109th Meeting of Executive Board

Transcription

1 109th Meeting of Executive Board 18 September April 2013 DECISIONS Present: Apologies for absence: Secretariat: Partial attendance: Orhan Altan, John Ball, David Black, Luiz Davidovich, Maria Carla Galavotti, Dov Jaron, Yuan Tseh Lee, Malegapuru W. Makgoba, Gordon McBean, Nicole Moreau (Agenda items 1-13 and 21-29), Hans Rudolf Ott, Sergio Pastrana, Kennedy Reed, Guoxiong Wu and Steven Wilson (ex officio) Catherine Bréchignac Tish Bahmani Fard, Carthage Smith and Denise Young Peter Bates, Gisbert Glaser, Vivien Lee, Howard Moore, Katsia Paulavets, Anne-Sophie Stevance and Clare Thirlway Tuesday, 23 April 1. Welcome and Opening of the Meeting The Board noted that Catherine Bréchignac had been expected to attend the meeting (her last as Past-President) in part but unfortunately would not be able to do so. 2. Adoption of the Agenda With the addition of an item on vested interest under Any Other Business, the Agenda was adopted. Decision To ADOPT the Agenda. 3. Report of 108 th EB Meeting and Matters Arising (not treated elsewhere) With the exception of the items below, all other matters arising were treated elsewhere on the Agenda. The decisions taken by teleconference on 4 March were provided for information.

2 2 3.1 External Review of ICSU At its teleconference on 4 March, the Board had agreed that a formal letter of invitation should be sent to the Selection Committee s first choice of persons to serve on the Review Panel. To date nine responses had been received: three of the invitees had declined, five had accepted and one person was considering. Five persons had not yet responded. The offer from the Materials Research Society of Singapore (MRS-S) to host the Review had been formally accepted and they had started work on the hosting of the review. Decision To NOTE progress in the establishment of the External Review Panel. 3.2 Communications The Board was given an update from the Communications Team on progress since the previous EB in Developments included a new newsletter format which is more personalized, with a message from the Executive Director and a feature from an ICSU programme or member. The website now has buttons for several portals for important areas of ICSU s work such as Science for Policy and Future Earth. The Board heard that the ICSU website needs to move to a situation of continuous improvement and redesign, in order to keep pace with fast changing technology. As part of the branding activities around the 2014 GA, it had been proposed to commission an ICSU corporate video which clearly explained what ICSU was, what it did and why it mattered. This was part of the overall effort to promote greater engagement with members by communicating clearly about our activities and achievement. The recent publication of a paper in Nature on Sustainable Development Goals, on which Gisbert Glaser of ICSU was a co-author, had given ICSU a lot of visibility in terms of media coverage and associated traffic to the ICSU website and social media platforms. Decisions To NOTE actions taken on ICSU communications since the last meeting; to ASK the communications team to ensure that all Members of the Board received the newsletter; and to AGREE the proposal for an ICSU corporate video to be launched at the GA. 3.3 Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in the conduct of Science (CFRS) As agreed at the last meeting, the Chair of CFRS would be invited to contribute to the next meeting of the Board. The only member of Latin America serving on CFRS Washington Benitez-Ortiz had resigned due to other commitments. It was important that all regions were represented on this Committee, and the Chairman had proposed an alternative, Alberto Núñez Selles (Cuba). Given the difficulty in identifying a suitable candidate from the region in

3 3 the first instance, the Board was asked to consider the Chairman s recommendation of making a rapid appointment. This followed discussion with the Secretary General and Vice-President for External Relations. Decision To INVITE Alberto Nunez Selles to serve on CFRS. 3.4 Research access and assessment Open access to scientific data and literature Assessment of research by metrics It had been agreed at the 107 th meeting of the Board that the ICSU policies on open access to scientific data and information should be clarified in discussion with Members and a report presented for approval to the next General Assembly. A small EB subgroup had been formed to take this forward, and initial inputs from ICSU s own specialised data and information bodies were presented to the Board at this meeting. A draft letter requesting input from Members had been prepared by the EB sub-group. Open access was also one of the themes that had been selected for break-out group discussions at the Unions meeting. Decision To NOTE progress with regard to open access; and to AGREE to extend the EB sub-group and hold a physical meeting, if necessary, and also discuss whether to include metrics, when inputs from members had been received. 3.5 Fund-raising The Executive Director had been unable to progress the actions on Fundraising due to other pressures, but intended to return to this item as soon as possible after the Future Earth Interim Director was in place. 4. Decisions taken electronically since last meeting No decisions had been taken electronically since the last meeting of the Board. 5. Report of Committee on Scientific Planning and Review (CSPR) and Matters Arising (not treated elsewhere) The 25 th CSPR meeting took place on 7-8 March 2013 at the ICSU Secretariat in Paris. The Report had been finalized by the Secretariat but had not yet been approved by the CSPR Chair or Members. Decision To NOTE the report of the 25 th meeting of CSPR.

