Membership and appointment process

In September 2023, the Governing Board agreed that the Cochrane Council will not continue to operate after the end of 2023. A working group made up of members of the Council and the Governing Board will work together during the first half of 2024 to develop new and improved ways of engaging with the Cochrane Community

April 2022

General

A candidate must be a current Cochrane Member in order to stand for election to the Council. Membership is defined in the Membership Terms and Conditions.

In order to vote in Council elections, each voter must be a current Cochrane Member.

Each Executive that is represented on the Council has agreed upon any additional criteria for standing and voting in their representatives' elections – see below for details.

Authors' Election

  1. Eligibility to stand as an Author representative on the Council:
    Any Author who is a Member of Cochrane and has published at least one Cochrane Review in the Cochrane Library is eligible to stand for election. The Author's name must be listed in the Authors section of the Cochrane Review, but that person does not have to be lead/correspondence Author on the Review.
    • You do not need to be nominated by any other members of Cochrane in order to stand for election.
    • You are eligible to stand even if you have also been eligible to stand as a different representative (e.g. for Managing Editors).
    • The term of membership of the Council will be three years (for a maximum of two terms). For more information on Council membership, please see the Council's Terms of Reference.
       
  2. How to stand for election:
    Interested candidates will be asked to submit the provided candidate form by email to elections@cochrane.org. The form will include a Conflict of Interest statement.
     
  3. Eligibility to vote:
    Any Cochrane Member who holds an Author role with a Cochrane Group will be eligible to vote. This includes Authors who are not eligible to stand for election themselves as they have not published a Cochrane Review in the Cochrane Library.

    You can confirm you are eligible to vote by logging into your Cochrane Account, and confirming you have both Cochrane Membership (on the Membership tab) and an Author role (visible on the Roles tab).
     
  4. Voting process:
    Each voter gets one vote for each Author representative position available.

Cochrane Information Specialists' Election

The process was drafted by the Exec and approved by vote of all CISs.

Cochrane Information Specialists (CISs) shall have two representatives on the Council. Both representatives shall be elected by members of the CIS community at large to serve a period of three years. Members may stand for re-election for one additional three-year term.

The new representative shall automatically become a member of the Information Specialists' Executive.

Information Specialists or Assistant Information Specialists employed by any Cochrane Centre, Field, or Review Group are eligible to stand for election.

To stand, you will be asked to submit a short statement (maximum 250 words) to elections@cochrane.org subject title: ‘CIS election: Cochrane Council' setting out the following:

  • Why you wish to run for a position on the Cochrane Council.
  • What skills, experience, or qualities you would bring to Council.
  • Acknowledge that you are aware of the commitment required to participate in the Council and its work.

Election is through a CIS-community vote. All Information Specialists or Assistant Information Specialists employed by any Cochrane Centre, Field, or Group, who are also Cochrane Members, shall be eligible to vote

Role of CIS Council members on the Information Specialists' Executive

The two CIS members of the Cochrane Council shall automatically become members of the CIS Executive (if not already members) following their election to Council. At least one of the two Council members shall also take on one of the two Co-Convenor roles on the Executive.

Initial CIS representation on Council

The CIS Executive recognizes that the experience of the current Co-Convenors of the CIS Executive would be useful in the early stages of the new Council as it forms and discusses the remits of Cochrane Executives.

Co-ordinating Editors' Election

The term of election is three years with the possibility of re-election for another three-year term.

All Co-ordinating Editors are eligible to stand for election.

All Co-ordinating Editors will be eligible to vote.

To stand, you will be asked to submit a short statement (maximum 250 words) to elections@cochrane.org subject line: ‘Co-Ed election: Cochrane Council' setting out the following:

  • Why you wish to run for a position on the Cochrane Council;
  • What skills, experience, or qualities you would bring to Council;
  • Acknowledge that you are aware of the commitment required to participate in the Council and its work.

Cochrane Consumer Network's Appointment

Nominations are made by the Consumer Executive. The candidate is chosen with an internal vote.

Fields' Appointment

Nominations are made by the Fields Executive. The candidate is chosen with an internal vote.

Geographic Groups' Election

The Cochrane Council has two seats for representatives of Geographic Groups.

