There are four vacancies for elected members on the Governing Board this year.

Key dates in the election process to note:

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This is an exciting opportunity to play an essential role in ensuring that Cochrane is a well governed and effective organization. The majority of the members of the Governing Board are elected from within our wide and diverse community of over 10,000 individual members.

Skills and expectations:

The Cochrane Collaboration is a global organization and is a charity, registered with the Charity Commission. Members of the Governing Board are the charity's Trustees and Directors of the charitable company. Trustees are legally responsible for the organization's management and administration. More information about being a Trustee of a Charity registered in England and Wales is available from the Charity Commission.

The Board is seeking members who can play a pivotal role in Cochrane's future success. As a Trustee, it is your duty to act only in the charity's best interests and make decisions collectively with other members of the Governing Board.

You will be expected to adhere to the Board Charter and Trustees Code of Conduct and must complete a Trustee Eligibility Declaration.

The Governing Board can agree criteria for elected vacancies on the Governing Board and this year the Board is looking for candidates who can demonstrate skills and experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Publishing and Open Access
• Digital and Artificial Intelligence
• Fundraising
• Member engagement and communication

The Board is committed to improving the organizations' approach to equity, diversity and inclusion. It recognises that having members with a broad mix of skills and knowledge as well as a range of perspectives and lived experiences will help the Board to be innovative, flexible, better able to adapt to a changing environment and address future challenges.

• At least one member in a Low-and-Middle-Income Country will be appointed during this election process as currently, members in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries are underrepresented on the Board.

The full role description and expectations for members of the Board is included in the Governing Board Electoral & Appointment Procedure. More information about the operation of the Board, including minutes of past meetings, is available on the Governing Board pages of the Cochrane Community website.

Eligibility:

Candidates must be a Cochrane Member as of 16 October 2024 to be eligible to stand in this election. Membership is defined as having accepted the Terms & Conditions of Cochrane Membership. You can check your membership status here.

Time commitment:

Board members are appointed for a term of three years. The term of the newly elected (or re-elected) members of the Board will begin on the date that the election results are announced.

Board members are expected to attend four meetings per year, two of these meetings are held virtually and two are face-to-face. Face-to-face meetings are held in locations agreed by the Board. During 2025 the Board will meet face-to-face in March and in late September.

Members of the Board are expected to prepare for meetings in advance by reading and commenting on papers, they should contribute actively to Board business and keep up to date with current issues affecting the organization. Members usually join at least one of the Board Sub-Committees. Training and development sessions will require additional time.

This is a voluntary, unpaid role, although expenses will be paid. For more information, please see the Board expenses policy.