A GOVERNANCE IN ACTION
Twelve universities and two Arctic colleges are official members of the Amundsen Science Corporation, but the broader user base comprises more than 125 national and international institutions and organizations.
The Board of Directors is responsible for the overall governance of the Facility. The Scientific Leader and CEO is appointed by the Board with the mandate of providing strategic direction and oversight of the Amundsen Science program and general management and governance of the organization. The Scientific Leader and the Executive Director are non-voting members of the Board.
The Governance and Nominating Committee is responsible for assisting the Board in developing principles and systems for the management of corporate governance. The Committee identifies candidates and recommends nominees for Director and Committee appointments, and evaluates their performance and effectiveness.
The Budget and Finance Committee oversees the integrity of financial procedures. Its key functions are to review the financial statements and annual budget, evaluate existing financial and internal controls, policies and procedures, and to report its conclusions and provide recommendations to the Board.
The User Advisory Committee formulates recommendations on the prioritization of programs and develops a preliminary expedition plan. Access to the Amundsen for science is allocated using an impartial process that evaluates and ranks the different programs requesting ship time, berths, and subsidies from the Amundsen Science Ship Time fund. All user programs are required to submit a formal Ship Time application.
The Infrastructure Development Committee provides advice and recommendations regarding the development and upgrading of the Amundsen’s pool of equipment, thus ensuring that the Facility remains a state-of-the-art research platform.
The Risk Review Committee assists the Board in fulfilling its corporate governance oversight responsibilities about the identification, evaluation and mitigation of operational, strategic and external environment risks. The Committee has overall responsibility for monitoring and approving the risk policies and associated practices and responsive actions.
The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee creates and enhances practices that promote fairness, equity and inclusion through the identification, mitigation, and elimination of the impact of implicit bias and discrimination that may support systemic barriers, and to promote the advancement of diversity within the program of the Amundsen.
The Administrative Center performs the day‐to‐day management and administration of the scientific program of the Amundsen. Specialized personnel work within four units: finance and accounting; technical operations and services; cybersecurity and data management; and logistics and communications. The Executive Director and COO oversees these interdependent units to ensure the overall operation of the Facility according to directions set by the Board. The Executive Director is assisted by the Marine Research Coordinator, the Chief Finance Officer and the Ship Equipment Manager. Together, they supervise the administrative and technical personnel, oversee the day‐to‐day management of the Facility, liaise with the community of users, and coordinate the annual Amundsen expedition with the Canadian Coast Guard.