1. SAON Board Meeting, 1-2 October 2012, Potsdam
SAON Review
Draft proposal
Jan René Larsen
SAON Board Meeting, 1-2 October 2012, Potsdam ,

2. Senior Arctic Officials (SAO) Report to Ministers, Nuuk, Greenland, May 2011
“The SAOs will review the SAON structure in two to four years time and make any necessary adjustments to the structure at that time”

3. SAON Terms of Reference
“Reporting and Review Process:
In order to both ensure the success of SAON, as well as the effective implementation of its tasks, activities and related operations, an external body will review SAON on a periodic basis to be determined by the SAON Board in consultation with the AC and IASC. The SAON Board will develop details for implementation of, and response to, the review during and in between its formal meetings”

4. Questions to the Review Panel
Evaluate the extent to which SAON activities, as defined in its vision, can meet the overall mandate
Provide suggestions for improvements to the SAON activities that will enable it to better meet its mandate
Evaluate the outreach/communication strategy used by SAON
Proposals for changes to the SAON ToR and governance structure

5. Additional questions which the Review Panel may want to address
What additional activities should SAON initiate in order to strengthen Coordination across networks and platforms for research and monitoring?
What additional activities should SAON initiate in order to ensure access to data?
Knowing that SAON Tasks frequently asks the Board for assistance in identifying funding sources, what activities should the Board initiate to support this?

6. Compostion of the Review Panel and timing
Composition of the Review Panel:
An Arctic country
A non-Arctic country
A Permanent Participant
A Task Lead
An international organisation
Timing:
First time in Summer 2013, and then every second year