At the request of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Committee on Science, Technology and Law will establish a forum for discussions about scientific, technical, ethical, legal, regulatory, security, and other policy issues associated with synthetic biology. Forum membership will include scientists and engineers from academia, industry, government, and NGOs, science and technology policy experts, security experts, ethicists, and lawyers. The Forum will stimulate dialogue about issues of mutual interest to its membership by serving as a venue in which to discuss scientific advances in, challenges and opportunities for, and public policy concerns about synthetic biology. The specific agendas for Forum meetings will be determined by the Forum membership. It is expected, however, that the Forum will begin its consideration of synthetic biology by addressing the near, mid- and far- term technical advances that have potential security and safety aspects and identifying possible strategies to address these aspects during both the development and post-development phases of the emerging technologies. The Forum will meet three times in a period of one year with options for two additional years. It may commission papers to inform its discussions and suggest topics for studies, workshops, or other public meetings to be held in conjunction with Forum meetings. Proposals for activities such as these will be submitted separately for GBEC approval.