Each Consortium Steering Committee (CSC):
- Is composed of ~5-10 individuals and BGCI’s GCC Manager
- Chaired by Consortium Lead
- All CSC positions appointed on a voluntary basis for a 5-year, renewable term
- CSC meets at least annually, or more often as needed
- CSC decisions are by consensus, with Consortium Lead casting deciding vote if needed
- Develops Consortium work plan, sets goals, provides strategic advice on planning, funding, and implementation of activities, and monitors progress against Consortium objectives;
- Responsible for coordination and recruitment of Consortium participants in assigned priority region, ensuring that the work of the Consortium is global in scope, providing broad geographic and institutional representation, focused in areas of high species diversity;
- Recruits, reviews and approves new Species Stewards; and
- Works with taxonomic experts and others as appropriate to assign each species to an operational region.
For their specific region, Steering Committee Members may:
- Coordinate Consortium activities, including research, conservation projects, and metacollections; track and report such activities to BGCI, the CSC, and other stakeholders on an annual basis;
- Identify the species of conservation priority, with expert input as needed;
- Recruit one or more Species Steward for each priority species in the region;
- Serve as a Species Steward for one or more priority species;
- Encourage associated institutions to consider achieving the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation, the BGCI institutional Accreditations, and other professional accreditations and networks;
- Consider applying and encourage others to apply for inclusion in BGCI’s Directory of Expertise;
- Encourage associated institutions to contribute and maintain up-to-date information in BGCI’s GardenSearch and PlantSearch databases, including upload of a taxa list on an annual basis;
- Ensure all species in the region have up-to-date IUCN Red List assessments (i.e. assessed within the last 10 years);
- Coordinate regional Consortium meetings opportunistically and as required;
- Facilitate and support research efforts (e.g. taxonomy, population genetics, etc.) in collaboration with the region’s Species Stewards and Affiliates as possible and appropriate;
- Undertake and support in situ conservation projects in collaboration with the region’s Species Stewards and Affiliates as possible and appropriate;
- Encourage engagement with local and indigenous communities in the region on topics including indigenous and traditional ethnobotanical knowledge;
- Work with existing local, regional and national plant conservation networks and accreditation schemes, building on collective conservation efforts;
- Fundraise to support Consortium activities, including building capacity to empower Species Stewards, especially in areas of high species diversity; and
- Promote Consortium regionally and advocate to policymakers, funders, the general public, and others as appropriate; track and report such activities to BGCI, the CSC, and other stakeholders on an annual basis.
