For Information
Summary of ELIXIR Board meeting, 30-31 October 2023
The 20th ELIXIR Board meeting took place from 30-31 October in Barcelona, Spain. All 22 ELIXIR Members were represented at the meeting.
At the meeting, the ELIXIR Board appointed the candidate proposed by the Director Search Committee to the position of ELIXIR Director. More information will be provided once contract negotiations have concluded. The Board additionally appointed Andrew Smith as interim Director, for an initial term of six months, from December 2023 to May 2024.
We are happy to announce that the ELIXIR Board approved the Membership application submitted by the Republic of Cyprus and invited the country to ratify the ELIXIR Consortium Agreement (ECA). Cyprus Observership was additionally extended for another two years, until such a time as the ECA can be ratified, at which point Cyprus will officially become an ELIXIR Member.
The Board additionally approved Romanias request to join ELIXIR as an Observer. This will allow the national bioinformatics community to become more closely engaged in ELIXIR until such a time as Romania will be able to apply for Membership in ELIXIR.
The Board approved the ELIXIR 2024-28 Programme and overarching priorities and ambitions driving investments over the next five years. Regarding the ELIXIR 2024-28 Financial Plan, the discussion at the meeting indicated that not all ELIXIR Members were in a position to approve the original proposal of the 3% budget increase for ELIXIR over the next five years. Following a revision of the Financial Plan, the Board approved a revised Financial Plan, thereby supporting a 2% annual increase in the ELIXIR budget.
The Board approved the Commissioned Services contracts for both the ELIXIR 2019-23 as well as the ELIXIR 2024-28 Programmes. All projects are due to begin in January 2024.
In addition, new members were appointed to the ELIXIR Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and the Industry Advisory Committee (IAC). More information will be provided once the candidates have accepted the positions.
Prof. Alexander Goesmann (Germany) replaced Prof. Ferran Sanz (Spain) as Chair of the Board for 2024 and 2025. Prof. Christine Orengo (UK) was appointed Vice-Chair of the Board for 2024 and 2025 and shares the Vice-Chairmanship with Zsuzsanna Dosztnyi (Hungary).
For any questions about the meeting, please contact Jo Wingender (joana.wingender@elixir-europe.org).
Key Dates and Meetings
7 December 2023 | 11:00-14:00 (CET)
1 February 2024 | 11:00-14:00 (CET)
15-16 May 2024 | Prague, Czech Republic