Organization

 

The Board of Governors which comprises all of the Institute partners is the body that ultimately takes all major decisions, sanctions the operation of the Institute and approves its planning and annual accounts. A seven person Executive Committee which meets at least monthly and is chaired by the Chairman of the Institute is the body which is responsible for supervising and coordinating the operation of the Institute. A full time Executive Director, who is normally one of the partners, is in charge of the day to day running of the Institute and reports directly to the Chairman and the Executive Committee of which he is an ex officio member.

The headquarters of the Institute are currently located in Athens where the Executive Director has his office and is supported by a small permanent staff comprising administrative, media and scientific personnel. For its operation and scientific work the Institute relies to a large extent on a small full time staff but also on visiting Research Fellows and external Research Associates and professionals. Part of the Institute’s regular work is outsourced especially in areas involving, publications, translations, public relations and events organization.

IENE’s Executive Director is in charge for both the organization and implementation of the Institute’s scientific work and the preparation and regular flow of the information feed which is send out to member’s and associates on an almost daily basis. The Executive Director is also responsible for the Institute’s finances including supervision of the accounts department and the raising of funds necessary for the operation and development of the Institute.

The guidelines for the scientific work of the Institute are set by its various committees and cover all basic branches of the energy sector. The committees between them cover the whole spectrum of energy matters and include the following subject areas:

  • Energy Policy
  • Hydrocarbons (including upstream & downstream, oil and natural gas)
  • Electricity (covers solid fuels, hydroelectricity and nuclear energy)
  • Renewable Energy Resources
  • Energy Efficiency
  • Hydrogen
  • Energy and Transport
  • Energy and the Environment (covers climate change, emissions etc)
  • Energy and Geopolitics

 

Operational Framework

The interrelationship between the Board of Governors (BoG), the Executive Committee and the office of the Executive Director, the   scientific committees, the accounts department and the legal counsel is shown in the diagram below.

 Transparency

For an NGO like IENE which relies for its operation on the participation of other stake holders, private companies, public entities, professional associations, individual professionals and in many cases government departments and international organizations, it is essential that its decisions, actions and its operations at large are characterized by full transparency. With this in mind IENE’s management and its partners spare no effort in making public all information related to its activities and its decision making process. Not only the Board of Governors, is regularly informed of all decisions taken or pending by the Executive Committee, but its members and associates are consulted on a regular basis by the Chairman and the Executive Director on the course of action to be taken on most matters involved with the functioning of the Institute. A consensus is aimed at for most decisions which affect the operation and future development of the Institute. 

 The Institute’s individual members, its associates and its corporate members are regularly informed of IENE’s operation and activities through circulars distributed by e-mail and by announcements posted on its web site, while many of them are consulted regularly on matters related to energy policy and collaboration at regional level. Every year IENE publishes an “Annual Report” where details are given concerning its full range of activities and its finances. As part of the Annual Report, IENE publishes the yearly balance sheet which is approved beforehand by the Board of Governors in its June AGM.