. Recipients will be exempted from registration fees for one SASOG conference to communicate results to SASOG members. An amount of up to R150 000 p.a. is budgeted for the support of research projects.

Other requests

Requests to use the SASOG address database for research will be considered by this committee only if the database integrity is guaranteed, if the project is crucially important for women’s health and data will be available and important to SASOG-Council and members. The Protection of Personal Information Act prevents the sharing of the address list with outside parties, thus questionnaires or links will be distributed by our official office at a market-related fee. Waiving of this fee will constitute financial support of the project in which case all the rules of research funding will apply.

Annual SASOG registrar’s research symposium

An annual national research meeting for registrars will be organised by the RET committee in collaboration with SAATOG. Representation will be sought for each academic institution by at least two registrars and one consultant. SAATOG and SASOG will also be represented. These meetings can be linked to SASOG and related conferences and winning projects selected for presentation. Smaller cities and centres will be prioritised when a venue is selected. The annual maximum budget is R200 000 for this activity.

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 2. EDUCATION:

Education is defined as all matters of education and continued education for general practitioners, registrars and specialists that concern the Society, its members and women’s health. The total yearly budget is R700 000.

SASOG regional meetings:

Regional meetings are endorsed, marketed and (when possible) financially supported by SASOG council. All regional CPD activities will be organised by the regions and their appointed committees, are their sole responsibility and within their discretion. Regions should liaise with the RET committee and the treasurer regarding the availability of financial support.

Funds granted for CPD meetings are ring-fenced and will be supplemented by Council funds. Funding will be distributed using the following formula which favours small regions and reflects membership numbers:

• 1/5 for each: KwaZulu-Natal, North Gauteng, South Gauteng, Western Cape.
• 1/5 for: Free State and Eastern Cape together.

Regions may use their funds at their own discretion including support of travel to attend meetings, speaker honoraria and venue costs. Unused funds will remain available to the region for one extra year. The annual budget is R400 000, translating to R80 000 per large region, R40 000 per small region.

SASOG national conference:

This bi-annual conference is hosted by SASOG council in collaboration with University departments and regions in rotation. External congress organisers are contracted but the academic programme is arranged by a programme committee of academics and SASOG members. The academic meeting sub-committee will be involved in these decisions and in setting dates. The national SASOG conference is financially independent and usually results in a profit for the organisation.

Registrar attendees can request support for travel and accommodation to SASOG congresses to a maximum of R5000 each; a maximum of R100 000 is budgeted per congress. Presenting registrars will be prioritised.

Journals, articles, books, guidelines:

SASOG council supports the development, printing and distribution of educational matter aimed at improving knowledge of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and therefore women’s health. The use of the SASOG website for distribution to members will be encouraged and will not be charged. Members who seek financial support should apply on the official form and SASOG’s contribution must be acknowledged. An annual amount of R150 000 is budgeted for this expense.

Meetings for the heads of academic departments

Meetings for the heads of academic departments once per year will be facilitated by SASOG. The President of SASOG and the Chair of the RET committee (or their representatives) will attend to improve collaboration between these parties. The budget for this activity is R50 000 p.a.

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3. TRAINING:

Training is defined as activities and teaching aimed at improving specific well defined skills. Examples include ultrasound skills development, focused training courses and surgical workshops. The total yearly budget is R150 000.

Training activities are supported by SASOG and requests for support can be forwarded to the RET subcommittee using the standard form (“REQUEST FOR FUNDING”). The full RET committee will evaluate all requests and approve requests up to R30 000. Support of more than R50 000 for any single project must be discussed and approved by the full council. The committee will evaluate all requests and in the selection of projects will consider the distribution of funds between Obstetrics and Gynaecology, between all medical faculties or regions, as well as estimated merit and impact of the project. Funding for equipment will only be considered if a SASOG branch or a training institute formally accepts it as a gift. SASOG is not in a practical, legal or taxation position to acquire and maintain equipment as assets. When a profit is projected or made from projects funded by SASOG, the principles of profit-sharing will apply and SASOG will receive no less than 10% of the final profit.