2024-03-31-accounts - Odyssean Institute

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Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 19 September 2023 To

31 March 2024

Charity name: Odyssean Institute

Charity registration number: 1204794

Objectives and Activities

	SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	The object of the CIO is, for the public benefit, to advance the education of the general public in the field of existential risk and global catastrophic risk by adding to the collective knowledge and understanding of specific areas of study and expertise in this field by: a. Conducting research and modelling around the risks of civilisational collapse; b. Running experiments around the processes of decision-making mechanisms and frameworks; and c. Establishing citizen assemblies through which the charity’s research and findings may be deliberated and through which the general public may be educated and gain greater understanding and insights. In all cases publishing the useful results of that research. For the purposes of this clause, existential risk and global catastrophic risk refer to risks including but not limited to threats arising from ecological (including solar flares, major asteroid impact, supervolcanic eruptions, extreme climate change, and ecological collapse), technological (nuclear weapons, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and synthetic biology) and social (bad global governance, global systems collapse, and global democratic retreat) factors, and the inherent connections and intersections between these factors.
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	The Odyssean Institute produced a White Paper in November 2023, researched and written up from late September until the 23rd November. This laid out the core innovation and mission of the Institute, setting an agenda for subsequent work and generating exposure for our plans.

		This then led to funding awarded in December 2023 of $5,000 and £5,000 being allocated, the $5k being for salaries for the core team conducting the study, with £5k being awarded which we did not directly receive in accounts, but rather was expensed from Wytham Abbey for the participants (academics external to the Odyssean Institute) for travel arrangements, and also £3,000 of this paying the cost of our (also external) facilitator, Professor Bill Sutherland. This funding allowed us from January until March 2024 to conduct the world’s first ever transdisciplinaryhorizon scan on global catastrophic risks,with the preprint made public after the writeup concluded this August. This was completed in record time (3 months), faster than the usual 4-6 months associated with horizon scans (from invite to final workshop). In March 2024, we were then awarded £4,343.74 (originally in CHF) from a private donor in Switzerland in recognition of our progress and need for unrestricted funds for salaries for researchers and core operations costs. We have continued ongoing research and outreach to supportive partner organisations, with another academic paper covering supply line vulnerabilities and the need for more resilience submitted to peer review after the reporting period.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	Trustees confirm receipt of guidance.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

SORP reference Para 1.38 Policy on grant making Para 1.38 Policy on social investment including program related investment

Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	Due to funding constraints, large amounts of work are undertaken by volunteers motivated by our mission.
Other

Achievements and Performance

	SORP reference
Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20	We completed the world’s first ever horizon scan on global catastrophic risks, focusing on especially urgent emerging trends by eliciting expert insights on 96 initial, and 15 final (after rounds of voting and scoring) tipping points that could lead to terminal or irreversible transitions in the system. This furnishes future work on a solution scan, aiming to elicit mitigation, adaptation, and early warning interventions to avoid the worst of these trends. It also furnishes the next steps of testing the Odyssean Process, our bespoke combination of foresight, scenario simulation at scale, and democratic deliberation designed to help those most exposed to these risks build resilience fairly and effectively. This was the Process outlined in the White Paper aforementioned.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Achievements against objectives set	Para 1.41	We successfully completed a world first, under-typical budget, and a good 1-3 months quicker than usual. Our findings were diverse but perhaps suffered a little from being maximally transdisciplinary and focused on tipping points, an inherently hard to quantify or pin down phenomenon. Nevertheless, we demonstrated ambition and delivered on our goals under pressing resource constraints.
Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set	Para 1.41	Our fundraising remains below target, with our projected annual budgets scarcely being met even at the lowest ‘skeletal’ budget levels outlined. Nonetheless, with gumption and diligence we have still contributed upwards of 3 large deliverables to the field, pending only further funding and peer review to expand their reach and impact.

Investment performance Para 1.41 against objectives Other

Financial Review

Financial Review
Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	We retained £3345 after salary payments to our core team at the end of the period.
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	To enable continued, sustained wages for researchers, and operational expenditure for our deliberative and foresight experiments.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	£3345
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern	Para 1.23	None
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47	Medium sized (low 4 figures) donors, in the existential risk field.
Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted	Para 1.46
A description of the principal risks facing the charity	Para 1.46
Other

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter)	Para 1.25	Constitution
How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO)	Para 1.25	CIO
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	Trustees recruited and appointed by the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Board of Trustees, confirmed at the next annual meeting with trustees.
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees	Para 1.51
The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works	Para 1.51
Relationship with any related parties	Para 1.51
Other

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	Odyssean Institute
Other name the charity uses	Odyssean Institute
Registered charity number	1204794
Charity’s principal address	32 Brooklands Road, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, FY8 4BW

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year Nam e of pers on (or bod y) entit led to app oint trust ee (if any)
Giuseppe Dal Prá	Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board
Paul Ingram
Catherine Rhodes		Appointed October 2024
Jan Kwakkel
Dan Hoyer

– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved

Director name Giuseppe Dal Prá

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Description of the assets held in this capacity	N/A
Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects	N/A
Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets	N/A

Additional information (optional)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of adviser Name Address




Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

Other optional information

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Paul Ingram Full name(s) Giuseppe Dal Prá Position (eg Secretary, CEO, Chairman of Board of Trustee Chair, etc) Trustees Date 13th December 2024

Charity Name No (if any) Odyssean Institute 1204794

Recei ts and a ments accounts p p y

CC16a

For the period Period start date Period end date To from 19th September 2023 31st March 2024

Section A Receipts and payments

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds

Total funds Last year

Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted funds	Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds	Total funds	Last year
to the nearest £ A1 Receipts Wytham Abbey 5,000 Complex Systems Alignment Group - Swante Scholz 4,343 - - - - - 9,343 - - Sub total - Total receipts 9,343 A3 Payments Pilot studyexpenses 5,000 Staff wages - - *Sub total*(Gross income for AR) A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).		to the nearest £ - 3,945 - - - - - - 3,945 - - - 3,945 - 3,945 -	to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	to the nearest £ 5,000 3,945 4,343 - - - - - 13,288 - - - 13,288 5,000 3,945 -	to the nearest £
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Pilot studyexpenses	5,000	-	-	5,000	-
Staff wages	-	3,945	-	3,945	-
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01/27/2026

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**Sub total **	8,945	3,945	-	8,945	-

A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
	-	-		-	-
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**Sub total **	-	-		-	-		-

**Total payments **	5,000	3,945		-	8,945		-

**Net of receipts/(payments) **	4,343	-	-		4,343	-
A5 Transfers between funds	-	-	-		-	-
A6 Cash funds last year end	-	-	-		-	-
**Cash funds this year end **	4,343	-	-		4,343	-

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Categories Details funds funds funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ 4,343 - - - - - - - - Total cash funds 4,343 - - (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) OK OK OK

B1 Cash funds

01/27/2026

B2 Other monetary assets

B3 Investment assets

B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use

to nearest £ - - - - - - Unrestricted funds	to nearest £ - - - - - - Restricted funds	to nearest £ Endowment funds
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Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional) - - - - -	Current value (optional)
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Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional) - - - - - - -	Current value (optional)
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01/27/2026

B5 Liabilities

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees

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Fund to which	Amount due		When due
liability relates	(optional)		(optional)
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Details

Signature	Print Name Giuseppe Dal Prá Paul Ingram	Date of approval
	Giuseppe Dal Prá	27/01/2026
	Paul Ingram	27/01/2026

01/27/2026