Management and responsibilities

The organisational structue of LANDSCAPE EUROPE will consist four main components:

a. the Executive Board
b. the Network General Board
c. the Network Member
d. the Network Coordinating Office
e. the Network Chair (Acting Chair)

The interelations between these components are illustrated in Figure 1. The organisation of the Network will be object of the Steering Board review and can be revised after 2 years.

a) The Executive Board.

• Name: The Executive Board takes the role of the Executive Board.

• Size: 7 members + chair, elected by the assembly of country representatives for periods of 2 years, and appointing the chair out of their midst (no restriction on periods); membership of Executive Board is personal, but can be delegated to a colleague.

• Composition: The Executive Board shall provide a relatively even representation of Network Partner institutes throughout the different European regions (Scandinavia, Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean). In order to provide a maximum number of countries with the opportunity of influencing Landscape Europe affairs through active membership in the Executive Board it is proposed to offer one Network Partner institute per country a place in the NC. However, fulfilling the membership requirement (7) will have to be another criteria.

• Meetings: The Executive Board meets at least once per year. However, the opportunity of professional events such as international workshop, seminars or conferences should be used for arranging additional meetings. Executive Board Members are requested to provide the funds for participating at these meetings from their institutional resources

• Nomination: Since Executive Board Membership is based on even European distributions (3) and on the ability/willingness to fulfil certain requirements (7), a nomination of candidate members will need to reflect this type of eligibility. However, candidate members for the Executive Board will need to be confirmed every 2 years by all LANDSCAPE EUROPE Network Member through direct voting (on the event of a Network Memberhip Assembly) or by participating at an postal or electronic mailing. Both procedures will need to be specified.

• Tasks and responsibilities of the Executive Board:
  - Development of the Network Strategy;
  - Setting up Annual Work Programmes;
  - Appointment of Acting Chair;
  - Representation of LANDSCAPE EUROPE;

b) The Network General Board
Consists of the country representatives: they have voting power, appoint the Executive Board and approve the policy developed and implemented by the Executive Board.

c) The Network Members
Network Members consist initially out of those individuals and institutions that have been present during the first meeting in Wageningen. The Interim Executive Board needs to decide whether and under which conditions it wants to invite other candidate partners to join, e.g. those individuals and institutions that had been invited to the meeting but could not attend.

Network Full Members the institutes subscribing the mission of the Network and paying an annual subscription fee of € 2,500.

Network Associated Members are paying an annual subscription fee of € 500.

Network Assembly: the yearly gathering of Network Members, to which under specific conditions also observing and interested partners may participate.

The Network Members in each country appoint a country representative to act on behalf of them in the Network General Board.

It is suggested to clarify the partnership status through official declerations and to put much emphasis on the need for institutional backing and pro-active involvement.

d) The Network Coordinating Office of LANDSCAPE EUROPE will the following tasks:

• coordination and facilitation of network activities;

• project acquistion

• network communations and services;

• dissemination of information;

• workshop organisation

• periodic contact with policy institutions

Staff members of partners will be asked to join the LANDSCAPE EUROPE Network Coordination Office on the basis of secondment for clearly described tasks related to both research management and promotion of LANDSCAPE EUROPE in Europe. That means they will be both research co-ordinators as well as ambassadors for LANDSCAPE EUROPE. Specific tasks of the network can also be carried out in designated satellite offices with the partners. All defined tasks and secondments should lead to recognisable results.

The LANDSCAPE EUROPE Network Coordination Office can in principle be hosted by any partner of the LANDSCAPE EUROPE Network Members, with the exception of the Associated Network Members as these form NGOs or network organisations themselves. In order to become host institute for the Network Office, institute are required to provide a detailed funding and staffing plan to ensure that the Network Office can operate properly.

Based on the outcome of the meeting, Alterra was offered to host the LANDSCAPE EUROPE Network Coordination Office (= front office) for an intial period of 2 years in Wageningen, for which basic funding will be provided by Alterra, and further funds should be secured by the Network, and to which staff from partners is invited in the form of secondments.

Alterra is going to provide its support functions for the Cooridnating Office, which will maintain its location in the Wageningen, independent from the development of LANDSCAPE EUROPE Network. The Interim Executive Board should make recommendations for defining the role of Coordinating Office, for (1) the time being, (2) until the end of the 2-years period, and (3) thereafter.

e) The Network Chair (= Acting Chair)
The Chair will have the task to represent the Network at official occacions and to provide objective and neutral advice for the internal and external operations, especially if there are conflicts of interests.

Open here the PDF-file for the Organisational Scheme