Call for nominations of fellows for the IPBES task force on scenarios and models

Dear IPBES members, observers and other interested stakeholders,

Following the successful conclusion of IPBES 10 and in line with decision IPBES-10/1 on the IPBES Rolling Work Programme up to 2030, and further to the call for nominations of experts for IPBES task forces (EM/2023/37), I would like to invite Governments and other relevant stakeholders to nominate candidates to participate in the IPBES fellowship programme for the task force on scenarios and models. The fellowship will end at IPBES 13 (tentatively scheduled for 2026), and the fellows will be invited to join the IPBES fellows and alumni network.

The IPBES fellowship programme, which is part of a larger capacity-building portfolio of activities, targets early-career individuals who wish to gain experience by participating in the work of IPBES. Selected fellows will participate in work of the task force on scenarios and models. Fellows will attend task force meetings, receive training to gain an in-depth understanding of IPBES processes and the science-policy interface. Fellows will also be paired up with a mentor for the duration of the fellowship.

Nominated candidates should have expertise specific to the task force on scenarios and models, for example, in the disciplines of natural science, social science, the humanities, or Indigenous and local knowledge systems. Nominated candidates may be academics, policy experts and/or practitioners who come from qualified national, regional and international scientific organizations, centres of excellence and institutions. All nominees should have experience in working in interdisciplinary and/or global contexts. Governments and relevant stakeholders are invited to ensure gender balance in their nominations.

For the task force on scenarios and models, nominees should have expertise in qualitative and quantitative approaches to scenarios, models and other futures studies, including in discussing and testing the Nature Futures Framework, and should be able to effectively promote dialogue between the task force and the communities of practice on scenarios and models.

All nominated candidates need to be available to attend the relevant task force meetings and fellows training workshops; the first of these expected to be held in-person in April or May 2024, and an in-person fellows' training workshop in June 2024. Fellows may also be asked to participate in other IPBES meetings as described in the workplan of the task force.

All Governments and relevant organizations or institutions are encouraged to submit nominations. Nominating organizations or institutions are not required to have been admitted to the IPBES Plenary as an observer. Please help us disseminate this call for nominations of experts widely to relevant institutions and organizations. Please follow the below procedure for nomination:

• Nominees are invited to fill out the application form and attach their curriculum vitae and any information regarding the organization they are representing, through the dedicated web portal at: https://www.ipbes.net/application/scenarios-and-models-task-forces-fellows. To access this page, you will need to log in with your IPBES web site login credentials. Nominees not yet registered on the IPBES web site will need to do so by clicking on the "Create new account".)
• The nominating Government or organization (Nominator) indicated by the Nominee will receive an email with a link to the nomination form and will be invited to approve and submit the nomination in the web portal.
• Nominators and Nominees will receive confirmation via email once the nomination has been submitted.

Interested early career individuals wishing to be nominated by a Government are encouraged to contact their IPBES National Focal Point (https://www.ipbes.net/national-focal-points) regarding any country-specific processes or deadlines and are requested to fill out their application form by no later than 19 December 2023.

Nominators (Governments or organizations) should submit the nominations of all Nominees, which they would like to support, before 6 January 2024. Early nominations ahead of this deadline are encouraged. Fellows will be selected by the management committee of the task force on scenarios and models, which includes the co-chairs of the task force as well as members of the IPBES Bureau and Multidisciplinary Expert Panel.

More information on the IPBES fellowship programme, including selection criteria and available support to selected fellows, can be found on the IPBES webpage at: https://ipbes.net/ipbes-fellowship-programme.

I thank you in advance for your nominations and your continued support to IPBES.

Dr Anne Larigauderie | Executive Secretary
Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)