PARTNERSHIP AGREMENT ON FOUNDING

PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT ON FOUNDING

THE EURASIAN ACADEMIC ALLIANCE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH

Adopted by the 1st General Meeting of the Alliance on June 25, 2021  

                                                           

Preamble

  1. Recognizing the needs for closer regional academic collaboration on global health issues in the Eurasian region, especially among countries in Central/Eastern Europe and Central Asia, it was decided by the undersigned to create a collaborative platform for training and research in the area of global health. The organization’s name is Eurasian Academic Alliance for Global Health (EAAGH), forthwith called the Alliance.
  2. Initial support for launching the Alliance has been provided by the European Commission through the Erasmus+ mechanism for the period of 2020-2023, under the Capacity Building in the Field of Higher Education

Definitions

  1. The Alliance defines global health as an academic discipline that sets the frame for conceptual, technical and operational understanding of the effects of globalization on health and helps find solutions to address health challenges that transcend countries’ political boundaries. As the world becomes more globalized, so does the health of its population. The health challenges brought about by the process of globalization – such as epidemic outbreaks, antimicrobial resistance, climate change, environmental pollution, mass migration of refugees and others – equally affect all countries, despite their size, location or political, economic and military powers. These challenges require effective trans-national actions, which should be based on mutually reciprocal responsibilities among countries, aimed at achieving commonly agreed health objectives, and should be executed through internationally agreed coordination mechanisms.
  2. While cooperation on global health issues is important among all countries of the world, it is particularly essential for the countries located in closer geographic proximity, since they are more tightly linked to each other by the external factors – trade, tourism, environment, climate, socio-cultural influence – to name a few, that may play catalytic role in exacerbating health challenges of their populations.
  3. In the context of this Alliance Eurasia is defined as a group of countries located in the Baltic Sea, Eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Central Asia regions. While members from all countries around the world are welcome to join the Alliance, academic institutions from the following countries will be proactively invited: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

Objectives

  1. Main objectives of the Alliance are:
  • Improving and enhancing the involvement of Eurasian researchers and institutions in global health research, education and capacity building;
  • Contributing to increased international collaboration in global health, with particular emphasis on strengthening the capacity of institutional partners in Eurasia;
  • Leveraging increased and targeted funding for relevant global health research from governments, private foundations, international organizations and other sources;
  • Contributing to national and international collaboration and networking in the field of global health.
  1. Activities of the Alliance:
  • Contribute to the advancement of global health as an academic discipline in Eurasia, especially in those countries where global health has not yet been established as the explicit area of research and higher education;
  • Promote academic collaboration on global health among its member institutions and facilitate and encourage collaborative activities in global health training and research;
  • Disseminate information on ongoing global health challenges, particularly those that affect the population of the Eurasia region, as well as about opportunities for funding, education, training, research and other relevant activities in the area of global health;
  • Support harmonization of formalized training in global health among its member institutions, including but not limited to developing new training curricula and organizing regional training courses, which may potentially lead to joint Global Health Professional Certificate and/or joint Master of Global Health program that can be offered by several universities across the Eurasia region;
  • Organize regular Eurasian Conference on Global Health and co-sponsor national and sub-regional meetings upon request;
  • Establish linkages with academic networks pursuing similar objectives in other parts of the world and will support its members to integrate into international academic community in the area of global health;
  • The Alliance may produce and/or support production of technical publications by its members;

 

Guiding Principles

  1. The Alliance is a network of member organizations. It is not a formally registered legal entity governed by a particular country’s laws and regulations.
  2. The Alliance’s Secretariat, which is a rotational function assumed on temporary bases by a member institution, serves as the Alliance’s institutional structure.
  3. Alliance’s members are academic institutions, such as universities or other institutions of higher education, as well as research organizations, think-tanks and NGOs involved in public health, epidemiology, health policy, health economics and other related areas, which share the purpose of the Alliance;
  4. Membership to the Alliance is voluntary and there is no membership fee;
  5. There are no geographic or other restrictions for members to join the Alliance, but institutions located in the countries listed under Paragraph 5 are particularly encouraged to join; Institutions willing to join the Alliance should submit the Membership Application to the Alliance’s Secretariat. The Application can be found on the Alliance’s website;

 

