Executive Committee posts and postholders
Chair
Sarath Davala
Sarath Davala is an Indian sociologist based in Hyderabad, India. He co-founded India Network for Basic Income and Mission Possible 2030 – both organisations working on basic income related issues. From 1993 to 2000, he was an Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. Between 2010 and 2014, he was the Research Director of the Madhya Pradesh Basic Income Pilot Project. He is the co-author of the book: “Basic Income: A Transformative Policy for India”, which summarised the findings of the MP BI pilot study. He is currently co-leading another basic income pilot with waste collectors in the city of Hyderabad, India, a project initiated by University of Bath, and supported by European Research Council. Sarath is also collaborating with different agencies to innovate solutions to reach cash the last mile in the rural parts of India.
Vice Chair
Hilda Latour
Hilde Latour has a background in biomedical sciences and cultural anthropology and years of experience in program- and knowledge-management. She is a life member of BIEN, board member of Basisinkomen Nederland (dutch BIEN) and co-founder of Mission Possible 2030 – Basic Income the key to SDG. As a Guest lecturer at the blockchain minor – International Financial Management and Control at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, she explores the boundaries of paradigm shifts, such as Building Commons on the blockchain, a new narrative for Basic Income
UN Liaison
Diana Bashur
Diana Bashur, MA: After working for the UN and other international agencies in development and political analysis in New York, Vienna and Damascus, Diana returned to university to research a different approach to peacebuilding. Currently at the University of Vienna, she is researching Basic Income as a tool for peacebuilding with a focus on the Middle East and a particular interest in its potential for social cohesion. Diana was elected BIEN Secretary in August 2021 and UN LIaison in August 2024.
News service editor
Peter Knight
Peter Knight joined BIEN in 2017. He is a PhD (Stanford University) economist and strategic analyst with broad international experience in digital transformation, e-development, e-government, distance education, electronic media, telecommunications reform, international banking, foundation work, and teaching. Peter is devoted to leveraging information and communication technologies to accelerate social, economic and political development. He currently focuses on promoting thought, communication, and action across three areas: sufficiency, sustainability, and innovation; he is Coordinator of the Sufficiency4Sustainability Network.
Features editor
Tyler Prochazka
Tyler Prochazka is the opinion editor for BIEN. He is the chairman of UBI Taiwan and a PhD student at National Chengchi University.
Research Coordinator
Jurgen De Wispelaere
Jurgen De Wispelaere is a political theorist turned public policy scholar, specializing in the political economy of basic income. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the Götz Werner Chair of Economic Policy & Constitutional Theory, University of Freiburg, as well as an Associate Professor (Docent) in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tampere University. He has published extensively on the politics of basic income and is the co-editor of four volumes as well as the Founding Editor of the interdisciplinary journal Basic Income Studies. Jurgen has been a member of the BIEN EC in 2002-2004 and also co-organised the BIEN Congresses in Montreal (2014) and Tampere (2018).
Affiliate and public outreach
Julio Linares
Julio Linares is an economic anthropologist from Guatemala. He holds an Msc in Anthropology and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a MA in Applied Economics and Social Development from National ChengChi University (國立政治大學) in Taipei, Taiwan. His research focus dwells on the relationship between money, direct democracy and unconditional basic income. Julio is currently based in Berlin, Germany, where he explores these topics in practice with the Circles UBI project. Julio is currently serving his second term as Public Outreach for BIEN. He speaks Chinese, English, Spanish, German and a bit of Hungarian.
Hubs Supervisor
Hubs Supervisor
Dr. Neil Howard
Neil is a Lecturer in International Development at the University of Bath. His research focusses on the governance of exploitative and so-called ‘unfree’ labour and in particular the various forms of it targeted for eradication by the Sustainable Development Goals. He currently co-leads a pilot in India trialling UBI and participatory action research as potential policy responses to indecent or exploitative work in Hyderabad, India. Neil is also a founder and editor of the Beyond Trafficking and Slavery platform publishing at openDemocracy.net.
Affiliates Coordinator
Olaf Ostertag
Awaiting text.
Treasurer
Malcolm Torry
Dr. Malcolm Torry was elected as BIEN’s treasurer in 2021 following five years in the voluntary post of General Manager, during which time he facilitated the stabilisation of BIEN’s registration, administration, and financial affairs. He is a priest in the Church of England who is now Priest in Charge of St Mary Abchurch in the City of London. For twenty years he was Director of the Citizen’s Basic Income Trust in the UK, for ten years he was a Visiting Senior Fellow at the London School of Economics, and he is now a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath. He has written several books on Basic Income, and has edited two editions of the Palgrave International Handbook of Basic Income: https://torry.org.uk/basic-income.
Social Media Manager
James Grant
James has been contributing to BIEN’s online presence since 2018, becoming the Social Media Manager for the organisation in 2021. He studied International Relations at Queen Mary, University of London, and currently works in the tech sector, focused specifically on Virtual Reality technology.
Bank account trustees (not members of the Executive Committee): Jake Eliot, Annie Miller, Simon Duffy, Reinhard Huss
Chair of the International Advisory Board: Philippe Van Parijs
Tasks related to the different posts
The task of the EC
BIEN’s purpose is: To educate the general public about Basic Income, that is, a periodic cash payment delivered to all on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement; to serve as a link between the individuals and groups committed to, or interested in, Basic Income; to stimulate and disseminate research about Basic Income; and to foster informed public discussion on Basic Income throughout the world.