Any Cochrane member currently holding a leadership position in a Cochrane Geographic Group (i.e. as Director, Deputy-Director, or an equivalent role) can put forward their candidacy for the Council. If you are interested, you’ll be requested to submit a short statement to elections@cochrane.org and to Tiffany Duque (tduque@cochrane.org) with subject line: ‘Council election - Geogroup'.

Please include in the statement (maximum 250 words):

  • Why you wish to run for a position on the Cochrane Council,
  • What skills, experience, or qualities you would bring to the Council,
  • Understanding of the commitment required to participate in the Council and its work.

The term of this position is three years, with the possibility of re-election (for a total of no more than six years). 

Any new Geographic Group representative to the Council will also become a member of the Geographic Groups' Executive. The

Executive meets about eight times per year virtually. 

The Geographic Group Directors will be asked to vote for their preferred candidates. The Geographic Groups Executive has decided to modify the voting process from currently one vote per Director to one vote per Group, and two votes for the large national Networks. This means that:

  • Cochrane Geographic Groups can vote for one candidate for each open position (two votes in total, accumulating both for one candidate is not possible)
  • If there are several Associate Centres or Affiliates (all within the same country) the leader of the Group (at country level) is encouraged to consult with them and agree upon their joint votes for two candidates.
  • The large national Networks (Cochrane China, Cochrane India or Cochrane US) will have two votes for each position (four votes in total). One candidate can only receive a maximum of two votes from a Network.  The Networks may decide to give their four votes to four different candidates. The leaders of these Networks are encouraged to discuss the candidates with the other partners in the Network to agree which candidates should receive the votes.

As you thus will be voting on behalf of your Group or Network, you are strongly encouraged to consult and agree upon the preferred candidates for whom you should vote.

The two candidate(s) with the most votes will be elected. In the event of a tie, the Geographic Groups' Executive will take the final decision.

Managing Editors' Election

Process drafted by the MEs Executive & approved by vote of all MEs.

Cochrane Managing Editors (MEs) shall have two representatives on the Council.

In the event that an elected representative leaves their Managing Editor role and/or Council position prior to completion of his/her full term, a special election shall be held to select a new ME representative for the Council.

Candidates may nominate themselves or may be nominated by a member of the ME community. Candidates will be asked to submit a short statement (no more than 250 words) to the Council Secretary within the CET (to be shared with eligible voters) stating why they wish to run for a position on the Council and what skills, experience, or qualities they would bring to the Council, and acknowledge that they are aware of the commitment required to participate in the Council and its work.

Voting on candidates standing to fill the positions will be regulated as follows:

  • All Managing Editors and Assistant Managing Editors with an active role on Archie are eligible to stand for election (you do not have to be a member of the MEs Exec).

To stand, you will be asked to submit a short statement (maximum 250 words) to elections@cochrane.org subject line: ‘ME election: Cochrane Council' setting out the following:

  • Why you wish to run for a position on the Cochrane Council;
  • What skills, experience, or qualities you would bring to Council;
  • Acknowledge that you are aware of the commitment required to participate in the Council and its work.

Voting Eligibility

MEs or Assistant MEs who are Cochrane Members, and who are employed by any Cochrane Centre, Field, or Review Group shall be eligible to vote. Questions about eligibility shall be brought to the attention of the Council Secretary within the CET.

Managing Editors and Assistant Managing Editors have one vote each.

Methods' Election

Process established by the Methods Executive and methods reps on the Council. Nominees need to be from the methods community (either a Methods Group Convenor, staff or active member) with a proven track record in making contributions to Cochrane methods and Methods Groups, and who understand their issues. Active methods community members are sought, with either expertise or a keen interest in methods covered by one or more of our Methods Groups and motivated to work on cross-cutting topics for the benefit of the Cochrane community as a whole. The Methods Executive will ensure nominations meet criteria before a vote by the Methods Community to vote for the candidate in order of preference.

Early Career Professionals' Appointment

Open call for expression of interest within the current steering committee.

The candidates' applications are discussed during the monthly meeting and if the applications received are more than the available seats, the candidates are chosen with an internal vote.