GSC Memorandum of Understanding  -  Annex

 

TERMS OF REFERENCE, STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONS AND FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS
FOR THE STEERING COMMITTEE FOR THE GLOBAL OCEAN OBSERVING SYSTEM
AND ITS SECRETARIAT STAFF

 

1.	TERMS OF REFERENCE

1.1	The GOOS Steering Committee shall:

1. be responsible for all the scientific and technical aspects of GOOS design, and undertake appropriate activities to support the design process,
2. co-ordinate and provide oversight of the GOOS planning and implementation process, on the basis of the scientific and technical design and of intergovernmental requirements and resources as expressed through I-GOOS,
3. provide guidance to the Director of the GOOS Secretariat in the duties to be performed by the GOOS secretariat staff,
4. submit reports to the sponsoring organizations and to I-GOOS at appropriate times.

1.2	Specifically, the GOOS Steering Committee will:

1. establish subordinate bodies, as appropriate, with as far as possible the chairs being selected from among the membership of the GOOS Steering Committee,
2. identify observational requirements ("user needs") and products in co-operation with I-GOOS; define design objectives; and recommend co-ordinated actions by the sponsoring organizations and other relevant organizations and agencies,
3. advise the Intergovernmental Committee for GOOS (I-GOOS) on all scientific and technical aspects of GOOS as well as on resource requirements, and take into account the proposals of I-GOOS in this regard,
4. collaborate with the steering committees of the other global observing systems (GCOS and GTOS) and with other appropriate bodies,
5. review and assess the progressive development and implementation of components of GOOS,
6. identify and encourage research efforts, in close co-operation with the on-going research programmes (such as IGBP and WCRP) in order to promote studies of importance for the development of GOOS,
7. encourage the development of new technologies needed for GOOS.

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2.	MEMBERSHIP

2.1

The GOOS Steering Committee should contain up to twelve members who will be scientific and technical experts, selected on the basis of their personal expertise, so as to provide a balanced representation of the major scientific and technical disciplines and of the major operational and research programmes, including governmental, contributing to GOOS.

2.2	The members of the GOOS Steering Committee will be appointed jointly by the heads of its sponsoring organizations.

2.3	Each of the sponsoring organizations shall appoint one representative member to the GOOS Steering Committee. The Chairperson of I-GOOS shall also be a member of the GOOS Steering Committee.

2.4

The members of the GOOS Steering Committee will be appointed for an initial period of three years and may be invited to serve an additional term of two years, but shall not normally serve for more than five successive years. The membership will be reviewed by the sponsors of GOOS after every two years. Membership shall be rotated in a manner which will ensure continuity as well as an influx of new members.

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3.

OFFICERS

3.1	The Officers of the GOOS Steering Committee shall be its Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, selected by the sponsoring organizations after consultation with relevant bodies and appointed for an initial period of three years, and may be invited to serve an additional two years.

3.2	The duties of the Chairperson of the GOOS Steering Committee, in close consultation with the Vice-Chairperson, shall be:

1. to preside over sessions of the GOOS Steering Committee,
2. to conduct the business of the GOOS Steering Committee between its sessions, in consultation with its Vice-Chairperson, other members of the committee as needed, the Director of the GOOS Secretariat and GOOS Steering Committee staff (see below) and with its sponsors and other international organizations as appropriate,
3. to ensure regular communication and co-ordination with the Chairman of the I-GOOS,
4. to be responsible for the editorial control of all scientific, technical and planning reports prepared on behalf of the GOOS Steering Committee,
5. to prepare an annual report on GOOS planning activities including the recommendations of the GOOS Steering Committee, for presentation to the sponsoring organizations, to I-GOOS and to the JSTC for GCOS.

3.3	The Vice-Chairperson shall assist the Chairperson as needed and shall assume the responsibilities of the Chairperson should the need arise.

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4.

MEETINGS

4.1	The GOOS Steering Committee shall meet at least annually, the venue and dates to be established by the Committee.

4.2	The Director of the GOOS Secretariat shall make the necessary practical arrangements for the meetings of the Committee and of its subordinate bodies and shall inform the Committee members, the sponsoring organizations and other participating organizations and agencies accordingly.

