Contents

Part I: Objective, Content, and Definitions
PART  II: Establishment, Mission, and Governance

• Section 1: Establishment and Mission
• Section 2: Governance

CONTENT
Article 2:  This status comprises establishment, mission, authority, responsibility, and working principles of the Directorate of AERI.

DEFINITIONS
Article 3:  In this document

•  Ministry refers to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs;
•  Minister refers to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs;
•  Institute or AERI refers to the Agricultural Economics Research Institute;
•  Director refers to the Director of AERI;
•  Committee refers to the Executive Committee of AERI;
•  Council refers to the Research Council of AERI.

Article 4:  The Agricultural Economics Research Institute was established in Ankara as a provincial Directorate within the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs by written governmental decree approved by the Council of Ministers dated 02.01.1993 and numbered 93/4094.

The Mission of the Institute

Article 5:  In order to ensure the contribution of agriculture to Turkish economy, the Institute will:

• prepare and implement research projects on issues that are relevant to the policy making process;
• conduct research at  international standards using appropriate analytical techniques and methodologies;
• disseminate the research results to appropriate audiences;
• forge working relationships with other research organizations, nationally and internationally;
• evaluate the research requests and potential funding that may be originated by various private and public institutions, and incorporate them into the Institute’s research program if appropriate;
• publish research results in Turkish and/or in English; and
• ensure the long term sustainability of the Institute.

Article 6:  The Executive Committee of Agricultural Economics Research Institute consists of  a Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, who also chairs the Committee, the President of Research, Planning and Co-ordination Directorate (APK), the Director General of Agricultural Production and Development, the Director General of  Agricultural Research, and Head of the Department of Research and Statistics of APK.

The Committee meets once in every two months.  Additional meetings could be called by the Chair of the Committee or by the Director of the Institute.  Majority vote is required for decisions.

The Head of the Department of Research and Statistics of APK serves as the secretary of the Committee, and takes the minutes of the meeting which is approved by the members of the Committee.

Duties of the Committee

Article 7:  Duties of the Committee are:

a) To act as liaison between the Minister’s Office and the Institute;

b) To approve the Institute’s budget and present it to the Minister’s Office;

c) To facilitate the appointment of the qualified administrative and research staff, who are selected by the Director, on a permanent or temporary basis to the Institute, and to provide coordination with the General Directorate of Personnel on these matters;

d) To act as liaison between the Institute and other divisions of the Ministry;

e) To oversee the administrative and financial affairs of the Institute;

f) To present progress reports on the Institute’s activities to the Minister’s Office every six months.

Institute

Article 8:  The Institute consists of the following personnel; a director, two deputy directors - one administrative and other technical-,  project teams and sufficient number of administrative and research personnel.

Qualifications and Duties of the Director

Article 9:  The Director must hold a Ph.D. degree in economics or agricultural economics, and at least 10 years of experience as researcher/administrator.  He/she must be proficient in English to be able to administer research program and publish in English.  He/she must have experience in research and personnel management.
 
The Director is appointed by the Minister, and responsible to the Minister’s Office through the Executive Committee.

Duties of the Director are:

a) to prepare the Institute’s Research Program by taking into account the research priorities set by the Research Council, to prepare project budgets and present it to the Executive Committee;

b) to prepare biannual activity reports for the Committee;

c) to cooperate with other research establishments, such as universities and private and public research agencies, nationally and internationally; and to represent the Institute in such cooperative programs;

d) to recruit qualified research personnel nationally and internationally, and employ them for a determinant term;

e) to evaluate research and consultancy requests made to the Institute, and to incorporate them into work plans if appropriate;

f) to make sure the Institute’s work plans are conducive to create a research agency that is scientifically strong and can attract or generate financial resources in the long-term;

g) to identify the training needs of the AERI personnel, and to work with domestic and foreign training institutes for the staff to be trained properly; and

h) to ensure the provision of all equipment and tools that are necessary for research staff to do their jobs.

Qualifications and Duties of Deputy Directors

Article 10:  Deputy Directors, one responsible for research and another for administration, are appointed by the minister based on the recommendations of the Director.  Deputy Director responsible for research must hold a Ph.D. or M.Sc. degree in agricultural economics or economics, be fluent in English, and have at least 5 years of research experience in his/her area.

Deputy Director responsible for administration must have a university degree, at least 5 years of professional experience, and a good understanding of financial, administrative and personnel issues.

Deputy Directors report to the Director of the Institute.

Project Teams and Their Duties

Article 11:  The research staff will be organized in project teams.  Each project team will have a project leader, who will have research experience, ability to manage projects, and be fluent in English.  Each project team contains sufficient number of researchers and technical advisors, whenever necessary.

Project leaders report to the Director of the Institute.

Research Staff and Their Duties

Article 12:  Staff who will be appointed to the Institute from the Ministry are selected based on the Director’s recommendations appointed by the Minister’s Office.  The Institute can hire researchers from outside the civil service on contract bases.

Foreign experts selected by the Director could be appointed to the Institute by the Minister’s Office on term contracts.

All Research Staff are responsible to the Director and to their project leaders.

Research staff do preferably have graduate degrees and are proficient in English.

Research Council

Article 13:  The Research  Council evaluates the Institute’s Research Program Proposal, and advises the Institute on research priorities.

Council consists of a maximum of 20 members selected by the Director, and approved by the Executive Committee.  Council members are selected from various ministries, public institutions, universities, non-governmental organizations, producers associations, professional associations, and private sector representatives.

Appointments to the Council are not permanent.

Council’s Mode of Operations

Article 14:  The Council meets at least once in a year.  The Director can call for a Council meeting anytime with a month’s notice.

The council members elect a chairperson amongst themselves for each sitting of the Council.  The Institute provides the secretarial services, prepares the minutes of the meeting, and sends it to the members of the Research Council and Executive Committee.  The Councils recommendations are taken under advisement in finalizing the Institute’s work plans and project budgets.

The Director attends the Council meetings and could provide explanations regarding the Institute’s work but cannot vote.

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Article 15:  Institute publishes its research results and reports in Turkish and/or in English.  Reports prepared by foreign experts are published in English with an abstract/executive summary in Turkish, which will be prepared by the Institute.

Revolving Fund

Article 16:  The Institute can open and operate a Revolving Fund in accordance with the act numbered 969, which regulates the operations of such funds that could be used by various divisions of the Ministry.

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Article 17:  This Charter is valid as of the day it is signed by the Minister.

Article 18:  This Charter is executed by the Minister.
 
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