Committees

Moreover several ad hoc Committees are set up before IUGG General Assemblies to deal with the topics related to the assemblies.

Nominating Committee (2022-2023)

Purpose
The function of the Nominating Committee is to select and to nominate candidates for the IUGG Bureau (President-Elect, Secretary General, Treasurer, and three members at large) and the Finance Committee (3 members) to be elected by the IUGG Council at the forthcoming General Assembly of the Union.

Membership
At least 18 months before a General Assembly, the IUGG President shall appoint a Nominating Committee with the advice and approval of the Executive Committee. The Nominating Committee shall consist of a Chair and three other members, not themselves members of the Executive Committee or of the Finance Committee (By-Law 10b). Normally the Past President of the Union is asked to chair of the Committee.

Responsibilities

• The Nominating Committee, after soliciting nominations from the Adhering Bodies of the Member Countries, and from the officers of the Union and the Associations, shall propose one or two candidates for each position in the Bureau, seeking to achieve a reasonable balance in their gender, geographical and professional distribution (By-Law 10b).
• The Nominating Committee shall, after soliciting nominations from the Adhering Bodies of the Member Countries, and from the officers of the Union and the Associations, propose one or two candidates for each of the three positions on the Finance Committee: one position from among the current members of the Finance Committee and two positions from among the current accredited Council Delegates or the Council Delegates accredited to any previous General Assembly excluding the current members of the Finance Committee. If there is an insufficient number of candidates from the previous Finance Committee, then an additional member or members shall be elected from among the Council Delegates (By-Law 10c).
• The Nominating Committee prepares a report on the nomination of the candidates and submit a list of nominations to the officers of the Union and Associations and the National Committees at least eight months before the General Assembly (By-Law 10b). They may make further nominations and/or recommendations to the Nominating Committee at least three months before the General Assembly. If new nominations for a given position according to ByLaw 10b,c are proposed, the candidates shall be added to the list initially established.
• The Nominating Committee shall send the final list of nominations to the officers of the Union and Associations and to the National Committees at the latest two months prior to the General Assembly (By-Law 10b).
• The Chair of the Nominating Committee should present the report on nominations and the candidates for the IUGG office.

Term of Office
The term of office of the Nominating Committee shall be until the closure of the IUGG General Assembly following after the appointment of the Nominating Committee.

Chair:
Harsh Gupta (IASPEI), INDIA

Members:
Anny Cazenave (IAG), FRANCE
Hugo Delgado Granados (IAVCEI), MEXICO
Alberto Montanari (IAHS), ITALY

Site Comparison Committee (2022-2023)

Purpose
The function of the Site Comparison Committee (hereinafter “SC Committee”) is to evaluate all invitations (bids) to host an IUGG General Assembly. The bids should be received 6 months before the General Assembly (By-Law 6). The Guidelines on proposals to host an IUGG General Assembly are placed on the IUGG website:
http://www.iugg.org/assemblies/Invitation_Host_IUGG_GAs.pdf
http://www.iugg.org/assemblies/Guidelines_IUGG_GAs.pdf

Membership
At least 12 months before a General Assembly, the IUGG President shall appoint a SC Committee experienced in the logistics of convening Union or Association Assemblies, with the advice and approval of the Executive Committee. The SC Committee shall consist of a Chair and at least three other members (Guidelines on IUGG Administration, Clause IXh).

