This summary note provides an overview of the general process of how to become a registered expert to take part in IPBES assessments and other opportunities which come up to participate in IPBES processes.
The IPBES Secretariat regularly issues calls for nominations of experts to participate in their assessments (most recently for the Nexus Assessment and the Transformative Change Assessment).
Application process
When a specific opportunity arises (via the official IPBES notifications) which is of interest to you, and you feel you have the necessary expertise, nominees are invited to fill out the online application form and attach their curriculum vitae through a dedicated web portal. To access the web portal, nominees will need to log in with their IPBES website log-in credentials. Nominees not yet registered on the IPBES website will need to first do so at https://ipbes.net/user/register. Links to the web portal will be circulated via the notifications.
The application form will include a section titled "Nominating Body". Nominations can either be supported by government members of IPBES, or another stakeholder. If you wish for Defra to support your nomination, you should select ‘Government’ under ‘Type of nominating body and ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’ under both ‘Government’ and ‘National Focal Point’.
Your application will automatically be forwarded to the UK National Focal Point via IPBES.
Selection criteria
This will depend on the requirements of the specific assessment or other IPBES process that nominees are interested in participating.
In general, nominated experts should have strong multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary expertise, expertise in one or more disciplines of natural science, social science or the humanities, be indigenous and local knowledge experts or have expertise in indigenous and local knowledge systems. IPBES encourages experts with policy-relevant expertise and also practitioners to apply.
The selection of experts (e.g. for participation in the IPBES assessments) is a very competitive and rigorous process with only a limited number of experts being selected per country and region. You should be aware of the high demand on time and resource which will be required to fulfil this role, as well as noting that not all applications will be successful.
Depending on the type of assessment IPBES will be looking for experts with a scientific and/or practical background in relation to the assessment’s topic.
In addition, the UK will give preference to experts with experience formulating advice for governments, public bodies or international bodies with respect to the assessment’s topic or range if topics.
The UK National Focal Point will consider the endorsement of nominations based on these criteria, so it is strongly recommended that nominees ensure that their application demonstrates how these are met. Nominations which are successfully endorsed will receive an automated confirmation. The IPBES Multidisciplinary Expert Panel (MEP) will select experts from the nominations that have been endorsed by governments or stakeholders taking into account expertise, regional balance and gender balance.
For further information on the UK nomination process please contact ipbes@jncc.gov.uk
Available funding to support UK experts
Organisations are expected to provide their own funding / staff resource for participating in the IPBES assessments. Therefore, nominees should, in the first instance, seek funding resource from their own institution. There is no guarantee that funding will be available to cover travel and subsistence expenses centrally. Please contact the UK’s National Focal Point via ipbes@jncc.gov.uk for further information.
Thank you for your continued support to IPBES.
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