ICOC CREATES GOVERNANCE SUBCOMMITTEE, APPROVES RULES FOR FACILITIES WORKING GROUP Governance Subcommittee to Focus on Strategic Plan, Bylaws and Contracts
EMERYVILLE, CALIF.- The Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee (ICOC) of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) voted yesterday to create a new subcommittee focused on governance issues related to the CIRM and approved rules for the Facilities Working Group. The oversight board also voted to form a task force to address intellectual property. These actions followed the approval of the policy enhancements recommended by the Legislative Subcommittee.
“We’re continuing to move forward and are getting closer and closer to distributing our first grants,” said ICOC Chair Robert Klein, “In the past six months, this board has made incredible progress, including selecting a site for our headquarters, lining up a world-class team of researchers and ethicists to sit on our working groups and building a great internal team. Now we have the ICOC Governance Subcommittee to assist us in administrative tasks without burdening the entire ICOC with minutiae.”
The ICOC Governance Subcommittee will be chaired by Sherry Lansing, and will include Keith Black, Brian Henderson, Robert Klein, Tina Nova, Philip Pizzo, Claire Pomeroy, John Reed and Oswald Steward. The subcommittee will be responsible for reviewing language and commenting on policies relating to the management of the CIRM and the ICOC. This will include making recommendations on:
- the CIRM mission statement and core principles;
- organizational strategic plan and budget;
- contracts with external contractors;
- ICOC bylaws;
- goals for CIRM management in partnership with the CIRM President;
- and monitoring the achievement of these goals in order to optimize performance.
The ICOC also approved meeting policy and procedures for the Facilities Working Group. The business of the working group will be conducted in a spirit of openness and participation so that the recommendations of the working group can reflect both the expertise of its members and the input of the people of California. Bylaws for the Grants Working Group were also discussed at the meeting.
At the suggestion of the Standards Working Group, the ICOC unanimously approved putting the NAS Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research into regulatory language that conforms with California law. Once the Standards Working Group completes this task, it will report back with the updated version to the board, who will then consider establishing this language as interim standards.
The ICOC also voted to establish an intellectual property task force to define intellectual property policies for the CIRM. The group will address ownership and transfer of technology, and will also evaluate ways to maximize access to stem cell therapies for all Californians. The task force will incorporate into its discussions the forthcoming recommendations on intellectual property from the California Council on Science and Technology. Ed Penhoet will chair the task force that will include Susan Bryant, Michael Goldberg, Sherry Lansing, Ted Love, Tina Nova, Philip Pizzo, Francisco Prieto, John Reed, Jeff Sheehy, Oswald Steward and Janet Wright.
The ICOC approved the policy enhancements first introduced at the June 6 ICOC meeting in Sacramento, which were then modified and approved by the Legislative Subcommittee on June 20. CIRM staff will present final refinements to the ICOC at the August 5 meeting in San Diego.
| Contacts: | Nicole Pagano / Josh Morgan |
| (510) 450-2418 |