Working Together as a Network

We have three key elements to our structure of governance, namely an annual network meeting, an overarching Steering Committee and an M-POWER Coordinator.

Annual Network Meeting

M-POWER convenes an annual meeting for network members and invited guests. These meetings are conducted in different locations within the Mekong Region in order to provide opportunities for membership engagement and for exploring issues throughout the region. The annual meetings encourage and motivate participants to interact and share their experiences and research learnings. Meetings are utilized to design, develop and refine specific products, such as assessment tools, policy briefs, books and special issues.

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee (SC) has principal responsibility for overall program development and delivery and for representing M-POWER in regional forums. It provides strategic direction and advice on key actions that need to be taken by the M-POWER Coordinator and our projects.

The core decisions that rest with the SC are:

endorsing proposals or projects as formal activities of the network;
selecting and evaluating Research Fellows;
approving and reviewing budget management of projects;
resolving disputes within the network, such as between Research Fellows and their hosts;
approving annual work plans and reports to donors before release; and
approving changes to how the network is represented and governed.

The SC communicates principally by email, skype and telephone. A face-to-face meeting is held each year in conjunction with the annual network meeting. Additional meetings are held if required. SC members use voting to make a decision when necessary. A majority vote is required for a decision to be adopted.

SC members are nominated and endorsed each year at the annual network meeting. Their term is usually 2-3 years, but may be renewed indefinitely.

Find out more about our current SC members at Leadership.

M-POWER Coordinator

The M-POWER Coordinator has responsibility for ensuring that the members’ activities are well coordinated and managed, and for facilitating communications and activities among network members. The coordinator maintains the website and listserv for the network, provides research updates, and develops and distributes promotional and outreach material.

The current M-POWER Coordinator is based in Vientiane (Lao PDR). Project Leaders are responsible for their own administration, financial accounting and reporting, including communicating directly with donors. In doing so, they refer decisions to the Steering Committee in accordance with agreed protocols, and keep the M-POWER Coordinator and the Steering Committee progressively updated on the status of their work.

	Home About Us Themes Major Projects Situation Snapshots Knowledge Bank Get Involved Contact Us Overview History Structure Partners Leadership Resourcing Working Together as a Network We have three key elements to our structure of governance, namely an annual network meeting, an overarching Steering Committee and an M-POWER Coordinator. Annual Network Meeting M-POWER convenes an annual meeting for network members and invited guests. These meetings are conducted in different locations within the Mekong Region in order to provide opportunities for membership engagement and for exploring issues throughout the region. The annual meetings encourage and motivate participants to interact and share their experiences and research learnings. Meetings are utilized to design, develop and refine specific products, such as assessment tools, policy briefs, books and special issues. Steering Committee The Steering Committee (SC) has principal responsibility for overall program development and delivery and for representing M-POWER in regional forums. It provides strategic direction and advice on key actions that need to be taken by the M-POWER Coordinator and our projects. The core decisions that rest with the SC are: endorsing proposals or projects as formal activities of the network; selecting and evaluating Research Fellows; approving and reviewing budget management of projects; resolving disputes within the network, such as between Research Fellows and their hosts; approving annual work plans and reports to donors before release; and approving changes to how the network is represented and governed. The SC communicates principally by email, skype and telephone. A face-to-face meeting is held each year in conjunction with the annual network meeting. Additional meetings are held if required. SC members use voting to make a decision when necessary. A majority vote is required for a decision to be adopted. SC members are nominated and endorsed each year at the annual network meeting. Their term is usually 2-3 years, but may be renewed indefinitely. Find out more about our current SC members at Leadership. M-POWER Coordinator The M-POWER Coordinator has responsibility for ensuring that the members’ activities are well coordinated and managed, and for facilitating communications and activities among network members. The coordinator maintains the website and listserv for the network, provides research updates, and develops and distributes promotional and outreach material. The current M-POWER Coordinator is based in Vientiane (Lao PDR). Project Leaders are responsible for their own administration, financial accounting and reporting, including communicating directly with donors. In doing so, they refer decisions to the Steering Committee in accordance with agreed protocols, and keep the M-POWER Coordinator and the Steering Committee progressively updated on the status of their work.