The new board is composed of Tim Judah, author and Balkan correspondent for the Economist, Wolfgang Petritsch, Permanent Representative of Austria to the OECD, Steve Crawshaw, international advocacy director at Amnesty International and Stefan Lehne, former Austrian diplomat and visiting scholar at the Carnegie Europe in Brussels. They will be joined by a BIRN representative chosen on an annual basis by the Steering Committee of the Hub.
The BIRN Hub Board has responsibility for major decisions related to the Network’s strategy, adopts the Director’s annual report and ensures that Network regulation rules are upheld. It will assist the Regional Network Director in designing programmes and other operational matters as opportunities or needs dictate.
The Steering Committee will be composed of representatives of BIRN members of the Network and the Regional Director and will act as a hands-on operational body to ensure that the Network continues to maintain highest standards.
The changes agreed in November will be reflected next year in changes to the BIRN Hub Statute, as well as in the Network regulation rules. Network members see these changes as marking a milestone in the life of BIRN that will contribute to the organization’s further development and prevent potential conflicts of interest.