STATEMENT
OF THE 50th GOVERNING BOARD
OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Moscow, Russian Federation
9 December 2009

The Members of the ISTC Governing Board gathered in Moscow for its 50th meeting and celebrated the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the ISTC, noting the accomplishments of the Center and the approximately 90,000 scientists and engineers who have benefited from involvement with ISTC projects over the years. Over 800 million USD of funding has been provided through the Center. In the course of the last 15 years, 2,600 projects have been funded that spurred important scientific developments. ISTC serves as a vital link between scientists worldwide also to promote the commercialization of the research results.

The Governing Board finalized the preparations to celebrate its 15th Anniversary on 10 December 2009. A statement was adopted at the occasion of the 15th anniversary of ISTC. In addition, the Governing Board decided to set up a working party with a mandate to discuss options and to make proposals regarding the future of ISTC, including a possible review of the ISTC Agreement.

During the last 12 months (1 November 2008 – 1 November 2009) 62 new projects (35 regular and 27 partner projects) were funded to a total amount of 20.5 million USD (12.6 million USD regular and 7.9 million USD partners projects).

Representatives of ISTC Parties attended, including Canada, the European Union, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, United States of America, Norway, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Republic of Tajikistan. The Republic of Kyrgyzstan participated as rotating CIS Board member.

The Governing Board approved the FY2010 administrative operational budget AOB, as included in the above-mentioned documents. For the AOB, the Board agreed on the total amount of ($7,131,050) and on the sharing ratios among the contributing parties (reflected in the signed “Calculator” sheet). 

The Governing Board approved all the FY2010 supplemental budget SB programs’ activity plans ($5,334,900). 

The Governing Board welcomed the proposed targeted initiative on ultra-high intensity light science and technologies. The main objective of this targeted initiative is to coordinate the activities of research centers, governmental agencies and private organizations in the area of ultra-high intensity light science and technologies. 

The Governing Board took note of the status of the implementation of ISTC targeted initiatives related to fuel cells, drug design, law enforcement, probiotics, as well as science and technology in the prevention of biological threats. In total, $6.1 million is available for these initiatives and additional efforts will be made to attract additional financial sources.

An interim evaluation of the ISTC sustainability program – first phase - was presented. The Governing Board expressed the appreciation for the work being done by the various institutes. It encouraged the Secretariat to continue the implementation of the plans approved during the first phase of this program.

In addition it adopted the following decisions:

- To further continue the evaluation process of the current sustainability plans in order to obtain a more complete picture of their impact. A more complete evaluation will be provided to the Board during the second half of 2010;

- In the meantime, to prepare revised guidelines for the development of a better targeted ISTC sustainability planning policy taking into account the:

- results of this interim evaluation;

- availability of other ISTC instruments such as in the field of innovation;

- available budgets;

- To further present the results of this work at the March CEC of ISTC.

The Governing Board approved the final Project Funding Worksheet (FS50). The ISTC approved 13 new projects representing over $3,079,570 and 997,198 EUR in new funding for activities in Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic.

The Governing Board noted that since 1 January 2009 more than $8,987,687 million in new partner funding has been received.

GB Meeting Documents

Sustainability planning: download

Targeted Initiative Ultra-High Intensity Light Science and Technologies: download

Projects funded by the GB