The election of five members of the International Society for Biocuration Executive Committee (ISB EC) will be held from September 25 – October 02, 2023.
Emails will be sent to current members on 25th September. Only current members, as of 20 September 2023, who receive this email will be allowed to vote. Please note that if you are an ISB member and do not receive the email please contact us at isb@biocurator.org.
Please view the information about the nine candidates who are standing for election to the Executive Committee (EC).
The composition of the Executive Committee is to be increased to eleven (11) members, each with a 3-year term. Being a member of the Executive Committee is a great way to become directly involved with the work of our society, and contribute to the decisions that are taken on behalf of the biocuration community. We would like to encourage all ISB members interested in running for election to register.
Serving on the ISB EC minimally involves attending monthly (1 hour) teleconference meetings, following up on any action items from meetings, and promoting the ISB’s activity to members and non-members. Examples of activities performed by EC members include reviewing micro-grant submissions, preparing call for participation for hosting Biocuration meetings, preparing materials for the ISB election, monitoring ISB mail and maintaining the website. We encourage candidates with a variety of administrative, management or web development skills, or who have experience working with WordPress to apply. The typical workflows involve basic knowledge of Git, PHP/HTML/CSS for fine tuning of the WordPress website, WordPress plugins management, domain name/email redirection management.
There are specific positions such as Chair, Secretary and Treasurer that do require a larger time commitment. There is no expectation that new EC members would take on these responsibilities.
5 positions on the Executive Committee are up for election in 2023/2024. One of these positions is currently held by Robin Haw, who can re-stand for election. As the ISB is a non-profit organization governed by Swiss law one member of the ISB Executive Committee has to be a resident of Switzerland. (The current ISB EC members are here.)
2023 Electoral Process
A) The Nominating Committee:
A Nominating Committee (NC) has been formed to oversee the electoral process, to review applications, and establish the final list of candidates. We are very grateful for their assistance with the execution of this election. The members of the 2023 Nominating Committee to be confirmed includes:
- Sabrina Toro (Election officer)
- Cristina Casals
- Arzu Ozturk Colak
- Pascale Gaudet
- George Georghiou
B) Instructions to Candidates:
If you would like to run for a position on the Executive Committee, please fill out this form by 7 September 2023, which includes a ‘statement of intent‘, a brief biographical sketch, and a ‘conflict of interests‘ statement describing any activities, memberships of other associations, editorial positions on journals, etc. (Please email isb@biocurator.org if you are unable to access this form).
Only ISB members can be included on the ISB EC election ballot. Please check that you are an ISB member or join the ISB before completing the application form.
C) Timeline:
- Nominations will be received until end of 7 September 2023.
- The NC will review all candidacies and share their selections with the ISB Executive Committee by 21 September 2023.
- A list of candidates must be available by 25 September 2023 on the website (with letters of intent)
- Emails announcing the candidates and voting must be sent to members on 25 September 2023.
- Voting will take place online over the course of one week from 25 September – 02 October 2023. (Further details about the voting process will be shared soon).
- The election officer TBC.
- Only current members, as of 20 September 2023, who receive an email* will be allowed to vote.
*Note – please note that if you are an ISB member and do not receive the email please contact us at isb@biocurator.org
The Nominating Committee is looking forward to receiving your applications!