MANAGEMENT BOARD MEETING OF 22 FEBRUARY 2001

J.-M. Dufour, Head of the Legal Service, presented a proposal for a new CERN insurance policy for the LHC era. He explained that the Organization's present insurance contracts were due to expire at the end of 2002 and that their renewal would entail sharp increases in insurance premiums to a value well above the associated fixed budget line. Furthermore, the existing insurance system failed to take account of the future evolution in the value of CERN's installations and equipment, did not allow sufficient flexibility in the event of change and, based on past experience, implied an unfavourable ratio of premiums to indemnities. There was therefore a need for modernisation, in line with developments in external insurance practice where the trend was towards risk management.
On the basis of the above considerations and following advice from a leading external consultant, the Legal Service was recommending the introduction, on a five-year trial basis, of a programme combining self-insurance with high-level external insurance as the most appropriate means of protecting the Organization in the future, in particular against catastrophic losses. That solution would involve bringing together the majority of risks in a single insurance package and entail a new 'sharing' of risks, whereby losses below a certain value would be insured by CERN, partially pre-financed by annual instalments to a CERN reserve fund; losses exceeding that value would be covered by an insurance contract, up to a maximum indemnity limit per event to be defined. The main advantages of such a scheme over the existing arrangements would be coverage of a greater level of risk at lower cost, compliance with budget planning and optimisation of the premium/indemnity ratio. However, it should be accompanied by an active in-house risk management policy requiring the participation of safety officials, division leaders, insurance companies, etc., to define risks and monitor their evolution.
The Management Board thanked J.-M. Dufour for his presentation and L. Stampfli for his work in preparing the report. Expressing support for the general lines of the preliminary proposal, several members underlined the need for a detailed in-house risk assessment in order to decide the optimum maximum indemnity limit and self-insurance threshold. The Legal Service was invited to pursue its work in the matter with a view to launching a call for tenders in due course.

Preparation of the March Meetings of the Scientific Policy Committee, Finance Committee and Committee of Council and the Extraordinary Session of the Council

The Director-General briefly reviewed the agendas of the next round of meetings in the week beginning 12 March. In the context of continuing discussion on manpower issues, the Scientific Policy Committee and Committee of Council would hear an initial report on LHC-Grid computing, to be followed by proposals at the June meetings. A similar procedure would be adopted for the discussion of accelerator and detector R&D. The Committee of Council's March agenda would also include the first report by the Working Group on the Enlargement of CERN's Membership and discussion of a request from Iran to join the CMS collaboration. Among the main subjects to be examined by the Finance Committee were a progress report on technology transfer and public communication, the report on purchasing for the period 1 January to 31 December 2000 and the adjudication of a substantial number of LHC contracts. The extraordinary Council session had been convened for approval of a draft resolution on the contribution of Bulgaria to CERN following its examination by the other three committees.

Annual Presentation on Equal Opportunities

The Director-General welcomed S. Datta-Cockerill, CERN's Equal Opportunities Officer, and J. Ellis, Chair of the Equal Opportunities Advisory Panel (EOAP). Presenting her annual report on equal opportunities at CERN, Mrs Datta-Cockerill outlined the actions taken by the EOAP in 2000 in the four main areas of its work programme, namely awareness-raising, work/life balance issues, the working environment, and recruitment and career development, and made a number of recommendations.
With respect to work/life balance issues, the EOAP had identified measures to address the child-minding needs of CERN personnel as a priority and was thus requesting that the Management should commission a new feasibility study on the setting-up of a CERN crèche. In the meantime, it proposed that agreements providing for the admission of eligible children of CERN personnel be negotiated with existing crèches in neighbouring France and Switzerland and that a child-minding allowance be created for eligible paid members of the personnel. The EOAP had also proposed guidelines for the implementation of a pilot programme of work from home and was requesting the Management to endorse them on a trial basis. Finally, the Panel was supportive of the Management's continuing efforts to encourage an easing of restrictions on spouse employment by the Swiss authorities.
Concerning the Working Environment, a total of eighteen potential cases of sexual or moral harassment ('mobbing') occurring at all levels of the Organization had been referred to the EOAP since the publication of the relevant administrative circular in February 2000. None of them had gone beyond a discussion in the Panel or given rise to disciplinary action. Given the fine line between moral harassment and management and communication issues, the Panel considered that there was a need for an appropriate mechanism for dealing with the latter type of cases, for example the appointment of an ombudsperson.
Presenting recent personnel statistics by gender, she reported a number of continuing concerns regarding the recruitment, advancement and career development of women compared to men in spite of some positive trends in those areas. Recalling the Director-General's recommendation the previous year that affirmative action be taken on the training of women for managerial positions in order to address those issues, she reported that the situation in this area did not appear to have evolved satisfactorily.
The Management Board discussed the evidence and the various issues raised in the report from the EOAP and agreed to examine the above-mentioned proposals and recommendations. Thanking Mrs Datta-Cockerill and Dr Ellis for their work, it further endorsed a proposal to hold a general staff presentation on equal opportunities at CERN on 16 March 2001.

Advancement Guidelines 2001 and Composition of SSAC and TEACC

Finally, in closed session, V. Hatton presented the 2001 guidelines for advancement and EPAs. The Management Board endorsed the guidelines, noting that the exercise would be conducted on similar lines to that of the previous year.
J. van der Boon then informed the Board of the 2001 guidelines for the Senior Staff Advancement Committee (SSAC) and the Technical Engineers and Administrative Careers Committee (TEACC) and presented their composition.