United Kingdom SCOR committee – call for members
The Scientific Committee on Ocean Research (SCOR) was founded in 1957 to address interdisciplinary questions related to the ocean, with more than 2,300 individuals involved in SCOR activities to date. SCOR has had a specific focus on supporting ‘working groups’ of international scientists that are established in response to proposals from the scientific community. SCOR also sponsors international ocean science programmes, including GEOTRACES, IMBeR and SOLAS, as well as dedicating funds to support capacity building. For more details see: www.scor-int.org
The UK pays annual dues to SCOR, which are split between the Challenger Society for Marine Science (51%) and the Royal Society (49%). To date, the Challenger Society has formed the effective UK SCOR committee. The role of SCOR national committees is two-fold: First, they provide a national opinion and review on the proposed working groups and to then represent the nation at the annual meeting. Second, they encourage national ocean science engagement with SCOR activities.
By number of individuals, UK scientists make the second largest contribution to SCOR science, but the Challenger Society would like to improve the ability of the UK SCOR committee to both represent and engage with the UK ocean science community. To do that, a stand-alone UK SCOR committee will be formed that reports to the Council of the Challenger Society. The UK SCOR committee will meet twice a year, once to review and rank working group proposals and once to discuss plans and priorities for UK ocean science engagement with SCOR. It is proposed that the committee would number 5 people, of which two must be early-career scientists (https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/ecr_definition): a chair, co-chair and three ordinary members.
Participating in this committee would provide the opportunity to play a key role in international ocean science. Members will be able to engage at a high level with the key strategic issues facing scientists nationally and internationally, and develop leadership opportunities.
The Challenger Society is working towards being a fully equitable and inclusive organisation (for EDI statement see: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/EDI_Statement). The Society strongly encourages marine scientists from historically underrepresented and/or diverse backgrounds to apply to join the UK SCOR committee.
Currently, Alessandro Tagliabue (University of Liverpool) is the UK SCOR chair, with Kerry Howell (University of Plymouth) acting as vice-chair. Hence we seek applications for three positions to complete the committee. It is anticipated that the UK SCOR committee will appoint new chairs and vice-chairs from within the committee members to support emerging leaders.
The UK SCOR chair is responsible for reporting to the council of the Challenger Society at their regular meetings and the Global Environment Research Committee of the Royal Society. They also undertake the annual application to the Royal Society for their financial contribution to the SCOR dues. Finally, the chair organises
the review of working group proposals, represents the UK national committee at the SCOR annual meeting and will chair the two UK SCOR meetings. For more information on the role of the UK in SCOR, see: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/SCOR.
Application procedure
Please email your statement of interest to a.tagliabue@liverpool.ac.uk by 1700GMT on the 25th of April 2022
Evaluation criteria
It is essential that the candidate holds a PhD or equivalent experience in a relevant discipline and is enthusiastic about becoming engaged with the role of SCOR in UK marine science. Desirable characteristics would include experience of working on collaborative projects, multi-disciplinarity, science communication, or building networks. Experience with SCOR and its activities would be advantageous, but not essential.
A formalised rotation policy will be developed by the committee to ensure an appropriate degree and rate of turnover, but initially, it is anticipated that posts will last two years, renewable once.