InterAcademy Partnership

The InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) is a global network consisting of over 140 national and regional member academies of science, engineering, and medicine. It was founded in 1993 as the InterAcademy Panel (IAP). In 2000, the IAP founded the InterAcademy Council (IAC) and the InterAcademy Medical Panel (IAMP). The partnership was established in 2016 when it merged the three inter-related networks into IAP for Health (formerly IAMP), IAP for Science (formerly IAP), and IAP for Policy (formerly IAC). The mission of IAP is for the world's merit-based academies to play a vital role in ensuring that science serves society inclusively and equitably and underpins global sustainable development by advising the public on the scientific aspects of critical global issues. It has released official statements on socially important topics, including the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, food and nutrition security, science education, biosecurity, water, science communication, women in science, human population growth, global warming, human reproductive cloning, and evolution. IAP has also advanced science diplomacy by bringing regional networks together to address global problems. Governance The highest decisive body of IAP is the General Assembly, which meets every third year, and where each member organization has one vote on organizational decisions. At these meetings, member academies elect new leadership, approve new members, report on organizational activities over the last triennial period, and approve a strategic plan for the next three years. In between the meetings, the work is directed by three executive committees, one for each pillar of the Partnership (or in the case of IAP Policy, a board), supported by a secretariat from a host academy. Each executive committee/board convenes annually, with two co-chairs presiding. One of the co-chairs shall be nominated by an academy in a low or middle income country (LMIC); the other shall be nominated by a high income country (HIC). Similar rules of diversity in economic development hold for the executive committee member academies in order to represent a global view. The number of member academies composing the executive committee varies: 17 member academies in IAP Policy Advice Committee, 14 member academies in IAP Capacity Building Committee, and 15 member academies in IAP Communication, Education and Outreach Committee.