From October 25-26, members of ICSU and ISSC gathered for a Joint Meeting to vote on the proposed merger of the two organisations. Over two days of intense discussions, members wrangled over and debated a number of contentious issues, notably on membership categories and voting procedures. At the end of the second day, members voted overwhelmingly (ICSU 97.6%, ISSC 90%) to merge and form the International Science Council in 2018.
On the first day of the summit, the high-level strategy and proposal to mandate a new governing board to develop a new dues structure were unanimously approved. There was a more prolonged debate on membership categories and voting, which was extended into the second day.
Members highlighted the ambition of the new organisational strategy, and stressed that to meet that ambition would require a significant change in new sources of external funding. Many added that dedicating increased resources to outreach and communications should be considered important.
The decision to combine the two Councils paves the way for a legal implementation phase to establish the new organization. Members will be asked to endorse the merger by electronicvote in the second quarter of 2018. The Founding General Assembly will take place in France, in the second half of 2018 and will include an International Science Summit.
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