You need to find out some basic information about your target institution’s investments:
- Do they directly hold shares in any of the companies?
- Do they indirectly hold shares or bonds via pooled investments such as unit trusts, pension funds or investment trusts?

As well as the portfolio itself, it would be helpful to find out the following:
- Does your institution have an ethical investment policy?
- Who manages your institution’s funds?
- Who has the power to put a divestment policy in place?

In the first instance, write to the company or organisation to find out whether they have investments in target companies named in the Sudan Divestment Task Force document. It is best to email or send a letter so that you have a written copy of the request. In some cases the investor is legally obliged to supply you with  the information in a specific time frame (see the 'Freedom of Information' section below.

If the information is already available, write or phone to confirm its accuracy and then begin the campaign to get a change of policy. The person you need to contact will usually be the Director of Finance.

If you have information about their shareholdings from the Sudan Divestment Task Force list, or your own research, state what you believe to be their investments and ask whether they are correct.

If nothing is known about their investments, ask whether they have investments in any of the target companies.

Ask for the name of the chair of the trustees or, in the case of a local authority, the councilors responsible for formulating investment policy.

NB - The Director of Finance does not decide on the investment policy of the institution so do not raise questions about alternative investments.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, public bodies such as local authorities and universities have new responsibilities to provide information. If you are writing to one of these you probably a have right to information on shareholdings. See the Freedom of Information Act section for more information.

Notes on The Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoIA) came into force on the 1st January 2005, and it provides us with a key tool for retrieving information regarding the investments of public bodies, especially in cases where no useful responses to requests have been received. The Act covers universities, colleges, NHS trusts and local authorities.

If a public body does not respond to your initial request, or sends a deliberately unhelpful reply, then the next step is to formally request the information under the terms of the FoIA.

It is important to remember that under the Act public bodies:
• Cannot refuse to provide the information requested unless it is exempt – see below.
• Must indicate whether they possess the information requested.
• Must assist or advise where it is ‘reasonable ‘ to do so.
• Must respond within 20 working days (this may be extended if a body is considering the ‘public interest’ but this extension must be ‘reasonable’).
• Cannot charge you for retrieving the information unless the cost is calculated to come to more than £450. If the cost is lower than this then they can legitimately charge you for any photocopying or postage fees incurred by your request. The Act encourages charges of under £5-10 to be waived.
• Must inform you of the appeal process. The FoIA request just needs to be in a standard letter or email format, should mention the FoIA and must state your request clearly and specifically. (Any request for information is actually an FoIA requests but it might avoid delays to state explicitly that your are asking under the FoIA.) If the public body finds your request unclear, or believes that the scope is too wide, they need to let you know and should advise you on making a new request. The FoIA should have a positive impact on the accuracy and relevance of information received from public bodies, and will enable campaigners to follow up negative responses where previously a dead end would have been reached.

The Freedom of Information Act can be found at www.dca.gov.uk