The OSLO CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER is pleased to invite nominations of potential members to serve on the OCHRC Board.

The OSLO CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER (OCHRC) is a network of interested partners begun in 2001 and supported by the Global Forum for Health Research in Geneva, Switzerland. The overall goal of OCHRC is to improve child health and nutrition through the promotion of appropriately targeted research, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In pursuing this objective, OCHRC intends to contribute and support the Millennium Development Goals of eradicating extreme hunger and poverty, reducing child mortality, and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases in children.

The specific objectives of OCHRC are:

1. Promote priority setting in research within a broadened approach to child health, nutrition and development;
2. Expand global knowledge on childhood disease burden and the cost-effectiveness of interventions;
3. Ensure adequate inclusion of lower and middle income country institutions and scientists in setting priorities and formulating plans;
4. Promote appropriate capacity development in low- and middle-income countries;
   and
5. Stimulate donor participation to support and increase resources for under- funded research activities.

Board Composition

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:

• Organizations and/or groups on Child Nutrition
• NGO South
• Governmental donors, foundations and private donors
• Academia or Research Organizations South
• Academia or Research Organizations North
• Public Sector
• Multilateral and International development agencies.

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

The Board of OCHRC generally meets twice a year but not less than once a year. Meetings are held in Dhaka, Bangladesh and other locations around the world. The next Board meeting will take place in Mumbai, India in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Global Forum for Health Research, Forum 9. Two meetings are anticipated in 2006, the first in February/March in Dhaka, and the second, in October/November in conjunction with Forum 10 in Cairo. Between Board meetings, work is conducted through e-mail. The Board:

• Acts on behalf of the OCHRC and takes all such action as is deemed necessary in the pursuit of its objectives;
• Appoints the Chair, the Vice Chair (if elected), the other members of the Board, the Secretary and the Auditor;
• Sets the policies and strategies for OCHRC;
• Sets operational guidelines, work plans and budget for the Secretariat;
• Reviews and approves the work plan, the Budget of the OCHRC as well as progress reports;
• Approves the annual report and audited accounts of OCHRC;
• Makes funding decisions;
• Identifies and addresses issues of importance for the achievement of the OCHRC objectives;
• Oversees the progress of OCHRC programs and projects;
• Advocates for OCHRC and mobilizes resources;
• Periodically monitors and evaluates progress of OCHRC's activities ;
• Creates such committees as may be deemed appropriate for its governance and/or the implementation of the objectives, programs and projects of OCHRC;
• Delegates to the Chair, to the Secretariat or to any committee it may deem appropriate relevant authorities for management purposes;
• Approves financial contributions of private and public donors and considers other modes of contributions;
• Reviews proposed publications and authorizes dissemination of research findings;
• Authorizes the execution of agreements as required to carry out the purposes of OCHRC; and
• Exercises all other lawful powers required to carry out the purposes of OCHRC.

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:

• University or other academic settings in high income countries; and
• Experts in child nutrition from low- or middle-income countries.

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 (Please click here for online submission);
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.

You can also send your nomination form, curriculum vitae and statement by e-mail; please send your mail to both and . Kindly indicate, "Nomination for OCHRC Board" in the subject line. All information and documents received will be kept confidential.