4 4 6. Global Sustainability Activities 6.1 Future Earth Transition Team Final Report In September 2011, the 30th ICSU General Assembly approved the establishment of a new 10-year interdisciplinary initiative on Earth system research for sustainability, now called Future Earth, as an interdisciplinary body, in cooperation with the partners of the Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability. The Alliance partners included ICSU, the International Social Science Council (ISSC), the Belmont Forum of funding agencies, UNESCO, UNEP, UNU; with WMO as an observer. Future Earth, which was launched at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20, June 2012), would provide critical knowledge required for societies to face the challenges posed by global environmental change and to identify opportunities for a transition to global sustainability. The Future Earth Transition Team, appointed in June 2011 by the ICSU EB, in cooperation with other partners of the Alliance and following recommendations of CSPR, had now completed its work on the initial design of Future Earth. This group comprised more than 30 researchers and experts from many countries and representative of the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, as well as from international organizations, research funders and business. A final draft of the Transition Team s report was provided for the Board. The report set out the initial design of Future Earth, comprising a research framework and governance structure, preliminary reflections on communication and engagement, and capacity building and education strategies, and implementation guidelines. Earlier drafts of the report s main sections had been circulated and presented for consultation in the process of designing Future Earth. Future Earth was expected to develop and evolve through a wider consultation process as the transition was made to its fully operational phase. Consultation meetings in the MENA region, Europe and North America were in advanced planning for May-June The recommendations set out in the report suggested a direction for ICSU, its partners in the Alliance, and the initial governance bodies of Future Earth, to take the design and implementation forward to full operation of Future Earth. 6.2 Future Earth Scientific Committee The 108th Executive Board had agreed to two important implementation steps for Future Earth the establishment of the Future Earth Science Committee and the recruitment of the Future Earth Interim Director. Interviews had been held for the Interim Director and the Executive Director provided the Board with an update on progress. A call for nominations for the Future Earth Science Committee had been sent to ICSU and ISSC members, Alliance members and the Global Environmental Change programmes and yielded a total of 134 nominations. The nominations process had been announced on various websites to ensure community awareness, and was open between 9 January and 26 February. A 7-person Selection Committee had been established, cochaired by the Vice President for Scientific Planning and Review (ICSU) and Professor Alberto Martinelli (ISSC).

5 5 The Selection Committee had engaged in two rounds of evaluations and three teleconferences - to produce a proposal of 18 nominees (16 normal members plus 2 cochairs) that strived to meet both scientific excellence and balance on discipline, gender, age, and geography. The Secretariat then informally consulted the Alliance regarding the proposal, noting that the Alliance would be asked to endorse the proposed membership, following the decision by the ICSU EB and the ISSC Executive Council. The Alliance had made some modest alternative suggestions to help improve geographic balance. 6.3 Alliance concept paper Co-design was one of the important, novel features of Future Earth and one reflection of this was that the programme was co-sponsored by an Alliance of organizations bringing together representatives of the global scientific community (ICSU and ISSC), funders of global environmental change research (Belmont Forum / IGFA) and beneficiaries and service providers, represented by UN organizations (UNESCO, UNEP and WMO as an observer). All Alliance members shared a common interest in the use of science, technology and innovation in helping to move towards global sustainability. Whilst the Alliance had played an important role in the development of Future Earth to date it had particularly important roles in terms of helping to raise funding for the programme going forward. It was also taking the role of the interim Governing Council whilst permanent arrangements were made. Given these Alliance roles but considerable uncertainty in the community regarding the nature of this group, a concept paper, describing the Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability had been prepared. Decisions To ACCEPT the Future Earth Initial Design Report as providing the basic design of Future Earth that will guide implementation; to AGREE on the Future Earth Science Committee membership, taking account of alternate suggestions made by the Alliance (see Annex 1 for final approved membership); and to NOTE the Alliance concept paper. 7. Science for Policy 7.1 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) update At the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012, the world s governments had agreed to develop a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs). The goals were to address and incorporate the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development and their interlinkages in a balanced way. The SDGs should be global in nature and applicable to all countries, developed and developing alike, while taking into account different national realities and capacities. This made them different from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were targeted at eradicating extreme poverty and related social ills in developing nations by An intergovernmental UN Open Working Group (OWG)

6 6 was set up on 22 January 2013 by the UN General Assembly. It was tasked with developing a set of proposed SDGs during 2013 and 2014, to be submitted to the UN General Assembly for approval in ICSU was working with the UN to make sure that scientific advice and expertise was available to the OWG. To this end, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, ICSU and ISSC had agreed to organize an Expert Group Meeting on Science and Sustainable Development Goals at the UN in New York on March The meeting (about 30 scientists invited) was meant as an occasion both for the scientific community to discuss among itself how science can best inform the SDG process, and for the scientific community to initiate a dialogue with policy makers, including members of the OWG, who were engaged in intergovernmental deliberations on the SDGs. Similarly, ICSU supported the preparation of a paper providing a scientific underpinning to the SDGs process. This paper was written by a small group of scientists and science policy experts who were on the Organizing Committee of the Planet Under Pressure Conference (London, March 2012) and/or were involved with Future Earth. The paper integrated the goals of keeping the Earth system in a Holocene-like state (planetary boundaries) as a prerequisite for global sustainability, with universal human well-being goals and post-2015 MDGs. In addition, ICSU would contribute to the work of the OWG through its role as coorganizing partner, together with ISSC and WFEO, of the Scientific and Technological Community UN Major Group. 7.2 High-level meeting of national-level science advisers ICSU was working to create a forum for discussing opportunities, challenges and best practices on national science-policy processes. This would bring together senior scientists with leading positions on science for policy at the national level, including chief scientific advisers (CSAs) in countries where CSAs are in place. Beyond its initial discussions, this meeting could generate an ongoing global network for exchange and dialogue. The aim was to convene a first meeting around the time of ICSU s General Assembly in New Zealand in Peter Gluckman, the Chief Scientific Adviser from New Zealand, had agreed to partner with ICSU on this effort. 7.3 Climate Policy Options Project ICSU was developing a project to create an international dialogue on the role of the scientific community in advising national climate change response efforts. The project was very much at the early planning and scoping phase. Decisions To NOTE ICSU s work on the SDGs and provide advice on future work; to APPROVE the proposal for the national science advisors project; and to APPROVE the proposal for a climate policy options project. 8. Urban Health The first meeting of the Scientific Committee for the new Urban Health and Wellbeing programme took place in Paris in December The next meeting was scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur in May and would include a session with the scientists

