Meeting of ICIMOD-HUC Joint Task Force on HUC Management Structure and Secretariat Hosting Arrangements

About the event

The Meeting in Kathmandu on 8-11 September is the only in-person meeting of the Joint Task Force (JTF), aiming to produce the first draft of the four documents as key JTF deliverables, to be reviewed by the HUC Steering Committee in its second (e)-Meeting in 19-20 September.

Objectives

• Discuss and draft four documents as the deliverables of the JTF
• Interact with ICIMOD’s senior management and professionals to evaluate the feasibility of collaboration
• Interact with HUC’s key stakeholders in Nepal to understand members’ needs and expectations and gauge resource mobilizing potential in the country

Expected outcomes

• The first draft of four documents, to be submitted to the HUC Steering Committee for review at its e-meeting, 19 September 2024.
• Understanding of the potential for and practicalities of collaboration between HUC and ICIMOD
• Preliminary assessment of the potential for resource mobilization in one of the Hindu Kush Himalayan countries, Nepal

Expected participants

On-site participants are the six JTF members, including the two Co-Chairs, and the HUC Secretariat Lead, plus the Chairperson of the HUC Steering Committee (ICIMOD DG, for Opening and possibly Closing). On-line participants are invited speakers from global partners of the HUC.

1. Mr. Shekhar Ghimire, Director of Administration, Finance and Operations, ICIMOD, Co-Chair
2. Professor Dr. Rosalind Cornforth, Director, The Walker Institute, University of Reading, Steering Committee Member, Associate Members – North America/Europe, Co-Chair
3. Ms. Izabella Koziell, Deputy Director General, ICIMOD, Member
4. Professor Dr. Attaullah Shah, Vice Chancellor, Karakoram International University, Pakistan, Member
5. Dr. Wang Wenling, Assistant Professor, Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, China, Co-Lead of Water Thematic Working Group, Member
6. Dr. Jakob F. Steiner, University of Graz, Austria, Co-Lead of High Mountain Data Crosscutting Work Group, Member
7. Dr Chi H Truong (Shachi), HUC Secretariat Lead
8. Dr Pema Gyamtsho, Director General, ICIMOD, HUC Steering Committee Chairperson

Selective guests from HUC members and fellows in Nepal will be invited to a roundtable discussion, followed by a Reception Dinner.

Background

The ICIMOD HUC Joint Task Force on HUC’s Management Structure and Secretariat’s Hosting Arrangements (JTF) was established following one of the key decisions made by the HUC Steering Committee at its meeting on 18 April 2024 in Kathmandu. The purpose of the JTF is to define what autonomy means for the Himalayan University Consortium in the context when its Secretariat is hosted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and operationalize autonomy by several measures as follows:

1. a detailed guideline that will include measures for establishing an autonomous human resource and financial management system, a separate bank account, and a separate working space for the HUC, based on the ICIMOD’s existing management framework;
2. a roadmap for HUC’s transitions toward being an autonomous entity;
3. a draft of an institutional agreement between ICIMOD and the HUC regarding hosting arrangements of the HUC Secretariat;
4. an outline for HUC resource mobilization with a specific timeline.

About the organisers

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development hosts the Meeting, facilitated by the HUC Secretariat.