The Institute is a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee, registered in England (no.5822013). It has charitable status there (registration no. 1117152). Its registered office is at Suite 405, Davina House, 137 - 149 Goswell Road, London EC1V 7ET. It is being promoted by a Ramphal Centre Committee, chaired by Mrs Patsy Robertson, former Director of Information at the Commonwealth Secretariat. Other members include Sir Ronald Sanders, former High Commissioner of Antigua and Barbuda and Professor Vishnu Persaud, formerly Director of the Economic Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat. Its Secretary is Richard Bourne, Head of the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit, 1998-2005.

The Institute’s Constitution consists of a Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association.

The Trustees’ intentions include the following:

• to entrust day-to-day management and control to a Director appointed by and answerable to them. At regular intervals the Director will submit budgets, programmes and accounts to the Trustees for their approval
• that, once it is fully operational, the Institute will also benefit from the work of a prestigious international Advisory Board, whose initial members have yet to be appointed. The main role of the Advisory Board, which will include significant representation from the private sector, will be to promote and support new Projects and the future strategic development of the Centre and its various programmes.

The Trustees intend that, although the Institute will have a small headquarters in central London, its activities will be diffused as widely as practicable throughout the world by all available means, including the use of high quality information technology.