Report from the Annual Meeting of Expert Group Chairs (WGCHAIRS)

The Annual Meeting of ICES Expert Group Chairs (WGCHAIRS) provides an opportunity forchairs of all ICES working groups to share experiences and ideas, co-ordinate work, meet withtheir steering group, advisory committee and science committee chairs, and highlight any support they need from the ICES network. The group also provides participants with updates ondevelopments in the network and their implications, as well as opportunities to identify futurescience priorities and plans for advisory products. This 2020 meeting report described advicerelated, science-related and cross-cutting issues. Advice topics that are addressed include theperspectives of expert group chairs, the Advisory Committee leadership and ICES Secretariat onthe future and presentation of ICES advice, progress with embedding quality assurance in theadvisory process, and expertise needed in expert groups supporting advice. Science topics thatare addressed included highlighting and disseminating science outputs from expert groups, development of web texts for expert groups, developing theme and network sessions for ICES Annual Science Conference and opportunities for science input to the development of ecosystemand fisheries overviews through a pipeline process. Cross-cutting topics included chairs’ perspectives on what was working well and not so well in the ICES system, implementation of ICESScience and Advisory Plans and the roles of expert groups, the future development of the“Guidelines for ICES groups”, appropriate publication channels for ICES science and revitalisingthe resolutions process. In breakout groups, expert group chairs addressed mentoring and training for chairs of expert groups and recruiting new participants, as well as recognising and rewarding the role of expert group chairs. Key actions resulting from chairs’ insights are to establish a formal training day for expert group chairs, likely alongside future WGCHAIRS meetings.All existing and incoming expert group chairs will be invited to participate in training activities.