Governing committee

1. Appointment status

The leadership profiles below reflect roles already listed on the website. They are not a certified governing-member register. A scientific or staff title alone does not establish a board seat, voting power, bank mandate or authority to sign a grant. Signed appointment resolutions and governing terms have not been attached to this framework.

The seven-position model in the proposed constitution must be reconciled with the registered instrument before adoption. Unnamed positions must not be presented as occupied. A public appointment register should contain only verified, consented information; private addresses, identity numbers and signatures belong in controlled records.

2. Mandate and matters reserved to members

• Oversee lawful purpose, scientific strategy, institutional risk, financial stewardship, safeguarding and accurate public reporting.
• Approve budgets, funding agreements and institutional commitments only within the authority of the valid constitution. Monitor donor restrictions and the affordability of continuing obligations.
• Refer constitutional amendments, governing elections, annual accounts and dissolution to the General Body using the required procedure. Do not delegate powers that the constitution reserves to members.
• Commission independent technical, legal, financial or ethics advice when the Committee lacks expertise. Do not claim that a governance review substitutes for regulatory or research-ethics approval.

3. Proposed division of responsibilities

• Chairperson: lead meetings, ensure balanced participation, oversee the performance of management and implement decisions without unilateral control of funds or investigations.
• Vice-Chairperson: provide continuity and act only under a recorded delegation when the Chairperson is absent or conflicted.
• Secretary: maintain membership and appointment records, issue notices, record decisions, track filings and protect the authoritative policy versions.
• Treasurer: present budgets and financial reports, oversee banking and restricted funds, review reconciliations and support independent audit. A Treasurer must not also be the sole payment authorizer and sole reconciliation reviewer.
• Ordinary members: scrutinize proposals, contribute relevant expertise and provide independent oversight. At least two should be independent of paid management and major suppliers under the proposed model.
• Scientific Director and research management: assess feasibility, supervision, training and scientific quality. Their operational roles do not automatically create governing membership or an ethics-review mandate.

4. Election, tenure and appointment record

• Use the election, eligibility, two-year term and consecutive-term limits in the proposed constitution only after lawful adoption; existing registered provisions control in the meantime.
• Before appointment, obtain written consent, eligibility checks, an interests declaration and any permission required by the person's employer or public-service conditions.
• Record each member's full name, role, appointing body, resolution reference, start and end dates, voting status, declaration date and any delegation. Verify required regulatory notifications and approvals.
• Publish a dated appointment summary after consent and verification. Keep a private signed register and track resignations, expiry, vacancies and lawful replacement. Do not infer a committee from a collection of researcher biographies.

5. Meetings, conflicts and decisions

Under the proposed seven-member model, meet quarterly with seven days' notice and a quorum of four unconflicted voting members. Papers should identify the decision, supporting evidence, costs, risks and declarations required. Emergency meetings may address immediate protective action with the shortest lawful notice; they cannot bypass reserved matters or quorum.

Start each meeting with declarations and check conflicts for every agenda item. Record exclusion from discussion, quorum and voting where required. No casting vote is proposed; a tie means the motion fails. Minutes record attendance, evidence considered, dissent where requested, vote counts, delegated actions and deadlines, with confidential matters in a restricted annex.

Circulate draft minutes within 14 days and approve them at the next meeting. Written resolutions may be used only where the valid constitution permits, with identical papers for all eligible members and the required consent recorded. Silence is not a vote.

6. Independent review and protected escalation

The subject of an allegation, their close collaborator, supervisor, family member or financial associate must not control the complaint or appoint the decision panel. Unconflicted members appoint a competent external reviewer where internal independence is insufficient. The reviewer must have access to the relevant records under appropriate confidentiality arrangements.

Until an independent reporting contact is formally appointed, published leadership email addresses may be used to request a safe reporting route. Do not send participant records or sensitive evidence to a shared general inbox. If the Chairperson is implicated, approach an unconflicted Scientific Director; if both are implicated or the route is unsafe, use the relevant host institution, ethics committee, funder or competent authority directly. Internal reporting is not a prerequisite to lawful external reporting.

7. Annual oversight and accountability

• Review the risk register, funding obligations, financial controls, research approvals, interests register, staff welfare and complaints at least annually, with more frequent review for active risks.
• Keep a compliance calendar covering registration renewals, statutory filings, funder reports, ethics continuing review and contract deadlines. Assign a named responsible officer to every obligation before it falls due.
• Publish an annual activity and financial summary and a proportionate account of policy implementation. Protect participant identities, complainants, fair-process rights and legally restricted information.
• Evaluate Committee effectiveness annually and record training needs, overdue actions and the plan for independent expertise. Adoption of a policy is not evidence that the required controls already operate.