Call for Nominations for Member of the Board: The OSLO CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER
Deadline: October 10, 2008
Deadline: October 10, 2008
The OSLO CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER (OCHRC) is pleased to invite nominations of potential members to serve on the OCHRC Board.
About OCHRC
Founded in 2001 OSLO CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER is an independent international foundation registered in Switzerland. OCHRC’s goal is to improve the health and nutrition of all children in low- and middle- income countries through research that informs policy and practice. In recognition of the inequity in research funding of conditions affecting child health and nutrition in low and middle-income countries, the mission of OCHRC is to use evidence-informed advocacy to influence governments and funding agencies to prioritize child health and nutrition-related research and to strengthen research capacity in these countries.
The overall objectives of OCHRC are:
- Review, synthesize, generate and disseminate evidence to inform advocacy on research affecting child health and nutrition in low and middle income countries
- Advocate with governments and key funding agencies to increase funding for research on conditions affecting child health and nutrition in low and middle income countries that will be relevant for policy and effective programmes to overcome barriers to reach poor children and their mothers
- Advocate with governments and key funding agencies to strengthen child health and nutrition research capacity in low and middle income countries through achieving a critical mass of researchers and institutions that can encompass the entire spectrum of research required (from innovation to implementation).
Context for our work
The contribution of health research to early detection, treatment and prevention of diseases has been remarkable. But still one of the larger questions surrounding health research is whether or not recent advances are being successfully translated into better health care. Multi-level strategies are required to ensure the best available evidence is transformed into policies and practices that can most effectively address complex health problems facing children from low and middle income countries. OCHRC aims to address this issue by critically analyzing all available evidence and advocating with government and policy makers.
Although research has a very important role in the fight against global health challenges but when resources are limited, guidelines are needed to assist decisions on defining the priorities for health research investments. Current practices in which funding priorities are being set in global child health research have not been very successful in identifying context specific research agenda. The reason for failure lies in the fact that there is considerably less interest in research on how to implement effective interventions in the context of health services in countries with limited resources. Implementation research is not ranked highly by the scientific community or by most funding agencies. As it is rarely considered a research priority, research on new interventions far exceeds that on delivery. OCHRC has been at the forefront of developing a methodology to allow a more transparent and fairer approach towards setting health research priorities. OCHRC is helping to set research priorities in child health, development and nutrition through a systematic and transparent, rational and fair approach, and resolve related methodological issues. OCHRC has worked with 300 experts world-wide in applying this methodology in different diseases and conditions in different contexts. OCHRC is now collaborating with the World Health Organization’s Child and Adolescent Health Department and has organized eight working groups who are presently in the process of defining research priorities for eight major causes of child deaths globally using the OCHRC methodology. OCHRC has also worked with the Medical Research Council, South Africa in successfully applying the methodology in defining child health research priorities in that country.
OCHRC also sponsors research into priority child health and nutrition problems, especially in low- and middle-income countries, with a focus on research to inform policies for scaling up effective interventions. OCHRC has supported research projects in Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Philippine, Madagascar, Bolivia, Gambia, PNG, Mali, Pakistan and Bangladesh. OCHRC aims at increasing the level of communication and discussion amongst players working on research on child health and nutrition, such as nutritionists, child health specialists, and child development specialists. It provides a platform to initiate and maintain debate on the importance and direction of the research, bringing together scientists and implementing bodies to discuss issues relevant to the current status of knowledge and the requirements for the future. For more information related to the OCHRC objectives and thematic areas, please refer to our website: OCHRC.org.
Governance of OCHRC
An international board governs OCHRC. The Board is the highest authority of the Foundation. The OCHRC Board is composed of up to fifteen members who are researchers, policy makers, and/or experts with a high level of national or international recognition. Members are selected from the various constituencies relevant to OCHRC’s work including the following:
§ Non-governmental organizations and /or groups on Child Health and Nutrition
§ Academia or Research Organizations SOUTH
§ Academia or Research Organizations NORTH
§ Public Sector / Policy Makers
§ Multilateral and International development agencies
§ Donors ( Governments, Foundation and Private Donors)
The Board of OCHRC generally meets twice a year. Meetings are held in Dhaka, Bangladesh and other locations around the world. Between Board meetings, work is conducted through e-mail.
Term:
Board members serve for a three-year term, renewable for a consecutive term of up to three years. To ensure continuity of Board experience, appointments of members are staggered so that one-third of the Board members are renewed or changed each year.
BOARD FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES:
The functions of the Board are set out in Article 2 of the By-Laws and may be classified as follows:
Achievement of Objectives
Ø Act on behalf of the Foundation and take all such action as is deemed necessary in the pursuit of the Foundation’s objectives.
Ø Advocate the objectives of the Foundation.
Ø Identify and address issues of importance for the achievement of the Foundation’s objectives.
Ø Create such committees, including an executive committee, as may be deemed appropriate for the Foundation's governance, the achievement of the objectives and programs and the realization of its projects.
Ø Review proposed publications and disseminate research findings.
Ø Mobilize resources and approve contributions of public and private donors.
Oversight functions
Ø Mobilize resources and approve contributions of public and private donors.
Ø Make all funding decisions.
Ø Oversee the progress of the Foundation programs and projects
Ø Undertake periodically the monitoring and evaluation of the Foundation, its strategies and activities.
Approval functions
Ø Approve and review the policies and strategies of the Foundation.
Ø Review and approve the work plan and budget of the Foundation.
Ø Approve the annual report and audited accounts of the Foundation.
Ø Approve the OCHRC Operational Guidelines
General functions
Ø Exercise all other lawful powers required to carry out the purposes of the Foundation.
Nomination Process:
For all Board members, an open nomination procedure coordinated by the Secretariat is held to generate a pool of candidates from the constituency group. From the pool of candidates, the Board selects Board member(s) to ensure an adequate balance of expertise, high level of national or international recognition, contribution of the proposed candidate to the realization of OCHRC’s objectives, and gender as well as an appropriate distribution among constituencies and regions (North/South/East/West).
For this round of nominations, OCHRC encourages nominations of individuals from:
Ø Public Sector / Policy makers
If you are interested in becoming a member of the OCHRC Board or wish to nominate someone to the Board, please submit:
1. A Nomination Form (See the template at the bottom )
2. Statement summarizing the individual’s experience and expertise, and reasons why the individual would be a good candidate;
3. Curriculum Vitae, and
4. A Letter from the proposed candidate (if other than yourself) accepting the nomination.
Please send your completed nomination form, curriculum vitae and statement by e-mail to no later than 10 October, 2008. Kindly indicate, “Nomination for OCHRC Board” in the subject line. All information and documents received will be kept confidential.
Nomination Form
OCHRC Board Membership
Date:
Name and Title of Person Submitting Nomination:
Institution/Organization
Address:
Telephone:
FAX:
E-mail:
NOMINEE INFOMRATION
Nominee’s Name and
Title:
Institution/Organization:
Address:
Telephone:
FAX:
E-mail:
Statement of Nominee’s Experience and Expertise, and Reasons for Recommending:
Please send your completed nomination form, curriculum vitae and statement by e-mail to . Kindly indicate, “Nomination for OCHRC Board” in the subject line. All information and documents received will be kept confidential.