7 7 involved in developing projects with the support of the Regional Office for Asia and Pacific. The plans for an international Conference on Urban Dynamics in Paris in September 2013 were proceeding and partnerships with other key organizations being developed. An open call for offers to host the International Programme Office (IPO) went out to all ICSU Members in January and two offers had been submitted for consideration by the Executive Board. Members of the Scientific Committee had also been consulted electronically for views on the merits of these two proposals. The Board agreed that more information should be sought from the two potential hosts and that, in the light of this, a site visit by a small selection panel should be arranged. Decisions To AGREE on merits of the proposed offers; to AGREE that a site visit should take place, the selection panel to consist of the Vice- President for Scientific Planning and Review, a member of the Secretariat and one member of the programme Scientific Committee; and to FURTHER AGREE.to authorize the selection panel to take the final decision as to the location of the IPO st General Assembly Draft Agenda Although the Statutes only called for the Agenda to be sent to Members three months in advance of the General Assembly, in practice this was always sent at least one year in advance in order to allow Members time to consult and send their inputs to the Agenda. A Draft Agenda was provided for consideration by the Board. 9.2 Appointment of Nominating Committee The role of the Nominating Committee was to make recommendations on nominations received for the position of Officers and to receive the nominations for Ordinary Members of the Board. The Nominating Committee consists of the President and six other Members and was appointed by the Executive Board. Members of the Nominating Committee were not eligible for election. Although the Statutes only stipulated that the Nominating Committee be appointed one year in advance of the General Assembly, it was preferable that this be done earlier in order that the call for nominations could be sent out in sufficient time to allow Members a reasonable consultation period. One meeting of the Committee was foreseen, after 28 February 2014, when nominations had to be received in order for the Nominating Committee to be able to send its slate to Members by 30 April 2014 (Rule of Procedure 6.2), with an additional teleconference at the beginning of the Assembly, if the President deemed that the slates produced by the Unions and National Members fora for Ordinary Membership of the Board were inadequate. This had not so far happened. The EB needed to appoint the Members of this Committee. 9.3 Lecturers and speakers Following the Executive Board teleconference on 4 March 2013 and the decision regarding GA speakers, the Secretariat had contacted the Royal Society of New Zealand

8 8 to ask for suggestions for speakers from New Zealand. With regard to the decision by the Board to choose a Chief Science Advisor as one of the speakers, the Royal Society had suggested Peter Gluckman (the Prime Minister s Science Adviser: and had added the further suggestion that he could share the speaking slot with Mark Quigley who handled a lot of the national and international media around the Christchurch earthquake and would share his experiences and learning on the role of scientists in a disaster: For the second speaker slot, the Royal Society, in discussion with SCAR, had suggested Nancy Bertler, whose work in Antarctica was creating a lot of interest: html; SCAR would be holding their conference immediately prior to the ICSU General Assembly, in the same venue. The Board needed to agree on the speaker for the third slot at the GA. 9.4 Practical arrangements The Assembly would be held in the SkyCity Convention Centre in Auckland. The SkyCity Grand Hotel was adjacent to the Convention Centre and there were plenty of other hotels in the vicinity. The Royal Society had hired a professional conference organizer for all the logistical arrangements. The representative from this company visited ICSU last year and would be coming to Paris again in May of this year. ICSU s contact at the Royal Society was Richard Meylan, who had spent 9 months on secondment at ICSU in 2011 and attended the 30 th General Assembly in Rome that same year. Given that he was familiar with how the ICSU Assembly functioned and that there was a conference organizer, the Secretariat felt that a site visit was not necessary and would not justify the time and expense involved. The Secretariat was currently in discussion with the host, regarding the possibility of offering a central flight booking system to delegates. The ICSU management team had overall responsibility for organizing the Assembly and Clare Thirlway was the Project Manager and ICSU contact point. A project plan had been established, along with a list of responsibilities by area of work; all members of the Secretariat would be involved in the project, in different small teams. There would be regular contact with the host and with the conference organizer, via Skype and . Decisions To AGREE on the GA Agenda; to ASK the Executive Director and Assistant Executive Director to draw up a short list from the names proposed for membership of Nominating Committee and to submit this, with proposed alternates, to the Executive Board for approval; to AGREE to ask the President to decide on the third speaker at the GA; to AGREE that travel to the GA should be by premium economy or upgradable economy fares with a maximum per ticket of 3 000, and that, for the Policy Committees only the participation of the Chairs of CSPR and CFRS should be covered; and to NOTE the GA Project Plan and staff responsibilities.

