The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global crises. ICG has described itself as "working to prevent wars and shape policies that will build a more peaceful world". The International Crisis Group (ICG) states that it provides early warning through its monthly CrisisWatch bulletin, a global conflict tracker which is designed to identify both risks of escalation and opportunities to advance peace. The organisation says that it produces detailed analysis and advice on specific policy issues that are affecting conflict or potential conflict situations; that it engages with policy-makers, regional organisations and other key actors to promote peaceful solutions to major conflicts; and that it offers new strategic and tactical thinking on intractable conflicts and crises. They differentiate themselves from other Western think tanks, noting their permanent field presence, which forms the basis of the organisation's methodology. It has regional programmers covering Africa, Asia, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and the United States. , ICG had 110 staff members. The Crisis Group, and in particular its Iran Project Director, Ali Vaez, played an important role in advancing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Funding Investor and philanthropist George Soros provided the organisation's seed funding and continues to support it. The first government representative to offer financial support was Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, in March 1994. That same year, Gareth Evans, as Foreign Minister of Australia, pledged $500,000.. A January 1995 meeting in London brought many international figures together and approved a proposal for an annual budget of $8 million and 75 full-time staff. In mid-1995, the organisation was formally registered in the U.S. as a tax-exempt non-profit. From 1996 to 1999, Crisis Group had an annual budget of around $2 million and around 20 full-time staff; by 2017 its budget had risen to over $17 million. Crisis Group received funding under grants from governments, charitable foundations, private companies and individual donors. For the financial year ending June 30, 2019, it received 43% of its funding from governments, 31% from foundations, 22% from the private sector, 2% from in-kind contributions and 2% from investment income. In a 2014 paper for Third World Quarterly, social researcher Berit Bliesemann de Guevara writes that ICG's