Minutes of Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group meetings,

Dublin, Ireland, 22 and 26 October 2006

[These minutes were approved by the Steering Group Executive on 28 November 2006.]

Subject	Item no.
Allocation of funds to specific proposals	19; 34
Amsterdam, CCSG mid-year meeting in 2007	17; 37.4
Amsterdam, choosing appropriate topic for strategic discussion in	35
Annual General Meetings, agenda for	11
Author issues, and proposed survey of Cochrane	20.2; 33.6
Campbell Collaboration issues	15.5
Cash flow forecast	5.2
CCNet issues	33.4
CCSG review	4
CENTRAL Vision Group report and recommendations	19
Centre issues	33.5
Chief Executive Officer report	3.1
Chinese language, trial search and translation project for trials in the	27
Co-Chair of the Steering Group, nominations for	3.4
Cochrane Library, derivative products of The	37.1
Cochrane Library, presentation of reviews in RevMan 5 in The	30.2
Cochrane Library, publication of The	9
Cochrane Library, rationale for requiring authors to publish their review first in The	28
Cochrane Library Users’ Group (CLUG) report	32
Cochrane Opportunities Fund	8
Cochrane Review Group issues	33.1
Cochrane reviews, quality issues in	20
Colloquia, dates of future	17
Colloquia, invitations to host	17
Colloquium 2007 in São Paulo	14; 17
Colloquium Manager software	30.6
Colloquium Policy Advisory Group (CPAG) report	15.2
Consumer Network issues	33.4
Contract, timeline and process for renegotiation of Wiley	7
Co-ordinating Editors’ meeting	33.1.2
Copenhagen, invitation to host 2009 mid-year meetings in	18
CRG issues	33.1
Declarations of interest	2
Derivative products	37.1
Diagnostic test accuracy, publication arrangements for protocols and reviews of	20.1
Discretionary Fund expenditure	10.1
Entity representatives, verbal reports from, after meetings during the Colloquium	33
Environmental sustainability issues	10.3; 11; 37.2
Feedback Management Advisory Group (FMAG) report	29
Field/Network issues	33.3
Financial position and cash flow forecast	5.2
Financial status of the Collaboration and of Cochrane entities	6
Freiburg Colloquium 2008	17
Funding Arbiter, report from the	15.4
Funding, mechanism for prioritisation projects	12
Funds, allocation of to specific proposals	19; 34
Handbook Advisory Group (HAG) report	16.3
Information Management System (IMS), status report on the	21
Information Management System Group (IMSG), timely decision-making in the	30.7
Information Management System Group (IMSG) report	30
Kenneth Warren Prize 2006	10.2
La Biblioteca Cochrane Plus, continuation of	26
Management Plan, Strategic Plan and	separate document
Membership of the Steering Group’s sub- and advisory groups	16.1
Methods Group issues	33.2
Mid-year CCSG meeting, Amsterdam, 2007	17; 37.4
Mid-year CCSG meeting, Copenhagen, 2009	18
Mid-year CCSG meeting, Vellore, 2008	17
Monitoring and Registration Group (MRG) report	15.1
Ombudsmen, report from the	15.3
Opportunities Fund	8
‘Parent’ database	30.5
Plain language summaries, summary of findings tables and	20.3
Prioritisation projects, mechanism for funding	12
Publication arrangements for Cochrane protocols and reviews of diagnostic test accuracy	20.1
Publication of The Cochrane Library (Wiley report)	9
Quality Advisory Group (QAG) report	23.1
Quality issues in Cochrane reviews	20
Rationale for requiring Cochrane authors to publish in The Cochrane Library first	28
Report and Financial Statements	5.1
Review Group Co-ordinators’ meeting	33.1.1
Review of the Collaboration, Strategic	13
Review of the Information Management System Group (IMSG)	30.1
Review of the Steering Group	4
Reviews of diagnostic test accuracy, publication arrangements for protocols and	20.1
RevMan 5, presentation of reviews in The Cochrane Library	30.2
RevMan 5, status of and release plans	22; 30.4
RGC issues	33.1.1
São Paulo Colloquium and CCSG meeting, 2007	14; 17
Spanish version of The Cochrane Library, continuation of	26
Spreadsheet of current financial position and cash flow forecast	5.2
Steering Group agenda, rationale for having reformatted	3.2
Steering Group five-year review	4
Steering Group meeting 2009, invitation to host in Copenhagen	18
Steering Group meeting, top priorities for	3.1
Steering Group meetings, dates of future	17
Steering Group members’ declarations of interest	2
Steering Group members, statements from and farewell to outgoing	24
Steering Group sub- and advisory groups, changes in membership of	16.1
Steering Group, 2009 meeting of the	18
Strategic discussion in Amsterdam, appropriate topic for	35
Strategic Plan and Management Plan	separate document
Strategic review of the Collaboration	13
Summary of findings tables and plain language summaries	20.3
Survey of Cochrane authors	20.2
Topics lists for entities other than CRGs	30.3
Trading Company Directors, issues raised by	10.3
Treasurer’s report	5
Trial search and translation project for trials in Chinese language	27
Trials Search Co-ordinators’ meeting	33.1.3
TSC issues	33.1.3
Umbrella Reviews Working Group (URWG) report	31
Updating Working Group: pilot project for updating reviews	23.2
Vellore, CCSG mid-year meeting in 2008	17
Websites management	16.2
Wiley, timeline and process for renegotiation of contract	7
Wiley report (publication of The Cochrane Library)	9