9 nd General Assembly 2017 A call inviting offers to host the 32 nd General Assembly in 2017 had been sent to Members on 16 May 2012 with a deadline of 31 December To date no offers had been received. The date and place of the next General Assembly should be decided by the previous session of the Assembly or, failing this, by the Executive Board. Decision To AGREE to reiterate its call to Members for offers to host the 32 nd General Assembly. 11. Strategic Forward Look This item provided an opportunity for the Board to have a strategic, forward looking discussion on three important topics for ICSU, namely: the ICSU regional structure, engagement with ICSU members; and the relationship with ICSU peer organizations. These were topics which regularly appeared on the Board agenda (there were specific items on all of these topics at this meeting). The purpose of this session, however, was to focus on some more general questions: how well were we doing currently; what needed to be improved; how could the Board and Secretariat work together to realise these improvements within our available resources and priorities? The main issues highlighted were: 11.1 Regional model Regional Offices (ROs) are constrained by few staff and limited finance Need for coordination of ICSU policy between ICSU central and the regions Need to involve the Unions in activities of ROs and ensure ROs are aware of Union activities in the region Need to stress the link between Regional Committees and ROs with ICSU as a whole EB liaisons should report to the Board on regional meetings they had attended Encourage regional nodes for Future Earth 11.2 Membership engagement Raise awareness in Unions and National Members of ICSU s activities and benefits of membership they are ICSU Show how NMs and Unions are involved in different ICSU projects at GA Encourage Unions to work in clusters Continue to send ICSU representatives to Union meetings 11.3 ICSU s peer organizations Sometimes membership in common Should cooperate not compete Explore areas for collaboration, e.g. science education and young scientists groups

10 Relationship with Members 12.1 Unions meeting April 2013 The Unions meeting would take place on April 2013 and good progress had been made with the planning. After consultation with the Unions a draft agenda had been produced, which aimed to give the Unions information on ICSU activities and ample time for discussion on how they could contribute to key ICSU projects. This was not a decision-making meeting, although some suggestions might arise from the discussions. The Unions had been asked to submit information about their activities and future priorities, and this would be compiled and distributed prior to the meeting as background information. Decisions To NOTE progress on the Unions meeting Meetings of Unions and Interdisciplinary Bodies Major Union and Interdisciplinary Bodies meetings provided an excellent opportunity for ICSU to engage with its membership and programmes. It was currently the practice to circulate a list of such meetings to Board Members, and encourage attendance by a Board representative, particularly where there was a member who lived in the same region as the meeting. Board Members gave presentations on ICSU at the meetings, which provided an excellent opportunity to engage with the membership on current ICSU initiatives and member priorities. The Secretariat offered presentation material and briefings for those Board Members who attended meetings on this basis. Informal feedback from the Unions and Interdisciplinary Bodies had been rather mixed it was clear that the participation by ICSU Board Members was welcomed, but sometimes there was a request that the Board attendees needed to have a better understanding of how the particular Union had contributed to ICSU and its key activities before attending; without this, there was a perception of disengagement at the meeting itself. It was suggested that ICSU should try to ensure that a one page flyer on ICSU was included in Union meeting materials and EB representatives should contact the Union concerned to ensure that they had full information on the Union s activities before attending the meeting. Decision To AGREE that a brief report of each meeting attended by the EB representatives to Unions meeting should be made at Board meetings. 13. Relationship with Key Partners 13.1 Forthcoming Key Meetings involving Secretariat A list of key meetings organized by, or in which ICSU is involved, and who would be attending from ICSU for the period May-October 2013 was provided for information for the Board.

11 Key Partners Brief reports were made on a number of strategic partners including on plans for a TWAS-IAP-UNESCO meeting to be held in Trieste. Decision To NOTE interactions with key partners. 14. Regional Activities 14.1 Remit of Regional Offices The document describing the remit of the Regional Offices had been updated following the reviews that were completed in This document had been discussed at the meeting of ICSU Officers and Directors and Chairs of Regional Committees in November 2012, when amendments had been agreed. The final version was presented to the EB for approval and the EB proposed some changes Terms of Reference of Regional Committees The Regional Office reviews that were completed in highlighted the need to amend the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Regional Committees to emphasise their science advisory, as opposed to management, function. Revised ToR had been discussed at the meeting of ICSU Officers and Directors and Chairs of Regional Committees in November 2012, and amendments had been agreed. The final version was presented to the EB for approval and the EB proposed some changes Review Plan for Regional Offices The three ICSU Regional Offices had been reviewed for the first time under the aegis of CSPR in The timing of the next reviews was determined by the MoUs for the Offices, and (in the case of Africa) the potential need to solicit proposals for a new host. A preliminary schedule for the timing of these reviews had been agreed by CSPR and was presented for consideration by the Executive Board. The Board agreed that any process to solicit bids to host the African Office would require careful attention and thorough discussion with the present host Development of a 10-year project proposal to Sida In June 2012 substantial funding (~ 770k) had been secured from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) for a 20-month pilot programme that focused on Strengthening the Involvement of Developing Countries in Setting and Implementing the Research Agenda for Global Sustainability. This had included funding for regional consultations on Future Earth, as well as integration and implementation workshops for disaster risk and sustainable energy. Discussions had begun with the Regional Directors and SIDA representatives on a potential 10-year follow up grant (2x5yrs), which was likely to be on the scale of 1-1.5m Euros per year. A draft concept note outlining the priorities and modalities for this funding had been prepared and was presented for consideration by the Board. From the