4.3

The attendance of representatives of sponsoring organizations at GOOS Steering Committee meetings shall be charged to the organizations concerned. Representatives of the other global observing systems will be invited to all sessions of the GOOS Steering Committee. Representatives of other relevant organizations and agencies may be invited by the Chairman, in consultation with the sponsoring organizations, to attend GOOS Steering Committee meetings as observers at the expense of the organizations concerned.

4.4	Individual experts may be invited by the Chairperson to participate in meetings of the GOOS Steering Committee as needed. The sponsoring organizations should be informed of such decisions which should be of an occasional nature.

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5.	SUBSIDIARY BODIES

5.1

The GOOS Steering Committee shall be authorized to establish panels, working groups and to engage consultants, etc. within the scope of its responsibilities. It should do this in consultation with its sponsoring organizations, taking into account the existing technical and scientific groups established by these organizations and the budget available for the work of the Committee.

5.2	Such groups should normally be appointed for a period not to exceed four years and the progress of each GOOS Steering Committee subsidiary body should be carefully reviewed by the Committee every two years.

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6.	GOOS SECRETARIAT

6.1

The GOOS Secretariat located at the IOC Secretariat shall assist in the promotion, planning, coordination and implementation of GOOS, provide staff support to GOOS Committees and Officers, consistent with resources, and facilitate co-ordination between the GSC and the I-GOOS and with the Secretariats of GCOS and GTOS.

6.2	A Director of the GOOS Secretariat shall be appointed in consultation with the sponsoring organizations.

6.3	The Director and staff of the GOOS Secretariat shall not be assigned duties outside the objectives of GOOS without the specific approval of the sponsoring organizations.

6.4	The Director will be responsible to the Officers of the GOOS Steering Committee and I-GOOS, acting on behalf of the sponsoring organizations.

6.5	The terms of reference of the GOOS Secretariat shall be to assist the GOOS Committees in:

1. The promotion, coordination, implementation and management of GOOS;
2. Identifying the resources needed for GOOS and the means for obtaining them;
3. Developing and updating plans for initiating implementation stages and monitoring the progress of GOOS;
4. Liaising with related research projects and other observing system bodies as appropriate;
5. Conducting public and information activities to promote GOOS.

6.6	Bearing this in mind, the GOOS Secretariat staff, under the responsibility of the Director, shall be charged with:

1. assisting the GOOS Steering Committee in preparing scientifically and technically-based plans for the development of GOOS,
2. providing staff support to the GOOS Steering Committee and its Officers and to the subsidiary bodies established by the Committee,
3. maintaining liaison with the sponsoring organizations and other relevant bodies,
4. maintaining liaison with the I-GOOS and its officers,
5. making arrangements for scientifically and technically-based planning and related co-ordination activities,
6. the preparation of annual budgets for the GOOS Steering Committee activities for approval by the Officers of the GOOS Steering Committee and the sponsoring organizations and for regular reporting on the use of funds made available to the GOOS Steering Committee in accordance with the provisions of section 7 of this Annex.

6.7	The continuity of these arrangements and of the necessary financial support for the GOOS Secretariat staff and planning activities shall be reviewed periodically by the sponsoring organizations and the Officers of the GOOS Steering Committee.

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7.	FINANCIAL AND OTHER ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE GOOS STEERING COMMITTEE SUPPORT

7.1	The planning activities of, and support staff for, the GOOS Steering Committee will be financed by the sponsoring organizations, supporting nations and participating organizations and agencies, including by earmarked budgetary allocations to the IOC Trust Fund.

7.2	These entities may also make contributions in kind to the GOOS Steering Committee, such as secondment of staff, provision of facilities and support for meetings, publications, etc.

7.3

Should the activities of the GOOS Steering Committee be terminated, the balance of the related contributions to the IOC Trust Fund, after all financial commitments are settled, shall be shared between the sponsoring organizations and other donors to the Fund in proportion to their respective contributions to it for the last accounting period.