A new statute has been signed by the members for the period 2008 - 2012.

Statute of the Partnership for European Research in Occupational Safety and Health (PEROSH)
2008 - 2012


Preamble
Aiming to strengthen European research in occupational safety and health (OSH), 12 European OSH research institutes established the Partnership for European Research in Occupational Safety and Health (PEROSH) on 7 November 2003 in Rome by signing a framework agreement on cooperation.

§ 1
Name and location
The cooperation is named “Partnership for European Research in Occupational
Safety and Health” and uses the abbreviation PEROSH.
The location of the chairmanship is the seat of the current chairman. The chairman and the vice-chairman are appointed by the Steering Committee.
The location of the Scientific Secretariat is decided by the Steering Committee.

§ 2
Legal Status
Nothing in the statute shall constitute a legal entity between the institutes of
PEROSH (members). This agreement shall not prevent any member from engaging in any kind of cooperation with third party organisations.

§ 3
Objectives
The members:

• Cooperate and coordinate their research and development efforts for healthier,
longer and more productive working lives.
• Aim to counsel and cooperate with the EU and the national authorities of Europe in order to support EU and national policy development and enforcement

§ 4
Tasks
The objectives should be achieved through:
• Pooling of resources and sharing of knowledge across institutions and countries
in order to improve the quality of research and development and of the dissemination of results.
• Cooperation in and development of joint research and development (R&D) projects.
• Proactive dialogue with the EU and other OSH-stakeholders internationally and nationally.
• Cooperation with external research centres and OSH-related institutions and networks.
• Collaboration on EU R&D projects and programmes.
• Promotion of the partnership.

§ 5
Membership
European research centres with researchers dedicated to obtaining research results at an international quality level and to making these results available in the public domain can apply for membership. The research shall focus on the interaction between man and the working environment and on efficient workplace health and safety promotion and prevention procedures.

Members shall be research centres with scientific autonomy financed by national
governments, national working environment insurance systems, research grants
and/or similar research financing sources.

The number and type of member institutes shall allow the cooperation to be an
informal, un-bureaucratic and workable partnership. Therefore as a rule there shall be only one member institution per country except where two thirds of the existing members agree otherwise.

All members shall contribute to financing of a scientific secretariat.
New members shall be approved by decision of the Steering Committee and will be required to sign a membership agreement.

Members may be expelled from PEROSH if any or all of the following apply:
• the member in question is continuously causing risk to the reputation of PEROSH or any of the members;
• the member is continuously obstructing the fulfilment of the common aims in this statute;
• the member does not contribute to financing of the scientific secretariat as
decided by the steering committee.

The above is always provided two thirds of members agree to exclusion, not counting the one that is to be excluded.

Furthermore a decision to expel a member shall be taken at two consecutive
Steering Committee meetings. The member in question shall have the right to defend its position at the steering committee prior to the final decision.

Disputes between members are settled by the Steering Committee. A steering committee settlement must be based on a hearing of the parties involved and requires a two thirds majority not counting the parties of the dispute.

§ 6
Steering Committee
The members shall establish a steering committee comprising one representative at director level of each of them.
The role of the Steering Committee shall not prejudice the authority, rights or responsibilities of any member, nationally or internationally.
The Steering Committee shall appoint from its members a chairperson who shall chair PEROSH for two years. Re-election is permissible for one further two-year
period.
The Steering Committee shall appoint a vice-chairperson to assist the chairperson of the Steering Committee. Re-election as vice-chairperson is permissible for one further two-year period. In order to ensure continuity of the chairmanship, the vice chairperson should normally succeed his/her present chairperson as chairperson.
The chairperson and the vice-chairperson of the Steering Committee, the
chairperson of the Scientific Steering Group, and the director of the member institute hosting the scientific secretariat shall constitute the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the day-to-day management and shall keep the Steering Committee informed on all relevant issues.