12 12 ICSU perspective it was important that any donor funding was used to address ICSU s own strategic priorities, promote integration of regional and global activities and align with the established remit and role(s) of the Regional Offices. The draft concept note had been discussed during the 25 th CSPR meeting and the CSPR members had agreed that the next proposal to Sida should focus on creating enabling conditions for mobilising additional funds to implement activities in the regions. However, the challenge of identifying options for how Regional Offices could support regional research projects to obtain funds still remained. The EB expressed the need for caution when dealing with such grants in order that the donor did not overly control the Regional Office and regional activities in general. Such grants should be awarded to ICSU central for disbursement in the regions. Decisions To APPROVE the revised description of the remit of the Regional Offices with some modifications (see Annex 2); to APPROVE the ToR of the Regional Committees with some modifications (see Annex 3); to NOTE the timetable for reviews of the Regional Offices and request CSPR to proceed with these reviews; to AGREE to continue discussions with the hosts of the Regional Office with regard to soliciting bids to host the African Office; and to ADVISE to proceed with caution on the future Sida proposal. 15. Finance 15.1 Report from CF The Committee on Finance met the day before the Board meeting and the Chair reported on the meeting Accounts The Board considered the audited accounts for 2012 and approved these Budget for 2013 A provisional operating budget for 2013 (updated from the outline presented to the 30 General Assembly) had been approved by the EB in November. A revised version of this had been considered by the CF and was presented to the EB for approval National Members with financial difficulties The conjuncture of the change in the ICSU dues structure and the global economic crisis had resulted in difficulties for several of ICSU s National Members with regard to the payment of dues. There had been several requests for exemptions from payment, which had been considered by the CF. The Treasurer reported on the outcome of the CF discussions.

13 13 Decisions To RECOMMEND the closed 2012 accounts for (electronic) approval by the General Assembly; to APPROVE the revised budget for 2013 (see Annex 4); to AGREE that no exemptions from payment of dues could be made. 16. Interdisciplinary Bodies 16.1 International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) The International Network for the Availability of Science Publications was an interdisciplinary body of ICSU. Legally it was a limited company with charitable status under UK law and ICSU was the owner. It had a Board of Trustee Directors, which was appointed by ICSU. In 2012 a new Executive Director had been appointed by the Trustees and funding for the next five years of activity had recently been secured from Development donors. The Chair was proposed by the Trustees and the appointment endorsed by the ICSU Board. The current Chair, John Wood, was appointed in October The Trustees recommended that this appointment be renewed for a further three years. Decision To ENDORSE the appointment of John Wood as Chair of INASP for a further three years until October Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) The 28 th General Assembly of the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA), meeting in Taipei on 1-2 November 2012, had decided to enlarge its membership structure through the establishment of two new categories: At-large members and Affiliate members. At the same time it had decided to suppress the category Supporting Organizations. These proposals had stemmed from discussions held by CODATA s Membership and Strategic Planning Committees. The General Assembly had also endorsed a proposal from the CODATA Executive Committee that, in accordance with administrative and financial good practices, there be created a CODATA Reserve Fund. These decisions required changes to the Constitution of CODATA, whose Statute 14 required that all such changes be approved by the ICSU Executive Board. Decision To RATIFY the changes to the CODATA Constitution decided upon by the CODATA 28 th General Assembly Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) The Letter of Cooperation and Memorandum of Understanding by which the International Programme Office (IPO) of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) programme was established in June 2010 had foreseen that a review by the parties would be carried out on the performance and sustainability of the IPO in Beijing.

14 14 At the same time a review was due of the development and operation of the IRDR International Centre of Excellence hosted and financed by the Academy of Sciences located in Taipei and its contribution to the objectives of the global IRDR programme. The two reviews were understood to be of a non-formal nature. At its 25 th Meeting on 7-8 March 2013, CSPR had been briefed on both establishments and the operational challenges that they were facing. The IPO was continuing to experience difficulties related to national financial and administrative regulations. CSPR had also considered a written statement from the Chair IRDR-SC as to how the ICoE in Taipei was serving the needs and objectives of the global IRDR programme, and how improvements might be made. First reactions to these proposals on the part of the ICoE were reported to have been positive. The Executive Board instructed the Secretariat to pass on its own concerns to the parties over shortcomings in management, integration and communication that had been reported to it. It endorsed the specific proposals made by the Chair IRDR-SC for greater involvement of IRDR and its IPO in the planning and implementation of activities of the ICoE. Decisions To NOTE the concerns and ENDORSE the suggestions made by CSPR on the operation of the IRDR IPO and IRDR ICoE in Taipei; and to REQUEST the ICSU Secretariat to discuss with IRDR co-sponsors and partners concrete steps to be taken to improve current performance. 17. Admission of new Members and Associates 17.1 International Scientific Union Member Two applications for Scientific Union membership in ICSU had been received from the following organizations: International Cartographic Association (ICA) Commission International de l Eclairage (CIE International Commission on Illumination) The International Cartographic Association (ICA) was currently an International Scientific Associate of ICSU. Immediately prior to the Board meeting the CIE had amended its request to that of admission as a Scientific Associate (see 17.2). Decision To AGREE to instruct the Secretariat to ascertain if there is adequate support from Members for the application from ICA or not; and, if the former and no objections are received, to also recommend admission of this Association by the General Assembly in 2014.

