IAU National Outreach Coordinators

Overview

The IAU National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs) are national-level representatives for the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO). Members of the network act as a point-of-contact for astronomy outreach for a country or territory. NOCs support the implementation of IAU OAO projects on a national level, share astronomy news and events within their country, and bridge the IAU with local communities. In the process, they receive outreach support from the IAU OAO, such as access to the NOCs Funding Scheme, and a connection with the global network of NOCs.

Find your NOC here: https://sites.google.com/oao.iau.org/iauoaonews/national-pages

Interested in becoming a NOC?

We accept applications from representatives who do not have a NOC in their country/territory. See the ‘IAU National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs) Nomination Guidelines) for more information on the role. If a role is open for your country/territory, please contact Kelly Blumenthal, IAU OAO Director, at blumenthal.kelly[at]oao.iau.org for further information. (Replace [at] with @)

IAU National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs) Nomination Guidelines

1 Role

The primary roles of the National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs) are to (1) implement the IAU outreach initiatives at the national level, (2) disseminate information nationally and (3) bridge the IAU with local/national communities. 

The National Outreach Coordinator

1. is the principal outreach national representative appointed under the IAU outreach structure; 
2. keeps the IAU OAO informed of national outreach initiatives connected with IAU;
3. implements or coordinates a set of annual goals provided by the IAU OAO and develops plans for the outreach actions associated with the IAU in the country; 
4. can establish a National Outreach Coordination Committee (NOC Committee);
5. can nominate Deputy/Deputies or NOC Assistant(s) NOCs when necessary; 
6. maintains a link to the national professional astronomers, communities of amateur astronomers, and outreach professionals.

2 Eligibility

The National Outreach Coordinator

1. is expected to receive at least monthly communications from the IAU OAO and respond;
2. shall demonstrate rich knowledge and experience in astronomy outreach activities (in particular coordinating national-scale activities); 
3. shall demonstrate a strong motivation to initiate astronomy activities in countries without significant astronomy activities;
4. shall have or establish a local/national network involving relevant stakeholders (e.g. professional astronomers, astronomy educators, planetariums (when applicable) and amateur astronomer communities.).

3 Selection

For the IAU member countries, the IAU OAO Director will appoint the NOC based on the approval or nomination from the IAU National Committee for Astronomy (NCA).

1. If there is no NCA for the country, then the IAU OAO Director will interact with the IAU National Member (NM) for the appointment of the NOC;
2. If there is no reply from the NCA (nor the NM) (after a non-responsive period of three weeks), the NOC is appointed by the IAU OAO Director and the decision communicated to the IAU General Secretary (GS).

For non-IAU member countries, interested candidates shall submit an application to the IAU OAO Director. The information provided will be reviewed by the IAU OAO followed by a discussion with the candidates and/or relevant parties.

4 Term

1. The term of the NOC will be for a maximum of three years (between two IAU General Assemblies (GA)); 
2. The term can be renewed and the reappointment procedure will take place one month before the upcoming GA, following Sections 2 and 3;
3. Reappointments of a new NOC can be requested by the IAU OAO to the GS and to the NCA/NM (if applicable) if the current NOC does not fulfil the role (Section 1) or is continuously unresponsive (more than a 4-weeks lag in replying emails) to the IAU OAO communications;
4. The NOC can request an early end of their term if they can no longer commit to the tasks predicted in Section 1. They can do so by informing the IAU OAO through the IAU OAO Director and their NCA/NM (if applicable).