Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Conversation was founded by Andrew Jaspan and Jack Rejtman and launched in Australia in March 2011. The idea originated in 2009 from a conversation between Jaspan and Glyn Davis, vice chancellor at the University of Melbourne.
Each regional edition of The Conversation is an independent nonprofit or charity funded by partnered universities, governments, grant-awarding bodies, corporate partners, and reader donations. The original Australian launch secured ten million dollars from four universities, CSIRO, two government bodies, and the Commonwealth Bank. The UK edition is 90 percent funded by partnered universities.
The Conversation only publishes articles by academics employed by, or formally connected to, accredited institutions, including universities and accredited research bodies. This rule applies except in exceptional circumstances. Authors are also required to disclose conflicts of interest.
In September 2019, The Conversation reported a monthly online audience of 10.7 million users. Including republication across other outlets, the combined reach was 40 million people. As of the latest available data, stories are republished in 90 countries and 23 languages.
Andrew Jaspan resigned as executive director and editor of The Conversation in March 2017. He had been placed on enforced leave six months earlier following complaints from senior Melbourne staff about his management style and the organisation's global direction. Management teams from the UK, U.S., and Africa offices also wrote a letter of no confidence asking that he not have an active role going forward.
The Conversation publishes fact-checks written by academics that are then blind peer reviewed by a second academic. In 2016, its fact-check unit was accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network, an alliance hosted at the Poynter Institute in the United States, which requires non-partisanship, transparency, and a commitment to open corrections.