IRIC governance and Funds Use

The Director General of IRRI appoints an IRIC Coordinator who shall be a member of the full-time staff of IRRI, with an assistant to manage IRIC activities.

The IRIC will have an Advisory Committee (AC) composed of representatives from private sector members (2), public sector members (3) and IRRI (1). The members of the AC shall be elected or re-elected by the IRIC members and appointed by the DG of IRIC for a term of three years. They will meet once a year, preferably during an annual IRIC meeting. Additional meetings of the AC should take place on a quarterly basis via internet. The IRIC Coordinator at IRRI will serve as additional ex-officio member and secretary to the AC. The functions of the Advisory Committee shall be as follows:

1. 1. 1. Screen applications for membership and decide on acceptance of membership.

      2. Review the annual IRIC work plan and budget, and regularly review and recommend changes of the IRIC Guidelines, including formulating intellectual property, data access and other operational policies for fulfilling the goals of the IRIC.

      3. Propose new, joint research projects or training activities to the wider IRIC community.

      4. Establish mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the operations and impact of the IRIC.

      5. Review and approve the annual IRIC budget.

      6. Represent IRIC to the wider genomics research community, issue media releases and other information for the public.

The IRIC shall meet annually to:

1. 1. 2. • Review the most recent research results and discuss research priorities.

         • Provide the most recent information to its members on new data and tools available or under development.

         • Recommend new IRIC activities related to rice informatics and training.

Membership funds and other income will form the basic support for IRIC. These contributions will be utilized by IRRI exclusively for sustaining a well-managed IRIC portal and its activities, including staff costs, software, hardware and other services. Depending on the annual income available, IRIC funds may also be used to support specific research activities by the IRIC community and for the organization of the annual meeting. IRRI will submit an annual budget and financial statement for approval by the IRIC Advisory Committee.

All IRIC members should support their participation in the IRIC annual meeting at their own cost. In exceptional cases, IRIC may provide limited travel support to participants from developing countries' public sector institutions.

As the lead center of the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP), IRRI in consultation with the IRIC members will propose general research directions and prioritization for rice informatics R&D. All IRIC members are encouraged to contribute suggestions regarding IRIC research prioritization and activities.