15 International and Regional Scientific Associates An application for Regional Associate status had been received from the African Academy of Sciences (AAS). The Board also considered under this agenda item the amended application from the Commission International de l Eclairage (CIE International Commission on Illumination). Decisions To AGREE to instruct the Secretariat to ascertain if there is adequate support from Members for the application and, if so and no objections are received, to AGREE to admit the AAS as a Regional Scientific Associate; and to AGREE to instruct the Secretariat to ascertain if there is adequate support from Members for the application and, if so and no objections are received, to AGREE to admit the CIE as an International Scientific Associate. 18. ICSU Endorsement of Activities 18.1 International Year of Deltas (IYDs) A request had been received for ICSU endorsement of a proposal to declare 2014 the International Year of Deltas, the lead bodies in this request were IGBP jointly with WCRP. ICSU had already endorsed the International Year of Light in 2015 and the International Year of Global Understanding in 2016 and the International Year of Crystallography, previously endorsed by ICSU and planned for 2013, would now be held in Efi Foufoula-Georgiou who was leading the delta initiative joined the meeting by Skype. The Board expressed its support for the initiative and agreed the necessity to raise awareness of the importance of deltas. It questioned, however, whether it was feasible for the UN process for endorsement of international years to be successfully completed for 2014 and whether ICSU could endorse an international year if this had not already been endorsed by the UN. It noted that there was already an international year for The Board agreed that it would be prepared to endorse the project in some form other than an international year, in a similar manner to the EB endorsement of Mathematics of Planet Earth The initiative should be encouraged to explore possible involvement in the International Year of Global Understanding in Decision To AGREE that the International Year of Deltas could be endorsed in 2014 if given a somewhat different form. 19. Key Activities of President and Executive Director The Board noted the many and extensive ICSU activities undertaken by the President and Executive Director since the 108 th EB meeting, who gave oral updates on their activities. Decision To NOTE the key activities highlighted by the President and Executive Director.

16 Dates and Places of Next EB and Officers Meetings The following dates for future meetings were agreed: April Unions Meeting, Paris May World Conference on Research Integrity, Montreal May CFRS, Montreal September CSPR, Paris 04 November Committee on Finance, Paris 04 November Meeting of Officers, Regional Chairs, Directors and EB Liaisons, Paris November Executive Board, Paris April a.m. Committee on Finance, Paris April Executive Board, Paris 28 August Officers, Regional Chairs, Directors and EB Liaisons, New Zealand 29 August Executive Board, New Zealand 31 August- 03 September 31 st General Assembly, Auckland, New Zealand 04 September Executive Board, New Zealand Decision To AGREE on the dates of the meetings of the Board prior to the GA in Any Other Business The issue of members of committees being asked to declare any conflict of interest they might have had been raised and the Board considered a draft paper on this. Decision To ASK the Secretariat to prepare a revised paper on declaration of conflict of interest for consideration by the next meeting of the Board. 22. Evaluation of Meeting Thanks were extended to all the members of the Secretariat for their contributions to ensuring the smooth running of the meeting. 23. Closed Session 23.1 Without Executive Director 23.2 With Executive Director There being no other business, the President closed the meeting at 17:50. Annexes Annex 1 Final approved membership of Future Earth Science Committee Annex 2 Remit of Regional Offices Annex 3 Terms of Reference (ToR) of Regional Committees Annex 4 Revised budget for 2013 Annex 5 List of Follow-up Actions

17 03/06/ :34 Annex 1 CHAIR Mark STAFFORD SMITH Science Director, Climate Adaptation Flagship, CSIRO PO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia E mark.staffordsmith@csiro.au T M FUTURE EARTH SCIENCE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP VICE CHAIRS Belinda REYERS Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), PO Box 320, Stellenbosch, 7599 South Africa E breyers@csir.co.za T MEMBERS Bina AGARWAL School of Environment and Development University of Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK E bina_india@yahoo.com T (UK) / (India) Xuemei BAI Fenner School of Environment and Society Australian National University Canberra, 0200 ACT, Australia E xuemei.bai@anu.edu.au T Eduardo BRONDIZIO Student Building 130 Department of Anthropology Indiana University Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA E ebrondiz@indiana.edu T Bradley CARDINALE School of Natural Resources & Environment University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA E bradcard@umich.edu T Melissa LEACH Institute of Development Studies Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9RE, UK E m.leach@ids.ac.uk T Jane LUBCHENCO Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 401 Constitution Avenue, NW, Rm. 5128, Washington, DC 20230, USA E lubchenco@oregonstate.edu T Cheikh MBOW World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) United Nations Avenue, Gigiri Research Unit:SD6/Office:Room G197 P.O. Box , Nairobi 00100, Kenya E c.mbow@cgiar.org T / C Susanne MOSER Susanne Moser Research & Consulting 402 Arroyo Seco Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA E promundi@susannemoser.com T Karen O BRIEN Department of Sociology and Human Geography P.O. Box 1096 Blindern 0317 Oslo, Norway E karen.obrien@sosgeo.uio.no T P a g e

18 03/06/ :34 Annex 1 Sandra DIAZ Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, C. Correo 495, 5000, Córdoba Argentina E sdiaz@efn.uncor.edu T Armin GRUNWALD Karlsruher Institute of Technology Institute for Technology Assessment an Systems Analysis (ITAS) PO Box 3640, Karlsruhe, Germany E armin.grunwald@kit.edu T Heinz GUTSCHER Professor of Social Psychology Buchenweg Benglen, Switzerland E heinz.gutscher@uzh.ch T Dahe QIN 46 Zhongguancun Nandajie Beijing, China E qdh@cma.gov.cn T Youba SOKONA Special Advisor on Sustainable Development South Centre Chemin du Champ d Anier 17 Switzerland Eysokona@gmail.com / sokona@southcentre.org T / Cell: Tetsuzo YASUNARI Hydrospheric Atmospheric Research Center (HyARC) Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi , Japan E yasunari@chikyu.ac.jp ) T Corinne LE QUERE Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, NR4 7TJ, UK E c.lequere@uea.ac.uk T P a g e