Responsibilities

1. The SC Committee should establish criteria for assessment of the bids. The criteria should be based on (but not limited by) the following basic statements:
   Who are the inviting body/bodies (e.g., the official host body; other supporting institutions; government support to assure free circulation of scientists, consistent with the ICSU/ISC “Principle of Universality.”)?
   What is the quality and space of the venue/venues, including:
   (i) Maximum number of participants who could attend;
   (ii) Meeting facilities: number of halls; rooms of various sizes and technical equipment; poster facilities, etc.
   (iii) Space and facilities for the Bureau, Finance Committee and Association offices;
   (iv) Rooms for meetings of the Council, the Executive Committee, the Bureau and the Finance Committee;
   (v) Possibility to hold virtual and hybrid meetings (e.g., technical equipment, pricing etc.);
   (vi) Accommodations: range of lodging types and costs; distance from meeting facilities;
   (vii) Child and health care facilities at the venue and nearby;
   (viii) Proposed dates for an Assembly of ten days in length, taking into account availability of facilities and suitability of weather.
   What is the financial obligation of the host? IUGG expects that the host will take full responsibility for the financial affairs of a General Assembly. However, it is desirable to assess:
   (i) Resources available for the preparations leading up to the General Assembly and for preparing the Comptes Rendus following the Assembly;
   (ii) Possibilities for support from governmental, industrial, and commercial bodies in order to minimize registration fees;
   (iii) Possibilities for fund-raising to support young scientists from developing countries to attend the Assembly.
   Which sustainable practices does the venue offer?
   Considering Resolution 1: Reducing the Carbon Foot Print by the Research Community of the IUGG General Assembly 2019, the host should outline how the venue can contribute towards realizing a sustainable event (e.g., reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, use of plastic, food/paper/energy waste etc.). Does the venue follow any codes of sustainability or best practices? Is the venue certified to hold green meetings?
2. In the case of a single bid, if the SC Committee decides that an on-site assessment of the venue is required, the Chair of the Committee should submit a report to the Bureau about difficulties in assessment of a bid without on-site assessment. The Bureau will consider the report and, if it agrees, financial support to one of the SC Committee members will be provided for an on-site assessment. If approved, the SC Committee member will prepare a report on the site visit with the advantages and disadvantages of the venue, to be discussed by the SC Committee. The Committee will submit a report to the IUGG Secretary General not later than 3 months before the General Assembly. The Bureau will decide whether the bid is of sufficient quality to be presented to the IUGG Council.
3. In the case that more than two bids are submitted, the SC Committee should prepare a ranked list of the invitations and a report on the ranking explaining all the advantages and disadvantages of each bid. The report should be submitted to the IUGG Secretary General not later than 3 months before the General Assembly. The Bureau will decide on two potential candidates to host the next General Assembly. The two candidates will be invited to the Council meeting to give a presentation.
4. The Chair of the SC Committee should present a report to the IUGG Council before their final vote. The IUGG Council decides which bid to accept.

Term of Office
The term of office of the SC Committee shall be until the closure of the IUGG General Assembly following after the appointment of the SC Committee.

Chair:
Fiona Darbyshire (IASPEI), CANADA

Members:
Isabelle Ansorge (IAPSO), SOUTH AFRICA
Kosuke Heki (IAG), JAPAN
Andrew Mackintosh (IACS), AUSTRALIA
Stefania Sparnocchia (IAPSO), ITALY
Eduard Petrovsky, ex-officio (IUGG), CZECH REPUBLIC

Resolution Committee (2022-2023)

Purpose
The function of the Resolution Committee is to prepare draft resolutions of a General Assembly of the Union to be presented to the IUGG Council for approval at the General Assembly. The Resolutions must be approved by both the Bureau and the Executive Committee before being presented to the Council (Guidelines on IUGG Administration, Clause VII).

Membership
At least 6 months before a General Assembly, the IUGG President shall appoint a Resolution Committee with the advice and approval of the Executive Committee. The Resolution Committee shall consist of a Chair and at least three other members. The Immediate Past President is normally asked to Chair the Resolution Committee. At least one of the Resolution Committee members should be a native French speaker.

Responsibilities

• The Resolution Committee normally works during the General Assembly of the Union at which the resolutions would be approved. Any Association or Member Country is invited to submit resolutions, which must be received by the designated deadline. Each resolution should be submitted in English and French.
• After receiving resolutions, the Resolution Committee meets at the General Assembly and prepares a set of resolutions following the special format of IUGG resolutions. The Resolution Committee edits the language of the resolutions (both English and French).
• The resolutions should be presented to the Bureau and Executive Committee at respective meetings of the bodies.
• The Chair of the Resolution Committee presents resolutions to the Council before it votes on them.

Term of Office
The term of office of the Resolution Committee shall be until the closure of the IUGG General Assembly following the appointment of the Resolution Committee.

Chair:
Michael G. Sideris (IAG), CANADA

Members:
Atalay Ayele (IASPEI), ETHIOPIA
Athena Coustenis (IAMAS), FRANCE
Masahito Nosé (IAGA), JAPAN
Denise Smythe-Wright (IAPSO), UK

The purpose and structure of the Union Committees are described in the Terms of Reference [ PDF ].