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An open competitive process has been launched for the selection of a permanent secretariat for Future Earth, a 10-year international research programme dedicated to generating new knowledge for challenges posed by global environmental change and transitions towards global sustainability.

Future Earth will answer fundamental questions about how and why the global environment is changing, what are likely future changes, what are risks and implications for human development and the diversity of life on Earth, and what the opportunities are to reduce risks and vulnerabilities, enhance resilience and innovation, and implement transformations to prosperous and equitable futures.

The successful bid will host a permanent secretariat – including headquarters and regional nodes – for the 10-year research programme. The secretariat will coordinate research activities, handle the day-to-day management of Future Earth, and liaise with key stakeholders. The Secretariat will need an innovative management model to ensure it can operate efficiently and effectively and fully support the communities of researchers and stakeholders in the delivery of Future Earth. It must ensure engagement of developed, developing and least developed countries.

Interested parties (individual organisations or consortia of organisations) are invited at this stage to express their interest by reviewing the (.pdf) and completing a (.docx). Following this first step, a bidders’ conference will be organised (step 2) to discuss the requirements further and enable bidders to meet with other potential bidders so that they can self-organize for the call for full proposals (step 3) where bidders are expected to submit full proposals (comprising a headquarters and regional nodes, with secured funding). The Future Earth secretariat is expected to be appointed in mid-2014 and be fully operational by the end of 2014.

All expressions of interest should be submitted not later than 23 September 2013.

About Future Earth

Future Earth is sponsored by a Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability comprising UNESCO, the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), the Belmont Forum - council of principals of the International Group of Funding Agencies for global environmental change research (IGFA), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations University (UNU), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as an observer. The call is being managed by the International Council for Science (ICSU) on behalf of the  Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability.

Related links:

• (.pdf)
• (.docx)