What it does
The Governing Board, amongst other tasks:
- adopts the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, the work programmes and approves the annual additional activities plan;
- approves the budget, calls for proposals, and annual activity reports;
- appoints and oversees the Executive Director;
- ensures coherence with EU programmes and policies;
- decides on funding allocations, membership applications, and collaboration with other partnerships;
- monitors performance and the achievement of programme objectives;
- adopts financial and operational rules and the communication policy;
- may set up advisory or working groups as needed.
Who they are
The Governing Board is composed of 12 members:
- 6 representatives from the European Commission, on behalf of the European Union
- 6 representatives from the EDCTP Association, representing European and African countries
Each partner holds 50% of the voting rights, ensuring joint ownership and balanced governance.
Representatives from the European Commission
| Name | Position | Declaration of Interests |
|---|---|---|
María Pilar Aguar Fernández Chairperson | Chairperson, Director, Directorate People: Health & Society, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) | 📝 |
| Maria Cristina Russo | Deputy Director-General - Innovation, Prosperity and International Cooperation, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) | 📝 |
| Laurent Muschel | Director - Deputy Head of the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) | 📝 |
| Martin Seychell | Deputy Director-General, Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) | 📝 |
| Kristin Schreiber | Director, Directorate Chemicals, Bioeconomy and Retail, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) | 📝 |
| Wolfgang Philipp | Principal Adviser - Health and crisis management, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) | 📝 |
Representatives from the EDCTP Association
| Name | Position | Declaration of Interests |
|---|---|---|
Karine Lacombe
Vice-Chairperson | Vice-Chairperson, Chair of the General Assembly and of the Board of the EDCTP Association, Head of Infectious Diseases Department, St Antoine Hospital, Sorbonne Université, Inserm UMR-S1136, IPLESP, France | 📝 |
| Alemseged Abdissa | Vice-Chair of the General Assembly and of the Board of the EDCTP Association, Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Ethiopia | 📝 |
| Markus Moll | Senior Research Advisor, Unit for Research Cooperation, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Sweden | 📝 |
| Claude Muvunyi | Director General, Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), Rwanda | 📝 |
| Marta Norton | Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal | 📝 |
| Vinny Pillay | Vice-Chair of the General Assembly and of the Board of the EDCTP Association, Chief Director - International Resources at the South African Department of Science & Innovation, South Africa | 📝 |
Alternate members from the European Commission
| Name | Position | Declaration of Interests |
|---|---|---|
| Kasia Jurczak | Head of Unit RTD D1 – Combatting Diseases, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) | 📝 |
| Nienke Buisman | Head of Unit RTD.04 - International Cooperation Policy, Directorate-general For Research and Innovation (DG RTD) | 📝 |
| Cornelius Schmaltz | Senior Expert - DG HERA Science Officer, Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) | 📝 |
| Cecile Billaux | Head of Unit INTPA.G4 - Social Inclusion and Protection, Health and Demography, Directorate-general For International Partnerships (DG INTPA) | 📝 |
| Giulia Del Brenna | Head of Unit GROW.F3 – Textiles, Food and Retail, Directorate-general For Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) | 📝 |
| Ingrid Keller | Head of Unit SANTE B2 – Health Security, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) | 📝 |