MishMash Board Meeting #1
Members:
- Sunniva Whittaker (UiA) (Chair)
- Christian Blom (Notam)
- Christian Schüssler (Reimagine)
- Hege Stensrud Høsøien (NB)
- Tine Grieg Viig (HVL)
Secretariat:
- Alexander Refsum Jensenius (UiO) (Centre Director)
- Eskil Muan Sæther (UiO) (Administrative Coordinator)
Agenda
1. Welcome
Background
This is the first board meeting for MishMash.
Discussion
The chair welcomed the members and invited them to introduce themselves.
Decision
No decisions.
2. Introduction to MishMash’s organisation and structure
Background
MishMash has the following councils and committees:
- Management — Day-to-day management and coordination of MishMash
- Work package leader group — Leaders of the seven scientific work packages
- The Council — Strategic guidance and overall coordination
- The Board — Governance and overall oversight of the centre
- The Stakeholder Board — Representatives of partners and other stakeholders
- The Scientific Advisory Board — International scientific advice and evaluation
Discussion
The Centre Director gave an account of the organisation of MishMash.
Decision
Noted.
3. The Board’s function
Background
The Research Council of Norway has not set any requirements for the board’s function; it is therefore up to the board itself to define its function and mandate.
Discussion
The discussion focused on the following points:
- Approval of accounts and budget
- Strategic work within both research and education
- Opportunities for external funding
Decision
Noted.
4. Practicalities
Background
No guidelines have been given for how the board should work. Nor are there any tools available that work across all the institutions involved. The board must therefore decide on its own working methods and tools.
Discussion
Placement of board papers: It was argued that board papers should, as far as possible, be openly available and accessible from the website.
Decision
Board papers are published on the website. Relevant background information from the application phase is sent to the board members by e-mail.
5. Identification of important topics to work on
Background
Given the size and complexity of MishMash, there will be many large and general matters that will have to be handled in the years ahead.
Discussion
The Centre Director gave an account of ongoing matters:
- Much of the academic activity will take place in the work packages, so it is important to follow up that these get off to a good start and function as planned.
- Now that the council and the board have been established, the next task is to ensure that the associated partners are sent a collaboration agreement for signing. They will also be connected via a stakeholder board.
- Inter-institutional collaboration in the higher education sector will be a main challenge for MishMash. This will apply to both research and education, and it will be necessary to work with existing systems (e.g. UHR) to find good solutions.
- Collaboration between the higher education sector and public and private actors are two other important interfaces that must be developed and expanded.
Decision
Noted.
6. Upcoming meetings
Background
In principle, two board meetings per year are planned, with the possibility of additional meetings as needed.
Discussion
A wish was expressed for some additional meetings in the beginning to get the work started.
Decision
An online meeting is held before the summer and a physical meeting in connection with the conference in Kristiansand in September.