The DiSSCo General Assembly (GA) is a very important step towards having a productive preparatory phase and ultimately to becoming a successful Research Infrastructure. Following a comprehensive stakeholder consultation and review process, the Coordination and Support Office (CSO) has developed the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the DiSSCo GA.
Starting today, the call for applications for membership of the DiSSCo GA is officially open. This GA process is a milestone for DiSSCo and shows the maturity of the Research Infrastructure.
All signatories of the DiSSCo Memorandum of Understanding are automatically considered as associate members (according to Article 4 of the ToR) with all the rights and obligations this includes.
If you have not signed the DiSSCo Memorandum of Understanding but are interested in doing so, please get in contact with the DiSSCo Coordination Office. Signing the Memorandum of Understanding is a prerequisite to becoming a (associate) member of the DiSSCo GA.
To become a member as per Article 3.1 of the ToR, applicants will need to complete the application process. Below, you will find the application package for membership which contains:
- A cover letter
- The DiSSCo General Assembly Terms of Reference
- The Coordination and Support Office Multi-annual Work Plan and Budget
- The DiSSCo General Assembly Cash Contributions Document
- An Agreement for the Provision of Cash Contributions
The complete package can be downloaded here.
Please read all the documents carefully and then start – as soon as possible – the conversations within your country whether you would like to apply for becoming a member of the DiSSCo GA with voting rights. The entire process – from submitting your application to having the contractual agreement signed – needs to be completed by 14 February 2020, i.e. two weeks before the inaugural GA which will take place on 28 February 2020.
You can officially submit your expression of interest by completing this online form.
This expression of interest will then trigger the process to sign the contractual agreement between two legal entities: Naturalis Biodiversity Center as the administrator of the funds and the legal entity representing the prospective member, be it a representative organisation of a national consortium (according to Article 3.1 of the ToR) or an individual institution in case no national consortium has been formed yet (according to Article 3.2 of the ToR). In this process, flexibility will be applied regarding the structure of payments as to accommodate the circumstances specific to each country.
In case the contractual agreement model contained in the application package does not entirely meet your administrative needs, a more advanced service agreement model can be considered. Such a document is currently undergoing legal review and will be made available to you if necessary.
We are looking forward to receiving your applications and to meeting all of you at the inaugural DiSSCo GA on 28 February 2020 in Helsinki, FI, kindly hosted by the Finnish Museum of Natural History-LUOMUS.
Please make sure you adhere to the deadline and have the contractual agreement signed by 14 February 2020!
The DiSSCo CSO will be very happy to answer any questions on the process. Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@dissco.eu.