SKAO Council
The Council represents the SKAO Member States, with Member Voting Representatives and their Advisors attending meetings.
Governance
The Council is responsible for “the overall strategic and scientific direction of the SKAO, its good governance, and the attainment of its purposes”. The Council’s authority is set out in its Convention, and how it must behave is described in the Rules of Procedure.
The Council is supported by two committees:
- Finance Committee – to ensure “sound financial management, efficiency, transparency and accountability”. The Finance Committee has three sub-committees.
- Science and Engineering Advisory Committee – which is made up of representatives who “act as individual experts and do not represent any Members’ views” to advise on a wide range of scientific matters including construction, technology, and engineering.
Membership
The Council Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson are independent, and do not represent any country. Each Member may designate a voting representative and an advisor.
SKAO Council Chairperson: Dr Catherine Cesarsky
SKAO Council Vice-Chairperson: Election to be held (April 2024)
Members (May 2023)
| Representatives | Country | Member since: |
Ms Janean Richards (voting) Dr Douglas Bock | Australia | 2021 |
Mr Michael Rupen Dr Luc Simard | Canada | 2024 |
Ms Zhao Jing (voting) TBC | China | 2021 |
| Prof. Marco Tavani (voting) | Italy | 2021 |
Ms Judith Vermeer (voting) Dr Jessica Dempsey | Netherlands | 2021 |
Mr Ricardo Conde (voting) Mr Luis Serina | Portugal | 2021 |
Mr Daan du Toit (voting) Ms Pontsho Maruping | South Africa | 2021 |
Ms Inmaculada Figueroa Rojas (voting) Dr Rafael Bachiller | Spain | 2023 |
Dr Simon Berger (voting) Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib | Switzerland
| 2022 |
Ms Felicity Howe (voting) Prof. Mark Thomson | United Kingdom | 2021 |
Observers
The Council also allows Observer representatives from countries or institutions who have either (a) signed an Accession Agreement and are moving towards their full membership, or (b) signed a Cooperation Agreements to provide resources, or (c) who are discussing their potential membership with the SKAO.
These are (April 2024): the Republic of France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) of India, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI), and Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden).
Rules and Regulations
The Council must follow:
- The Council Convention: which explains the high-level scope of the project, its purpose, definitions, membership rights, and how the SKAO is governed. It also outlines the SKAO’s Financial Protocols, and what has been agreed by the Members about what ‘Privileges are allowed.
- The Council Rules of Procedure: these state the composition of the Council, rules relating to conduct and attendance, and how meetings work e.g. voting and subsidiary committees.
- The Council Schedule of Delegation: which confirms what authority can (or not) be delegated - who can approve what e.g. the Council must approve the SKAO budget.