Minutes of the first APBioNet meeting

AGENDA

Attendance

Tim Littlejohn, Australia
Jim McBride, Australia
Satoru Miyazaki, Japan
Subbiah Subramanian, USA
Tan Tin Wee, Singapore
Lynn Ten Eyck, USA
Hannah Xue, Hong Kong SAR

Date: 8 January 1998
Venue: Hawaii Room, Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii, USA.

1. Discussion on the Draft Charter

See below for test of draft charter

Comments on this agenda and draft charter must be returned to Tan Tin
Wee by 8:30am Friday, Jan 9, 1998.

2. Working groups formed:

2.1 Abbreviation Adhoc Working Group

To determine the most suitable available name for the organisation.

Lynn Ten Eyck, SDSC, USCD, USA.
Tan Tin Wee, BIC, NUS, Singapore

2.2 Website Working Group

To Setup an initial web site and email distribution list with a view to
a decentralised Home Page

www.apbionet.org.xx
www.apbionet.org

Tim Littlejohn, ANGIS, Australia

2.3 Workshop and Meetings Working Group

To promote the first APBioNet workshop

Subbiah S, Wistar Institute USA.

3. Agreement was reached that the following working groups should be
formed to continue discussion:

a. Funding
b. Training Workshops and Conferences
c. Advanced Networking Resources Group
   under the joint aegis of APBioNet and APAN

4. It was agreed that all members should see to publicised the
organisation in their own areas.

5. It was agreed that the organisation be publicised with a call for
membership.

_______________________________________________________________

DRAFT CHARTER
Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network
_______________________________________________________________

Dated 8 January 1998

The Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network

The initial member countries (see below) resolved on 6 January 1998 at
the PSB 98 conference in Maui, Hawaii, USA, to form (and eventually
incorporate).

DEFINITIONS:

Bioinformatics:
shall be defined as the disciplines and sub-disciplines emerging
at the broad interface between the life sciences and the
sciences and technologies associated with information, computing
computation.
(Miyazaki, TenEyck, Subbiah, McBride, Littlejohn, Xue and Tan)

Asia Pacific:
shall be defined as countries and economies within Asia and the
Pacific Rim.

In view of the highly dynamic nature of Bioinformatics and
Asia Pacific region, these definitions shall be tentative
and used in the broadest and most inclusive sense in situations
of ambiguity.

ABBREVIATION:

Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network shall be officially
abbreviated according to the findings and recommendations
of the Abbreviation Working Group, but it shall be tentatively
abbreviated as APBioNet, APBN, APBIN, APBINet, etc.

MISSION:

The mandate of the organisation is to promote bioinformatics in the
region.

APBioNet members are involved in the production and provision of
bioinformatics resources (such as databases, software, standardisation
guidelines - particularly culture specific ones), network communication,
education, training, consulting & collaboration.

APBioNet will provide specialist expertise and a forum for regional
communication and will also help the member organisations develop
bioinformatics activities.  APBioNet will also act as a consolidated
regional body that can act as a single entity in dealing with external
groups thereby presenting a unified voice in representing the region.

Members must have commitment to contribute to this mission.

COMPOSITION

APBioNet is an organisation of Asia and Pacific Rim founder member
countries currently-

        * Australia
        * Canada
        * China
        * HongKong SAR
        * Japan
        * Korea
        * Malaysia
        * Singapore
        * USA

MEMBERSHIP:

APBioNet will have two classes of membership from any of the countries
and economies primarily from the Asia-Pacific region.  The first class
will be at the national representation level- each country will have one
representative with one vote.  The other class will be affiliate
(non-voting) members, individual institutions from Asia Pacific
countries whose mandate is not to represent their parent country but who
would be valuable members of this body.

MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA:

A) National members should have:

i. A clear mandate from their government or appropriate research council
preferably in the form of a letter expressing the intention adequately
to support the prospective node. (Initially the APBioNet will form with
members without such written official mandate, this mandate will become
necessary as the APBioNet matures.)

ii.  The majority support of existing national member nodes in order to
join

B) Affiliate members should have:

i. Special reason to join- such as geographic or networking relevance,
provision of specialised skill, resources, etc

ii.  The majority support of existing national member nodes in order to
join

INITIAL REPRESENTATION:

In the first instance, all original founder members will be designated
interim national members.  When and if any of these original members do
not meet the required criteria to be the national members (see
MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA section A above) which can represent their country
as a single body, that member will automatically be withdrawn from the
national member status and be guaranteed Affiliate Member status.

STRUCTURE

Advisory Committee:
- comprises bioinformatics luminaries, influential people
and provides external and independent review,
- commentary and influence on decisions and activities
of the Organisation.

Executive Committee:
- appoints people to lead working groups;
- is selected from the full council;
- is voted in by the full council;
- holds policy proposal and executive roles given approval of the full
council;
- will be voted in by the full council for a period of time
to be agreed at the first meeting of the full council

Full Council:
- has right of veto of the Executive Committee
- is the final decision making body in policy
- includes executive matters

Working Group Leaders
Secretariat/Administration Executive Standing Working Group
Ad Hoc Working Groups

DECISION PROCESS

Modification of and amendment to the constitution and charter of
APBioNet will occur with a simple majority vote in the spirit of
consensus and goodwill.

FUNDING

APBioNet will seek funding from multiple sources for activities
collectively
or subsets thereof, as defined by the terms and conditions of the
awarding body.
Funding will not be restricted to one single source.

MODIFICATIONS TO THIS CHARTER:

This charter is presently in draft form and may be modified and later
ratified at the first meeting of the APBioNet before 1 January 1999.