SCAR XXXVI Paper 21: Executive Committee Report Popular

SCAR XXXVI Delegates Meeting, Online, 16-25 March 2021

SCAR XXXVI Paper 21: Executive Committee Report

Agenda Item: 11.3
Person Responsible: Steven Chown

Authors: Steven Chown, Gary Wilson, M Ravichandran, Jefferson Simões, Catherine Ritz

Summary

Since the last meeting in Davos, 2018, the Executive Committee (ExCom) focused its attention on the following matters, some of which were either precipitated by, or delayed by, the global pandemic, which was declared by the WHO on 11th March 2020.

SCAR Articles and Delegates meeting
Open Science Conference (switched online)
Scientific Research Programmes
Secretariat Arrangements
Capacity Building
Evidence-based Advice to the ATS
Budget Sustainability (given the pandemic)
Structural Review (delayed)

The ExCom met regularly (every six weeks) for the full interim period. A higher frequency of meetings took place to respond to the pandemic in its initial stages, and in particular when decisions about the OSC and Delegates meeting had to be made.
Several decisions about SCAR Business were made by the Executive Committee based on its assessments of the situation facing SCAR, given the pandemic, and based on information gathering such as that undertaken through the Delegates Business Consultation.

A key ongoing challenge facing SCAR is to maintain interest, activity and integration among our researchers and activities, at a time when everyone is facing a wide range of unexpected challenges, including limits to Antarctic and Southern Ocean fieldwork.