Geosciences School Policy and Resource Committee Remit
The School Policy & Resource Committee (SPARC) is the School's executive and strategic body and is responsible for developing and driving forward the School strategy, approving School policy and for the allocation of resources.
The remit of SPARC is to:
- Formulate and drive forward the School's strategic plan.
- Determine priorities for the delivery of School activities through annual planning and allocation of financial and human resources.
- Consider, scrutinise and approve requests for resources – including strategic requests for new or replacement staff (grade 7 and above academic positions).
- Consider, scrutinise and approve proposals for new or revised School policies.
- Discuss issues referred to them by its sub-committees or members of the School community and receive annual reports from sub-committees and key areas of the School.
- Conduct due diligence on all papers received prior to approval.
- The Committee delegates responsibility for various aspects of School management to the following sub-committees:
- Education Committee.
- Research Committee.
- Equality & Diversity Committee.
- Facilities Committee.
- Health & Safety Committee.
Membership
1. Membership of the Committee is:
- Head of School (Convener).
- Director of Research.
- Director of Teaching.
- Director of Post Graduate Research.
- Head of Earth & Planetary Sciences Research Institute.
- Head of Geography and the Lived Environment Research Institute.
- Head of Global Change Research Institute.
- Director of Professional Services.
- Director of Internationalisation
- Director of Industiral Engagement
- Director of Equality Diversity & Inclusion
2. Secretariat support to the Committee will be provided by the PA to the Head of School (HoSPA).
3. Deputies for each of the member roles will receive papers. Members may nominate their Deputy to attend in their place. While members can nominate another member of the School to attend in their place, permission must be sought from the Convenor.
4. Quorum for any meeting will be 50% of members (or their nominees). Decisions will normally be reached by general agreement of members present. However, final decision lies wiht the Head of School (HoS) and there is HoS discretion to make decisions outside of cmmittee and SPARC, where necessary, due to factors such as time constraint, restricting sharing of information or as strategically required.
5. ToR and membership of SPARC should be reviewed every three years, to ensure the correct decision makers are in the room.
Operation
1. The Committee will meet monthly, from August to June, and may also interact or meet electronically, as is necessary for its business to be effectively progressed. An annual cycle of business will be agreed at the start of each academic year.Guidance on Papers
1. Papers should be clearly written and appropriate for the audience.
2. The goal of the committee should be to not have more than two papers presented at each meeting for in-depth discussion, but this should be flexible and judged on the simplicity / complexity of the paper. The aim should be for no more than four papers per meeting if possible.
3. Written papers only, no presentations, maximum 5 pages. Authors / leads are trusted to provide narrative and there is no requirement to provide pages of graphs / data to back this up although, if necessary, these can be provided as appendices. Some papers will be exempt from the 5 page maximum (i.e. School Strategic Plan) but this will be clarified by HoSPA in paper guidance discussions.
Responsibilities and Expectations of Committee Members
1. Members are expected to be collegial and constructive in approach with a focus on achieving the best outcomes for the School as a whole. While members will be expected to present views on behalf of the area they represent, they are expected to ensure the Committee makes sound decisions on behalf of the School as a whole.Approved: SPARC August 2024
Cycle of Business
This forms the basis of SPARC's cycle of business, although may be amended through the year if priorities change.
Draft cycle of business below, still to be confirmed for academic year 2025/26:
25 August 2025 - Papers to be submitted to HoSPA - 11 August 2025
- Cycle of Business and Priorities for the Comming Year
- Update on Edinburgh Pathway and Regen Policy
17 September 2025 - Papers to be submitted to HoSPA - 10 September 2025
- Annual report:
- Director of Quality & Enhancement
- Director of Industry Engagement (including BDE Report)
- Student Recruitment Update
- Annual Report:
- Health & Safety
- GeoSciences Facilities Strategic Report
- Operational and Strategic Posts for Forward Planning Discussion
- Quarterly Finance Review
17 December 2025 - Papers to be submitted to HoSPA - 10 December 2025
- Annual Report:
- Centre for Sustainable Forests & Landscapes
- IT Management Committee (incorp Scientific Computing Report)
21 January 2026 - Papers to be submitted to HoSPA - 14 January 2026
- Annual reports:
- Directors of ECCI
- Directors of ACE
- Chair of Citizenship Committee
- REF Update
11 February 2026 - Papers to be submitted to HoSPA - 4 February 2026
- Facilities Equipment Bids
- Annual Reports:
- Ethics Committee
- Development & Fundraising
- Quarterly Finance Review
- Head of School Reflections on Operations and Strategy
11 March 2026 - Papers to be submitted to HoSPA - 4 March 2026
- Annual reports:
- Director of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
- Directors of PGR & DTP
- Director of Research
22 April 2026 - Papers to be submitted to HoSPA - 15 April 2026
- Annual reports:
- Director of Research Impact & Public Engagement
- Director of Internationalisation
- Sustainability Committee
13 May 2026 - Papers to be submitted to HoSPA - 6 May 2026
- No fixed business - away day
10 June 2026 - Papers to be submitted to HoSPA - 3 June 2026
- Institute Reflections
- Annual report:
- Director of Teaching
- Review of Academic Manager Vacancies for Forthcoming Year
July 2026
- No meeting - summer respite.