Board Decisions

GF/B03/DP06

Approved by the Board on: 10 October 2002

Committee Membership Principles

1. There should be a balance between chairs from developed and developing countries. There should be one chair per committee. The committee chair shall appoint a vice chair of the committee.
2. Committee chairs will preferably be either Board members or alternates. The Board will also approve any vice chairs who are appointed by committee chairs. The Board Chair/Vice Chair will select the committee chairs and submit these names to the full Board for approval. The Board will also approve any vice chairs who are appointed by committee chairs.
3. The Board Chair/Vice Chair will be able to designate or replace committee chairs when necessary as, for example, when a committee chair is no longer available, or is not adequately fulfilling the role. The Board will approve the change of any committee chair.
4. Committees will have a minimum of six and a maximum of twelve members.
5. The Board Chair/Vice Chair, in consultation with the committee chair and the ED, will propose the constituencies to be included on each committee, based on applications made by constituencies for committee seats, for full Board approval. There will be no more than one member per constituency on any single committee.Each constituency may participate in a maximum of three committees. Where demand for committee seats exceeds the maximum, priority will be given to ensuring the balance of donors, recipient countries, NGOs, private sector and foundations.
6. Constituencies will designate an individual to represent them on a given committee. While it is preferable that constituencies choose Board members or alternates to serve on committees, they are free to choose any individual to represent them.
7. While substitutes should be discouraged, committee members will be able to send substitutes as an exception without the approval of the committee chair.
8. Only committee members (or their substitute) will attend committee meetings, unless other individuals are invited to do so by the committee chair.
9. Expert input should be provided at the discretion of committees and in consultation with the Executive Director and may take the form of a panel of independent experts. The committee chair and vice chair, in conjunction with the ED, will then choose the panel of independent experts from the list of nominations submitted by the committee. The Board will not need to approve the specific list of individuals selected. These independent experts will be subject to the agreed conflict of interest provisions. When Board committees have designated an expert panel, the expert panel will be able to meet with the full committee, or (at the committee’s discretion) independently, with only the committee chair and/or vice-chair); in either case, Board/constituency members who are not members of the committee will not attend these expert panel meetings, unless invited to do so by the committee. The committee will provide terms of reference for expert panels.