Dr. Cl?ona Saidl?ar:

I am in agreement with what everyone has said about diversity and representation. I wish to take a step back. We can do all of that. If, however, we bring people to that table and then do not give them any power, that would be deeply problematic.

We have to first consider what the board has been asked to do. So far, it has been asked to do very little. It does not have much by way of strategic room and is not independent. There is a veneer of independence, but it has not been given the task of strategically steering this agency in any way. It is doing governance, accountability and transparency and is effectively doing auditing. That needs to be looked at very seriously, or else we need a different structure which is doing the work. Another submission talks about the different Departments being at the table. What are we asking the board to do will dictate what energy we put into the board in terms of the point at which we are bringing people into the conversation.