The Steering Committee shall meet at least once a year at the request of its
chairpersons or at any other time when necessary at the request of one of the
members.
Minutes of the meetings of the Steering Committee shall be sent to all members without delay. The minutes shall be considered as accepted if no members object to the secretary within 15 working days from transmittal of the minutes.

The Steering Committee shall be responsible for the strategic management of
PEROSH, including but not limited to:

• the promotion of specific knowledge sharing initiatives;
• the promotion of joint research and development projects and programmes and corresponding proposals presented by PEROSH to funding institutions;
• the establishment, termination and mandate of scientific advisory and working groups and task forces;
• the adoption of internal rules of procedure;
• agreement on budget and approval of annual account of revenue and expenditure;
• the inclusion of new members;
• the inclusion of observers at the Steering Committee meetings;
• the appointment of the chairperson and the vice-chairperson of the Steering
Committee;
• all other decisions related to the cooperation as a whole.

All decisions of the Steering Committee shall be subject to a two thirds majority in
favour. Decisions may also be taken in accordance with the above principle in meetings via teleconference and/or via e-mail on condition that two thirds of the members agree to the procedure.

§ 7
Chairperson
The chairperson shall be the official representative of PEROSH. He/she will speak for the members and will represent PEROSH in all events and actions where a presence or statement of PEROSH is requested. He/she shall be obliged to stay in close contact with the members to assure that he/she represents their interests.
The role of the chairperson shall not prejudice the authority, rights or responsibilities of any member, nationally or internationally.

§ 8
Scientific Secretariat
A Scientific Secretariat staffed with a full-time senior academic secretary shall be located in one of the member states.

The scientific secretary reports to the chairman of the Steering Committee.

The scientific secretary shall be responsible for:
• Facilitation of practical day-to-day networking, coordination and development aiming to achieve the overall objectives regarding e.g.

o knowledge transfer between the member institutes
o development and carrying out of joint research projects
o dialogue with and monitoring of the EU and other stakeholders
o communication and marketing of the partnership
o updating and development of public and internal websites

• Assistance to the chairman of the Steering Committee
Legally the scientific secretary shall be employed by a member institute in the
country, where the secretariat is located.

The legal and financial terms and conditions of the employment shall be administered by the employing member institute in accordance with a Steering
Committee decision.

§ 9
Scientific Steering Group
The Steering Committee establishes and decides on the organisation and mandate of an advisory Scientific Steering Group.
The Scientific Steering Group appoints a chairman, who takes part in the meetings of the Steering Committee.

§ 10
Financing
Each member shall bear its own costs arising from this statute.
Decisions which imply financial costs to members, except for financing of the
Scientific Secretariat, shall apply only to consenting members.
Common costs of PEROSH for the scientific secretariat and the chairmanship are financed via bilateral service agreements between the member institute hosting the secretariat and the individual PEROSH member institutes. Each member institute is obliged to sign and pay an annual service agreement in accordance with the agreed budget for the year in question. The member institutes share the expenses equally.
The revenue of PEROSH is not permitted to be used other than for the realization of its objectives. No person or institution may benefit from the revenue which is not spent for the aims of PEROSH or from unjustified expenses. A surplus or deficit of a financial year will be transferred to the subsequent financial year and consequently be included in the budget for the subsequent year.
The member institute hosting the scientific secretariat works out an annual account of revenue and expenditure for approval by the Steering Committee. The business year will be the calendar year.
External funding of additional activities or projects arising from this co-operation shall be based on a separate written agreement.

§ 11
Duration, Withdrawal and Termination
This agreement will cover a period of five years, as from the date of signature. It may be renewed.
The members shall be entitled to withdraw from this agreement after giving six months notice. Existing projects will not be influenced by termination and shall be finished as planned unless members agree otherwise.
The agreement may be terminated by a simple majority of the members.

§ 12
Taking effect
This agreement will take effect on being signed in duplicate by all members.

PEROSH - Contact: tel: +32 2 643 44 62, e-mail: nele.roskams@perosh.eu