ICSU’s response to the 2014 External Review

Introduction

The response has been informed by a number of consultations, including discussions at the ICSU Officers meeting in January 2015, the April 2015 meeting of the Committee on Scientific Planning and Review (CSPR), and the Executive Board meeting in April 2015. It draws on ideas raised by the Council’s membership during the Auckland General Assembly, as well as the outcomes of a Unions’ survey conducted by the CSPR in 2014. During June 2015 the Executive Board sought feedback on its proposals from previous ICSU leadership (Presidents and Vice-Presidents, as well as Executive Directors), and between July and October 2015 ICSU members were invited to submit their feedback.

The 2014 Review Panel issued five key recommendations, to which the Board has responded in the following ways:

1. By providing an analysis of the full set of recommendations, concerns and suggestions as well as the broader narrative, to identify a set of key challenges that ICSU must confront as it moves into the future.

2. By identifying a set of concrete actions that address these challenges and that ICSU is in a position to launch, and, as appropriate, implement before the 2017 ICSU General Assembly.