19 Annex 2 24 April 2013 ICSU Regional Offices 1 Strengthening international science for the benefit of society ICSU Regional Offices The ICSU 27th General Assembly (September 2002) decided to establish four ICSU Regional Offices for Developing Countries to replace the ICSU Committee on Science and Technology in Developing Countries (COSTED). This decision was based on recommendations from a review of COSTED. Functions of the Regional Offices The ICSU Regional Offices will promote the further development and strengthening of science in the context of regional priorities and bring the science of developing countries closer to ICSU. The Offices will support the work of ICSU and its Scientific Unions, National Members in the Region, Interdisciplinary Bodies and Joint Initiatives as well as its partners such as UNESCO and the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS). The Offices will collaborate with and build on scientific networks in the region and help strengthen them as appropriate. The work programme and strategic directions of the Regional Offices will be aligned with the mission of ICSU: To strengthen international science for the benefit of society. Both regional ownership of the process leading to priority setting, and a focus on realistic outcomes, are essential if the work of the offices is to be successful and sustainable. In addition, effective partnerships within the ICSU family and with other key partners will help ICSU to function as a truly global organization involving the scientific communities in all countries and regions of the world. The Regional Offices shall: Ensure that the views of the scientific communities in the regions are taken fully into account in the development of ICSU s strategic priorities and promote and implement actions in line with these priorities; Support integration of ICSU s regional and global activities; Assist ICSU in strengthening science and capacity building in developing countries through South-South and North-South collaboration, and Promote increased participation of developing country scientists and regional scientific organizations in the implementation of the ICSU Strategic Plan A description of the functions of the Regional Offices and their modus operandi was decided on by the ICSU Executive Board at its 86th meeting (February 2003). This up-dated version of the document has been revised following recommendations from the Committee for Scientific Planning and Review (CSPR) based on an integral analysis of the three ICSU Regional Office Reviews in It was approved at EB 109 on 24 April 2013.

20 Annex 2 In line with these aims, the following types of activities would be appropriate functions for the Offices: (i) Help facilitate the adherence as ICSU National Members of institutions in countries of the region that do not yet adhere to ICSU; (ii) Develop and maintain links with national and regional scientific institutions, societies, academies and governments, including current National Members, in order to strengthen ICSU collaboration with them; (iii) Support relevant scientific networks in the region and initiate new networks, as necessary, within the framework of the ICSU strategic plan and regional priorities; (iv) Facilitate the free flow of scientists and scientific knowledge across borders; (v) Assist ICSU Members in their strategic planning for activities in the regions and ensure that their plans and activities are well linked to the science community in the regions, relevant networks and organizations and reflect regional priorities; (vi) Assist the ICSU family in identifying scientists for membership of committees and participation in activities within the ICSU family through the establishment of a database of experts; (vii) Act as a focal point for regional programme activities of ICSU and its members; (viii) Ensure efficient information transfer from ICSU and its family members to the scientific community in the region; and (ix) Share information and develop collaborative partnerships with UNESCO Regional Offices for Science as well as with other strategic ICSU partners such as TWAS and the InterAcademy Panel (IAP) on International Issues. Regional Offices have been established for: Sub-Saharan Africa, currently based at the National Research Foundation, Pretoria, South Africa Asia and the Pacific, currently based at the Malaysian Academy of Sciences, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Latin America and the Caribbean, currently based at the Mexican Academy of Science, Mexico city, Mexico. It is expected that a fourth Regional Office will be established for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Director of the Regional Office The Regional Offices will have a Director appointed by the Executive Board in close consultation with the Regional Committees and in accordance with the agreements between ICSU and the host institutions. The Director of the Regional Office is part of the ICSU Secretariat, under the direction of the ICSU Executive Director. The Director of the Regional Office is an ex officio member of the Regional Committee. The Directors of the Regional Offices are responsible for keeping ICSU-Paris fully informed of the activities of the Offices. Likewise, ICSU-Paris has special responsibility to keep the Regional Offices fully informed about the activities of ICSU at the international level. It is the responsibility of the ICSU Secretariat as a whole to facilitate information flow between the ICSU family and the Regional Offices.

