We Are Saeri Chairman’S Foreword
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WE ARE SAERI CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD The annual report shows an Institute In the accounts for our second year as an growing in confidence. The foundations independent charity clearly show: and fundamentals established last year • We have achieved a near break-even WE ARE SAERI have been built upon successfully. budget in year 2 in the unrestricted The quality, dedication and talent of our funds, indicating sound financial staff remain central to the achievement of planning, management and tight our mission. It is their research excellence financial controls. and academic rigour that ensure our work • Careful cost controls resulting in a | CHAIRMAN is valued to international standards. It is slight decrease in operating expenditure their dedication and approach that have (£370,000 to £360,000), which wage helped us build new partnerships and and other inflationary pressures extend our reach. It is their commitment managed by strict financial oversight. to delivery and customer service that • Greater sophistication in the delivery of have seen income growth through our contracted activities through our trading commercial subsidiary, SAERI (Falklands) subsidiary resulting in increased Limited. Through our scientists’ work we recharges and donations to the charity have discovered more about the the world which contribute to its core costs. around us and moved the frontiers of knowledge. In addition, our work has repeatedly been independently tested and both our closed This year we have identified new species projects (Darwin Cetaceans and Natural – one of which now bears SAERI’s name - Capital Assessment (NCA)) and our and delivered excellent science. We have Group’s accounts have received brought more world class researchers unqualified audits. Our key focus on to the Falkland Islands, and provided great science expertly delivered is research opportunities in more Overseas demonstrated by clean audits on closed Territories and other locations. Our work projects. We are getting the basics right has made real impact – not only in the and I record my thanks to all staff for their Falklands but – true to our name – across hard work and talent in achieving these the South Atlantic and even further afield. outcomes. 2 All images in this report ©SAERI unless otherwise stated. Front cover: ©Kelp Limpet Nacella mytilina ©SMSG. We have welcomed new members to our I am delighted that in all of this activity we Board – adding considerable strength and have maintained the trust and confidence depth of knowledge to our Non-Executive of the Honourable Members and the WE ARE SAERI Board capacity. I thank my Board Government of the Falkland Islands. colleagues for the time they each give There is no doubt that our Group is freely and to their organisations for delivering returns on their confidence and allowing the time for them to do it. support as well as the confidence and We have an excellent breadth of expertise support of their predecessors. | and we can continue to add to this as we CHAIRMAN look to constitute our Board Committees We have every reason to look forward over the forthcoming year. with confidence. We are not complacent. We are ambitious, hard-working and This additional Board capacity has allowed appreciative. We are grateful of the some greater focus on strategy. We have dedication of our staff and the confidence focussed to reinforce our executive of our funders, customers and leadership capacity with the expansion of collaborators. As we look toward our third our Senior Management Team with the year of independent activity and continue creation of a dedicated Deputy Director - to grow and develop, we are ever inter- Science – freeing up our excellent ested in creating more partnerships with Executive Director, Dr Paul Brickle, to organisations and individuals who share continue his seemingly boundless our vision, objectives and ethos, ambition and activities to develop SAERI and would welcome the opportunity to and deliver world class science led from engage and exp and on the solid the deeply beautiful Falkland Islands. foundations that have been created. He is supported by an excellent senior team – and the Board is optimistic of that PETER JUDGE, MBE even more can be achieved with additional CHAIRMAN capacity. 