2.1.3 Criteria for choosing venues for Steering Group and Centre Directors’ meetings

Since all Cochrane Centres have hosted a mid-year meeting of the Steering Group and the Centre Directors, or have hosted (or agreed to host) a Colloquium, the Steering Group agreed at its 2002 meeting in Stavanger, Norway, on the following criteria for choosing the location (i.e. the city) and the venue (i.e. the hotel and meeting rooms) for the mid-year meetings of the Steering Group and the Centre Directors:

1. Benefit to the proposed host:  The host should provide information on the expected benefit to them and to Cochrane Collaboration activity in their country. Hosts in countries where The Cochrane Collaboration currently has a lower profile than desirable should be encouraged.
2. Convenience of travel:  The location of the meetings should be within two hours’ travelling time of an international airport.
3. Cost of travel:  This includes the cost to The Cochrane Collaboration of travel by the Steering Group, and of people asked to make a special journey to attend the Steering Group meeting, and the cost to individual Cochrane Centres for their Director(s).
4. Cost of accommodation:  The accommodation provided should be consistent with the rules agreed by the Steering Group in relation to expenditure on subsistence (see section 2.1.2).
5. Cost of meeting facilities:  This needs to be considered if the host cannot cover the costs of the meeting facilities, or if the meeting is organised and funded by The Cochane Collaboration centrally.
6. Reliable e-mail access:  It is important for the host to have reliable e-mail access, to facilitate making arrangements for, and communicating about, these meetings.