Present:

• Anthony Finkelstein - Network Director
• David Cornwell - EU Commission Project Officer
• Janis Bubenko - Coordinator D,F,No,Sw
• Eric Dubois - Coordinator B,L,Ne,F
• Bashar Nuseibeh - Coordinator A,S,Ge,Ir,UK
• Jose Fiadeiro - Coordinator It,Gr,Sp,P
• Daniel Berry - Coordinator External nodes
• Kevin Ryan - Chair of Research Coordination Committee
• Michael Goedicke - Chair of Research Training Committee
• Silvana Castano (representing Barbara Pernici) - Chair of Infrastructure Comm.
• Stephen Morris - Secretary
• Olly Gotel - City University
• Wolfgang Emmerich - City University
• George Spanoudakis - City University

• Paul Gough - Chair of Ind. & Tech. Committee

1 Minutes

2 Communications

• A sample RENOIR Bulletin should be included in the RE Newsletter that is currently distributed from City.
• All members should be asked to review on an annual basis their information on the RENOIOR web site.
• The web site should include more prominent links to the bid proposal form which is already available.

3 Membership

The Board agreed that:

• A further reminder should be sent to existing members who have not responded to commitment requests and, after a reasonable delay, the Director should send a final communication to those who still have not replied.
• RENOIR accepts as new members ASI-CNR, Roma (Italy), University of Lancaster (UK) and Universidade de Minho (Portugal).
• In considering new applicants the Board should consider both the number of persons in an institution who are active in the field of requirements engineering and the duration and extent of its RE work.
• In the light of these criteria the application from the University Glamorgan is not accepted.
• There should ideally be five or six nodes per country; where this number is exceeded substantially the Board should consider carefully the value of any further expansion.
• The Director should consider the possibility of some kind of 'associate' or 'corresponding' membership for institutions who might not otherwise qualify.

The CEC Project Officer reported that applications from institutions in non-EU countries should be considered individually and presented to him. He authorised the continued participation of Technion pending agreed action by the Government of Israel. The Director agreed to take up again a Brazilian case.

4 Funding

George Spanoudakis reported on all the proposals for which bids have been received.

• The Board noted that the Director had accepted seven bids, the total committed being 5.5K ECU.
• The Board accepted the Director's request for the agreement of two bids, together totalling 6.9K ECU. The second of these bids will provide 5K ECU 'seed money' to be repaid from any profits from a proposed Nordic Workshop on Participative RE.
• The Board also agreed two proposals, one limited to 1.2K ECU (out of a total of 1.7K ECU) and another for 0.4K ECU, involving travel outside the EU.
• The Board decided to extend the criteria for funding to include attendance at an event organised by more than one RENOIR member, on a relevant RE theme, but not taking place at a member institution and possibly outside the EU. No sum approved should exceed 1.2K ECU and travel subsidies available for any particular event may be reduced in proportion to the number of members wishing to attend. The Director will request the agreement of the Commission to this policy.
• The Board also agreed a bid for 1.2K ECU to support the RE Day being planned by the BCS's RE Specialist Group, again in the form of 'seed money' to be repaid from any profits. This event is tentatively planned for Thursday 10th April (and possibly 11th).

The CEC representative welcomed wide advertisement for the opportunity to submit proposals.

The Board agreed, following a report from the Director, that the complexities involved in the establishment of a separate legal entity do not justify the effort until a pressing need arises.

5 Progress of Committee initiatives

The Chair of the Research Coordination Committee reported the agenda for the first meeting of the Committee on 6th December.

There was no discussion of the work of Ind. & Tech. Committee in the absence of its Chair. The Director said that he would contact the Chair to discuss the work of the committee and the possible provision of on-site support for him. The survey of tools and techniques suggested at the inaugural meeting may be integrated with a practice review by the Research Coordination Committee.

The Chair of the Infrastructure Committee reviewed the relevant sections of the Network Programme, identifying the parts that have already been implemented. The Board agreed that:

• The Coordination Team should, in consultation with the Infrastructure Chair, included a sample RENOIR Bulletin within the next RE Newsletter.
• The Infrastructure Chair should contact all members to identify the level of interest in (and expertise in) the use of video conferencing as part of network activities, and report back to the Board.

The Area Coordinators reported on a variety of activities including new web material for external nodes, an RE Day in the UK, a meeting of German nodes and the Nordic Workshop.

Regarding the development of new initiatives, the Board welcomed the suggestion from the Scandinavian coordinator for an on-line RE course culminating in a Summer School. He will solicit members for a task force to discuss this possibility. As another initiative, the Coordination Team will consider the production of a CD-ROM as a means of bringing together and disseminating RE knowledge currently dispersed throughout the EU.

6 Future Meetings

The Board discussed two workshop proposals (with which a Forum and the BCS RE Day might be associated). Regarding the proposal for the dissemination of the results of the REAIMS project, the Board wished to see a programme detailing the technical content of the workshop and asked for a substantial element of evaluation, related to both the results themselves and to the general lessons learnt. On this basis the Board would be happy to prove 'seed money' to be repaid from any profits and will encourage and subsidise attendance of RENOIR members. Similar considerations apply to the other workshop proposal. In general the Board is anxious to support the dissemination of work, although not its commercialisation.

The Board agreed the following dates and locations for meetings:
Executive Board: Friday 11th April at City University
Executive Board: During (or after) ESEC conference in Zurich,
22nd - 25th September
RENOIR Forum: Thursday 10th April (in conjunction with RE Day events)

Other dates noted:
BCS RESG RE Day: Thursday 10th April (also possibly 11th)
Nordic Workshop in Participative RE: 2nd-6th June, Copenhagen
(to be confirmed)

7 No other business