3 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT It is my pleasure to present our annual of the final project report. The Natural report for 2018/19. SAERI’s second year Capital Assessment Project funded by as a registered charity has gone well and the CSSF through the JNCC also came to WE ARE SAERI the Institute continues to fulfil its role in a successful end this financial year where the South Atlantic and the Caribbean and notable successes included the therefore maintains its position as credible submission of 21 technical reports; scientific institute that provides economic 4 territory summary reports; 2 WebGIS | benefit to the Falkland Islands. This year projects online; and a regional EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE saw the appointment of new Trustees conference on St Helena. The project representing science and business. also has a number of peer reviewed papers This provides SAERI with a strong in preparation. SAERI has a number of leadership and governance force, ensuring other projects ongoing and more detail our science and the way we operate is to on them can be found in this report. the highest standards. We also continue to maintain a healthy project pipeline. It is really great to see 2018/19 saw the start of exciting new so many projects running in the Falkland projects as well as the natural end of Islands and overseas. SAERI’s project staff, others. The Darwin projects Falkland research students and our collaborations Islands / South Georgia Coastal Mapping have led to an increase in the number of project, Fine scaling the design of Falkland scientific papers again this year, with some Islands Marine Management Areas (MMA in high impact journals such as Nature Project), Soil Mapping Project and the and Proceedings of the National Academy Turks and Caicos Marine Spatial Planning of Sciences. This is particularly pleasing Project all started in 2018/2019. as our success as a research institute is The Darwin Dolphins of the Kelp project measured on the science we do and the finished with an excellent peer review impact that it has. 4 SAERI (Falklands) Ltd also seen an As always it is important to acknowledge increase in commercial activity through the great work of the SAERI team that Environmental Impact Assessments, keep the institute running and who deliver WE ARE SAERI fisheries consultancy, data management our projects in a timely and professional consultancy and the generation of manner, mucking in with other areas of our environmental baselines. The company operation. I am also tremendously grateful has produced some great work and has a to Teresa Bowers and Tara Pelembe for good deal of potential as a special purpose their tremendous hard work ensuring that | vehicle which will, in the future, allow our governance structures and policies are DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE us to reduce our subvention requests maintained to the highest standards and to FIG and provide a strong source of for creating SAERI opportunities through unrestricted funding, essential for our core the South Atlantic and beyond. operations. In summary, the SAERI Group continues to do what it was supposed Finally, I look forward to updating you to do; conducting good science whilst on SAERI’s progress as we move forward benefiting the local economy. though the next financial year. Collaboration remains key to how we DR PAUL BRICKLE operate – it is one of the building blocks EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR for our future research. One of SAERI’s important roles is to provide logistics support and advice to researchers wanting to operate around the South Atlantic and we continue to do this very well. We operate in challenging environments, and we ensure our staff and collaborators conduct their science safely and cost-effectively. 5 WHO WE ARE SAERI is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registered with the Charities Commission in England under number 1173105. SAERI is also recognised on the Register of Charities in the Falkland Islands under number C47. WE ARE SAERI THE SAERI CONSTITUTION The objects of the Charity are, for the public benefit: 1. the advancement of education and research 2. the advancement of environmental E protection or improvement and ENC CI S | 3. the promotion of sustainable development*, in A WHO WE ARE particular (but not exclusively) by: AT D (a) the advancement of environmental protection & or improvement; and G (b) the advancement of education and research; IN S particularly (but not exclusively) in relation the N environment of the Falkland Islands and the E S South Atlantic region. E T *Sustainable development means “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future O generations to meet their own needs”. M E R OUR AIMS BUILD To build capacity by MAINTAIN & attracting and retaining ENHANCE great staff, by increasing our grant successes and BROADEN To maintain and enhance enhanced logistical excellence through good support capabilities for To broaden and develop governance, sound financial visiting researchers. our Focal Areas (see p.10) practices, scientific assurance consolidated and held and ethics and a fully together through the functioning and engaged IMS-GIS Data Centre. Board of Trustees. 6 OUR BOARD The SAERI Board of Trustees comprises many partners who are key strategically and scientifically. The structure includes a Board of Trustees and two sub-committees which not only leverage international relationships but also ensures science best practice. WE ARE SAERI CHAIRMAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PETER JUDGE MBE DR PAUL BRICKLE Peter was Attorney General- Dr Brickle is currently for the Overseas Territories the Executive Director at of the Falkland Islands and SAERI as well as Reader in | South Georgia and the Biological Sciences at the OUR BOARD South Sandwich Islands from 2014 -2017.