Advisory Committee Selection

Process for establishing the SCoPEx Advisory Committee

An independent Search Committee supported the establishment of the Advisory Committee. This was intended to ensure its independence from the SCoPEx Research Team.

The mandate of the Search Committee was as follows:

To advise Harvard University about the need for an Advisory Committee and the consequential attributes of that Committee.
To review the draft terms of reference (ToR) of the SCoPEx Advisory Committee and recommend adjustments to them.
To identify and recommend one or more candidates to chair the SCoPEx Advisory Committee to the Harvard University Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Vice Provost for Research.
To assist the Chair in identifying Advisory Committee members to be appointed by the Harvard Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Harvard Vice Provost for Research.
To work with the Chair, the Harvard Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the Harvard Vice Provost for Research, and the SCoPEx Principal Investigator to ensure that the Search Committee, the Chair, and the Principal Investigator were satisfied with the final ToR.

Additional notes:

Service on the Search Committee was uncompensated. Search Committee service did not preclude serving on the Advisory Committee itself.

The Principal Investigator provided the Search Committee with a summary of external advice he had previously received about Advisory Committee membership, but the Search Committee was not bound by this advice or other suggestions the Principal Investigator made.

Members of the Search Committee

Chris Field, Stanford University

Peter Frumhoff, Union of Concerned Scientists

Jane Long, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (retired)

The Search Committee recommended an Advisory Committee Chair who has deep experience and a reputation for balance in international environmental research and governance, and has no significant ties to the SCoPEx Research Team. Search Committee members then supported the Chair in recommending potential Advisory Committee members.

The purpose of the Advisory Committee is:

To advise the Harvard Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the Harvard Vice Provost for Research, and the SCoPEx project Principal Investigator on the research and governance of SCoPEx.
To advise Harvard University and the SCoPEx Research Team on several arenas, including: (a) The scientific quality and importance of the proposed experiments, including scientific review and processes and standards for transparency; (b) Risks associated with the proposed research program, including environmental and social risks; (c) Effectiveness of risk management including regulatory compliance management of environmental health and safety; (d) The need, objectives and possible formats for stakeholder engagement; and (e) Other issues as deemed necessary by the Advisory Committee.
To provide a periodic public written evaluation of the experiment plan in the arenas described above.
To ensure that mechanisms are established to share both research outcomes and governance lessons learned from SCoPEx with researchers and diverse stakeholders.

The role of the SCoPEx Research Team in relation to the Advisory Committee is:

Take the Advisory Committee’s questions and recommendations with the utmost seriousness.
Respond publicly and in a timely manner to the Advisory Committee’s public questions and recommendations.
Not initiate field experiments until after they have responded to the Advisory Committee’s questions and recommendations in its initial report.
Alter, delay, or cancel the experiment if, taking into account Committee recommendations, Harvard University or the SCoPEx Research Team conclude that failing to do so would imperil Harvard’s goal of an international, transparent, and sustainable research program.

The role of Harvard University and specifically the Vice Provost for Research is:

Support the Committee in recruiting international Committee members.
Facilitate a scientific peer review on behalf of the Committee.