In the CGIAR system, a high degree of centralization in terms of funding means that each donor country provides general-purpose funds to the CGIAR system and enables it to allocate the funds to the Centers based on priorities set by the CGIAR system. The degree of centralization has been decreasing, however. Because there was no written charter, there were no clear definitions of the roles and responsibilities of the various actors until it was acknowledged that fundamental components of governance need to be made explicit and a charter was approved in 2004.