The task of the EC is to ensure that BIEN fulfills its constitutional purpose and to set policy to that end.
General duties of EC members
- To attend EC meetings, and if not attending to send apologies. At least 50 % of meetings must be attended between one General Assembly and the next
- To fulfill and develop the tasks related to the post to which you were elected
- To work with any working group(s) to which you are allocated in order to fulfill the tasks allocated to the group(s) by the EC
Individual duties
Chair
The role of the Chair is to collectively develop a vision, mission and long-term strategy for BIEN. In all aspects the Chair should work closely and in consultation with the Vice-Chair.
She / he should seek new partnerships globally and develop meaningful collaborations with people and organizations that will further the strategic objectives of BIEN in terms of strengthening research about Basic Income, its dissemination worldwide in as many languages as possible so that basic income discussion becomes rigorous and robust. In addition to these strategic aspects of the role, Chair in consultation with the Vice-Chair and the EC members should fulfill the following tasks:
- To chair meetings of the EC and the General Assembly
- To propose policy and initiatives for BIEN and to lead them
- To ensure that decisions made by the EC conform to BIEN’s purpose
- To take any urgent decisions required between EC meetings
- To represent BIEN to other organizations and individuals
- To liaise with the congress Local Organizing Committees over the content of congresses
- To submit an annual report to the General Assembly
- To raise funds for BIEN and make it financially sustainable
- To encourage new organizations to affiliate to BIEN, and work for growth of membership
Vice Chair
- To fulfil all of the functions of the Chair whenever the Chair is absent
- To fulfil any of the tasks of the Chair by mutual agreement
- To support and help the chair in proposing policy goals and initiatives for BIEN and to assist with leading them
Secretary
- In consultation with the treasurer, to keep an up to date register of BIEN members and of members of the EC
- To take minutes of EC and GA meetings
- In consultation with the Chair, to prepare meeting agendas
- To prepare papers required by the EC
- To send agendas, minutes and other papers to EC members before EC meetings and to BIEN members before meetings of the GA
- To receive correspondence and ensure that it is acted on
- To undertake correspondence as required by decisions of EC and GA meetings
- To ensure that all requirements of registration by the UK’s Charity Commission are met
- To administer elections, including proposing tellers to the EC
Treasurer
- To keep income and expenditure accounts along with evidence of income and expenditure
- To make payments as agreed by the EC
- To submit regular financial reports to EC meetings
- To prepare annual accounts
- To liaise with the auditor over auditing of the accounts
- To prepare budgets if asked to do so by the EC
- To manage the bank and other accounts
- To propose financial rules to the EC
Hubs Supervisor
The Hubs Project involves building regional BIEN hubs in Africa, Asia and Latin America and professionalising BIEN’s day-to-day activities. The project aims to strengthen the basic income ecosystem and BIEN’s role in it.
- Regular oversight of the Hubs project
- Meeting with BIEN coordinator and regional hubs managers to check progress and course correct
- Strategic support to coordinator and regional hubs managers
- Reporting to the BIEN EC about project progress
- Connecting with partners and donors around the project.
BI News Editor
- In consultation and cooperation with the EC and Chair to develop news policy
- To oversee BI News posts on the website
- To issue monthly BIEN Bulletin emails
- To supervise the work of the volunteers allocated to the news service
- To ensure that guidelines agreed by the EC are adhered to by volunteers
Social media manager
- In consultation and cooperation with the EC, Chair and News Editor to develop social media policy
- To oversee social media channels
- To supervise the work of the volunteers allocated to social media
- To ensure that guidelines agreed by the EC are adhered to by volunteers
Affiliate and Social Outreach
- To maintain an up to date register of affiliated organizations and their contact details
- To liaise between affiliated organizations and the EC
- To convene meetings of representatives of affiliated organizations at and between congresses
- To oversee BIEN’s relationships with international and other organizations in consultation with the Chair and in conformity with policy set by the EC
- To assist with convening meetings between BIEN and other organizations both at congresses and on other occasions in consultation with the Chair and Congress local organizing committees
Website Manager
- To manage the website and liaise with its other users in consultation with the Chair and in conformity with policy set by the EC
Volunteer Recruitment Officer
- To oversee the recruitment, allocation and training of volunteers
- In consultation with the Chair and in conformity with policy set by the EC to liaise with volunteers and to manage volunteer policy
Congress Organizer (appointed by the EC and the Local Organizing Committee)
- To co-ordinate the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) that plans the congress
- To liaise between the EC and the LOC by attending EC meetings and in other ways
Bank account trustees
- To facilitate the relationship between BIEN and the Charity Commission
- To facilitate the efficient management of the bank account
Research Coordinator
- To develop research policy and initiatives in consultation with EC and Chair
- To review and update information related to research pages on the BIEN website
- To assist and suggest measures to promote quality of research at BIEN congresses
- To serve as point of contact for outside research-related organizations and activities
- To facilitate research initiatives in collaboration with external research and community partners
- To engage in exploring strategic funding options for basic income research initiatives