21 Annex 2 Regional Committees ICSU Regional Committees provides advice on regional priorities and activities based on the ICSU Strategic Plan Priority setting will involve a consultative process of National Members and key organizations in non-member countries. This may be done through Consultative Fora to which representatives of National and Scientific Union Members as well as Interdisciplinary Bodies/Joint Initiatives will be invited. Key partner organizations will also be involved in the consultation. The Consultation process will be organized by the Regional Offices under the guidance of the ICSU Regional Committees. The Regional Committee will advise on a yearly work-plan. It is necessary that the work-plans for the Regional Offices are both visionary and realistic, reflecting the available resources. The core support from ICSU and the host institution/country should serve as a basis for the initiation of targeted activities and, where necessary, additional external support should be sought. It is essential that the work-plans of the Regional Offices be developed primarily on the basis of the ICSU strategy and not overly influenced the availability of external funds. The ICSU Executive Board (EB) appoints members of ICSU Regional Committees based on nominations received from National Members in the regions and in close consultation with the relevant Regional Committee. The EB can appoint additional scientists from the region to ensure good coverage of the various disciplines as well as the representation also of scientists from countries without a National Member organization. Regional Committee members are appointed for periods of three years, with potential renewal once. 2 The Chair of each Regional Committee will be appointed by the Executive Board for a period of three years. The ICSU Regional Committees are responsible for promoting the objectives and activities of the Regional Offices. Their function is mainly one of providing scientific advice and support rather than management. The Regional Committees will develop and approve annual work-plans and the chair shall report to the ICSU Executive Board annually at the meeting of ICSU Officers, Regional Chairs and Directors. Hosting and funding arrangements A formal agreement is negotiated between the host country/institution and ICSU for a specified period of time. The Regional Offices are based in existing scientific institutions in the host country and do not have their own legal identity. Thus, all staff will be employed by the local institution and the terms of employment will be similar to other staff in that institution. The host country/institutions support the Regional Offices by making staff and premises available plus catalytic financial support for programme activities. In addition, the Regional Offices receive core funding from ICSU, ( 50k in 2012, rising to 75k p.a. from 2013 onwards). The Regional Offices should also set targets for inkind and/or financial contributions from other countries in the Region. 2 At least 40% of Regional Committee membership should be rotated off each time.

22 Annex 2 The Director of the Regional Office is responsible for fund raising for additional activities and specific programmes under the general guidance of the Regional Committee. All fund-raising should be done in ICSU s name and should contribute to the overall delivery of ICSU s mission. ICSU-Paris will assist the Regional Offices in fundraising activities as appropriate. The host institution is responsible for keeping the books on income and expenditure in such a way that the finances of the Regional Office can be readily separated from the rest of the finances of the host institution. 3 Before the end of March each year, the host institution shall provide ICSU with audited accounts for the previous year. References: ICSU 2002: International Council for Science Report of ICSU s CSPR Panel for Review of Committee on Science and Technology in Developing Countries (COSTED). 39 pp. 3 Staff travel, regional committee travel and meeting costs should be reported as separate budget items.

23 Annex 3 24 April 2013 Terms of Reference for the ICSU Regional Committees i Background The mandate to create the ICSU Regional Offices was given by the 27th ICSU General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro (2002), following recommendations from the Review Panel of the Committee on Science and Technology in Developing Countries (COSTED). The ICSU Regional Offices are based in existing scientific institutions in the host country and are established by formal agreement between ICSU and the host institution/host country government. The functions of the ICSU Regional Offices are to promote the further development and strengthening of science in the context of ICSU s overall strategy and regional priorities, and bring the science of developing countries closer to ICSU. The Offices are established to support the work of ICSU and its Scientific Unions, National Members in the Region, Interdisciplinary Bodies and Joint Initiatives. Where it is appropriate, the Offices should work with regional and international partners, such as UNESCO and the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS). The Offices should collaborate with and build on scientific networks in the region and help strengthen them as necessary. Each ICSU Regional Office has a Regional Secretariat (headed by a Director) and receives strategic scientific guidance from an ICSU Regional Committee (ICSU RC). According to the procedures stated in corresponding ICSU-Host Institution Agreements, ICSU RCs are established by the ICSU Executive Board (EB) based on nominations received from ICSU National Members in the Region. The EB can add additional scientists from the region to ensure good coverage of the various disciplines as well as the representation of scientists from countries without a National Member Organization. Members of the Regional Committee are appointed for periods of three years, with potential renewal once. Initially members are appointed for a 2 or 3 year period to allow staggered rotation. As per decision of the ICSU Executive Board (103rd meeting, October 2010), the Chairs of the Regional Committees are formally appointed by the Executive Board in consultation with the Regional Committees. The Chairs are appointed for a period of three years. The Regional Director and the ICSU Executive Director serve as ex officio members in the Regional Committee and since 2007 (EB 96th decision) a Member of the Board has been appointed ex officio member on the RCs. The host institution also appoints an ex officio member of the RCs. The ex officio members have the same rights and responsibilities as ordinary members. Regional Committees meet normally twice a year. Terms of Reference: Each ICSU Regional Committees shall: Help the Regional Office to identify needs and priorities as input to the development of ICSU s overall Strategic Plans, ensuring that the views of the scientific communities in the region are fully taken into account in the definition of ICSU s global priorities; within the context of ICSU s overall strategy, be responsible for promoting the objectives and functions of the Regional Office, including regional science plans and activities;

24 Annex 3 promote increased participation of developing country scientists and regional scientific organizations in the implementation of ICSU s global and regional science plans and activities; assist ICSU in strengthening science and capacity building in developing countries through activities that promote South-South and North-South collaboration; work with the Director of the Regional Office on advocacy and fund-raising for the implementation of ICSU activities in the region; advise on annual work-plans and oversee their implementation, taking into account budgetary considerations; and play a scientific advisory role to ICSU, regarding issues in the region. The Regional Chairs and Directors will meet annually with the Officers of ICSU and report to the Executive Board. i These ToR are based on the Standard rule of procedures for appointment of Regional Committee members and incorporate recommendations from the overall CSPR review of the Offices in 2011; approved at EB 109 on 24 April 2013.