Governance

  1. The Alliance is governed by the Board. The Board provides strategic guidance to the Alliance, approves its annual workplan and budget.
  2. The Board consists of up to fifteen members.
  3. Board membership is limited to three years. The same individual may serve as Board member maximum for two consecutive terms.
  4. The first Board of the Alliance will include up-to eleven members representing the institutions that are the founding members of the Alliance (one representative from each founding member institution). The Alliance’s founding institutions are (in alphabetical order by countries):
  • Georgia: Batumi State University, Tbilisi Institute of Global Health, Tbilisi State University, University of Georgia
  • Germany: University of Heidelberg
  • Kazakhstan: Astana Medical University, Kazakh National University
  • Norway: University of Bergen, University of Tromso
  • Ukraine: National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ternopil National Medical University
  1. A representative of the institution serving as the Alliance’s Secretariat is also a member of the Board.
  2. Within the first year following the first meeting of the Board in June 2021 composed of the above members, the Board membership will be offered to additional members, selected from the institutions which will have joined the Alliance by that time.
  3. The Board members elect a Chair of the Board from among the Board members. Election of the Chair will be organized by the temporary Election Committee, which will convene 5 months before the end of the term of the serving Chair and will develop election regulations that have to be approved by the Board at least three months before the vacancy for the Chair is announced.
  4. The Chairmanship is limited to three years. The same individual may serve as the Board Chair maximum for two consecutive terms.
  5. The first Chair of the Board will be elected by the First Board at its first meeting in June 2021 from among the first members of the Board.
  6. The Board meets annually in June each year, either face-to-face or online. Additional/extraordinary Board meetings may be called by the Chair of the Board as needed, either at his/her discretion, or by request from other members of the Board. At least three members of the Board should support the petition in order for the Chair to consider calling extraordinary meeting.
  7. The last day of each Board meeting is dedicated to the General Assembly, which is held annually and is responsible for overseeing the activities of the Alliance. One representative of each member institution may participate in the General Assembly with the voting power, and no more than two other representatives may participate as observers, without voting power.
  8. Decisions regarding amendments of the Partnership Agreement and dissolution of the Alliance and changes of decisions made by the Board require a two third majority vote among the members attending the General Assembly. Other decisions require a simple majority vote.

Management

  1. Day-to-day operational management of the Alliance is undertaken by the Secretariat.
  2. One of the member institutions of the Alliance, selected by the Board, will serve as the Alliance’s Secretariat for three years. The same institution may serve as the Alliance’s Secretariat maximum for two 3-year terms.
  3. The Secretariat will implement the Alliance’s strategy; coordinate the partnership; establish and run the Alliance’s website; manage communication with partners; prepare and disseminate quarterly bulletin; manage fundraising; manage the preparation of grant proposals; advocate for promoting global health as an academic discipline in the Eurasia region; manage new membership and provide for the daily operations of the network.
  4. As defined in the European Commission’s Erasmus+ project, the first organization to serve as the Alliance’s Secretariat will be Tbilisi Institute of Global Health (TIOGH). It will assume this role immediately after the launching conference of the Alliance in June 2021 and will serve until June 2024. In June 2024 the Board will either continue TIOGH’s mandate for the 2nd term, or will select a new member organization to serve as the Secretariat. Five months before the end of the first three-year term of TIOGH serving as the Alliance’s Secretariat, the Board’s temporary Election Committee will develop election regulations that have to be approved by the Board at least three months before the end of the current term.
  5. Since the Alliance does not have the legal entity status, the Secretariat serves as its organizational base. For the duration of the term(s) when the organization is serving as the Alliance’s Secretariat, the organization’s address becomes the Alliance’s address for correspondence, and the organization establishes a designated bank account, as permitted by the national legislation, which is used explicitly for the Alliance’s activities.
  6. A representative of the organization serving as the Secretariat assumes the role of the Executive Director of the Alliance. The Candidate for the Executive Director is nominated by the organization serving as the Secretariat and is approved by the Board. The same person may serve as the Alliance’s Executive Director for maximum two 3-year terms. Five months before the end of each three-year term of the Executive Director, the Board’s temporary Election Committee will develop election regulations that have to be approved by the Board at least three months before the end of the current term.
  7. Through managing the Alliance’s Secretariat, Executive Director has a primary responsibility in relation to:
  • Establishing and maintaining the Alliance’s website and news bulletins for the Alliance;
  • Establishing and maintaining an inventory of activities and resources used for global health research in the Alliance;
  • Managing memberships;
  • Managing close communication with members of the Alliance for exchange of relevant information and news in the field of global health and health research;
  • Advocating for promoting of global health in the region;
  • Managing fundraising for the Alliance;
  • Managing preparation of grant proposals, either for funding of the Alliance or for global health projects to be implemented by the Alliance;
  • Preparing Board meetings, participate and write minutes from the meetings and execute tasks as decided by the Board;
  • Preparing of the annual meetings of the General Assembly;
  • Preparing scientific conferences/arrangements on global health research hosted by the Alliance;
  • Preparing of an annual work plan, budget and annual report for the Alliance activities to be presented for approval at the annual meeting of General Assembly;
  • Running of the daily activities of the secretariat and supporting the Board and Board Chair in attending to current tasks necessary for a smooth running of the Alliance.