The California Stem Cell Report has repeatedly noted that the California stem cell agency regularly falls short of its oft-repeated goal of adhering to the highest standards of openness and transparency.
The chief example is the extreme delay in posting on the Web background material for meetings. Even members of the Oversight Committee have complained about not receiving the material in a timely fashion. The laggardly posting shows in their meetings when it is clear that some members of the committee have not read the material. Of course, they just may not be doing their homework.
This week, a notable and praiseworthy exception occurred concerning the background material. The documents for the Governance Subcommittee meeting Friday were posted about a week ago. That allows the public, interested parties and Oversight Committee members ample time to review the documents. The timely postings also permit individuals to make decisions on whether they want to testify on a particular point.
Among the items on the agenda is a report on contracts, including the $400,000 agreement with PricewaterhouseCoopers to work on the strategic plan, and compensation for CIRM employees. Another item involves discussion and changes in CIRM's gift policies, which may trigger a discussion of the $1 million gala fundraiser next Monday for CIRM.
The meeting can be heard at multiple locations throughout the state, including Stanford University, La Jolla, Carlsbad, Sacramento, San Francisco and Irvine. Persons attending can also comment from those locations. For details, see the agenda.
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