Scientific Technical Council: an independent SURF advisory board
The Scientific Technical Council (WTR) is an independent advisory board. The council offers advice on the cooperative’s strategic, scientific and technical issues either upon request or on its own initiative.
Appointment of the members of the Scientific Technical Council
The Scientific Technical Council consists of accredited independent authorities that are appointed on a personal basis. The members of the Scientific Technical Council are appointed based on their independent view, their vision for the future and their expertise in the cooperative's field. The appointment is always for a 3-year term and for a maximum of 3 terms. New members of the Scientific Technical Council are nominated by the Supervisory Board and are appointed by the Members' Council. The composition of the Scientific Technical Council is evaluated every 2 years. If any vacancies arise, the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board will talk about how these vacancies can be filled.
Role of the Scientific Technical Council
The Scientific Technical Council has a wide range of purposes:
- Carries out a content assessment of projects and activities initiated by SURF.
- Supports the sectors in setting their viewpoints and priorities.
- Advises the SURF Board of Directors and the SURF Members' Council on the level of innovation in the Long-Term Agendas and the 2-Year Plans. Reviews the trends and issues described in the trends report 2 years after its publication.
- Makes recommendations for tightening or changing the direction chosen in the 2-Year Plans. This is done based on progress reports for the cooperative's entire portfolio: service delivery, service development and innovation.
The Scientific Technical Council as a whole makes the recommendations. A committee that is set up in consultation with the client prepares the recommendations. The Scientific Technical Council can also seek the assistance of external experts to do its work.
The Scientific Technical Council also advises institutions
The Scientific Technical Council advises SURF's member institutions who are looking for an independent specialist answer to questions on IT policy. Institutions can contact the Scientific Technical Council for audits, planning support and policy reviews, for example. The recommendations of the Scientific Technical Council are always tailor-made. Due to the diversity of expertise of the Scientific Technical Council members, they can quickly diagnose problems and formulate concrete recommendations.
View the Scientific Technical Council's recommendations
In principle, the Scientific Technical Council's recommendations to SURF are public, unless otherwise agreed. View the Scientific Technical Council's recommendations and publications.
Recommendations from the Scientific Technical Council to institutions are only public if the client explicitly indicates this.