Minutes of

Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group meetings,

Dublin, Ireland

22 and 26 October 2006

[These minutes were approved by the Steering Group Executive on 28 November 2006.]

Present: Godwin Aja, Claire Allen (Deputy Administrator), Lorne Becker, Lisa Bero, Bob Boruch (The Campbell Collaboration), Mark Davies (Co-Chair, who chaired the first Steering Group meeting), Jon Deeks (Treasurer), Deborah Dixon (John Wiley & Sons, for items 9, 12, 19 and 20 only), Zbys Fedorowicz, Donna Gillies, Adrian Grant, Sally Green, Dymphna Hermans, Jini Hetherington (Administrator; minutes), Gail Higgins (for item 19 only), Monica Kjeldstrøm (Director, Collaboration Trading Company and Information Management System), Alessandro Liberati (for item 4 only), Joy Oliver, Jordi Pardo (for items 1 to 24 only), Deborah Pentesco-Gilbert (John Wiley & Sons, for items 9, 12, 19, 20 and 29 only), Karen Robinson (for item 19 only), Nick Royle (Chief Executive Officer), Rob Scholten, Peter Tugwell, Janet Wale, Liz Waters, Narelle Willis, Hans van der Wouden and Diana Wyatt (Secretary).

Note: The underlined headings below indicate live links to the background papers for those agenda items. Only those papers designated ‘Open access’ are publicly available. If an item is not underlined, it is because the background paper has been designated ‘Restricted’, ‘Confidential’ or ‘Commercial-in-confidence’.

First Steering Group meeting - 22 October 2006

1. Welcomes, introductions, apologies for absence, and approval of the agenda
Mark welcomed everyone to the meeting, and introductions were made. Mark explained that Steff Lewis had recently resigned as Co-Chair, with effect from 25 October 2006, and was unable to attend this meeting. Formal thanks were recorded for all Steff’s hard work during her time on the Steering Group, particularly during the past year as Co-Chair. The agenda was approved, with one change: Janet asked for the item on CCNet (item 33.4) to be discussed under Goal 1 (with item 20.3 - Summary of Findings tables and plain language summaries). Mark thanked everyone for their voluntary work as members of the Steering Group, recognising the considerable time and effort put in by most of them. He congratulated Lorne for having been elected to take over from Mark as Co-Chair, with effect from 25 October 2006.

2. Steering Group members’ declarations of interest
Mark drew attention to the declarations of interest that had been circulated with the agenda material, and are appended to these minutes. (Steering Group members’ declarations are updated on a quarterly basis and published in The Cochrane Library.) Mark explained that Monica was attending the meeting to represent the Trading Company Directors as well as in her capacity as Director of the Information Management System. Jon reported that he had recently received a five-year grant from the Department of Health in England for reviews of diagnostic test accuracy. No additional declarations of interest were made by Steering Group members, members of Secretariat staff or Monica Kjeldstrøm.

3. 3.1 Introduction and top priorities for this meeting: Mark referred to the achievements of the past year, including the new interface of The Cochrane Library. The national provision for England had been renegotiated, and negotiations for Europe-wide national provision were also continuing. The royalty figures from Wiley had continued to improve and this opened up possibilities for funding prioritised initiatives. Mark emphasised the need for all Steering Group members to respond to e-mail requests for feedback on specific issues, and to read carefully all the background documents for meetings. If any members felt unable to participate fully in the work of the Steering Group, or a particular sub-group, they should discuss this with the Co-Chairs or the relevant sub-group Convenor. It was noted that the CEO had been asked not to present a formal report at this meeting because it was considered that there was insufficient time, and he would be having detailed input into several items on the agenda.

3.2 Rationale for having reformatted the Steering Group agenda: Lorne explained that agenda items had been sorted according to their relevance to the four goals of the Strategic Plan. This was to allow related items to be discussed together, and to make it easier to identify any gaps. The reasoning behind the ‘consent’ agenda items was to separate out the items that would normally be approved with little comment or were for information only, in order to allow more time for those items requiring discussion.