| Description: | Somewhat lost in all the activities associated with ISKAF2010, the Agencies SKA Group (ASG) also met in Assen in June - see image above. The charter of the ASG is to provide the SKA project with advice and guidance on various non-technical and non-scientific issues (the latter being the preserve of the SSEC). Comprised of ~ 30 representatives of national funding agencies around the world, the ASG meets twice per year, usually alongside meetings of the SSEC. The ASG is currently chaired by Prof. John Womersley (STFC Science Programmes Director), with Patricia Vogel (NWO) & Jan van de Donk (OCW) representing the interests of the NL in this group. In addition, the executive of the SSEC is also invited to the ASG open sessions.
At the end of 2011, many of the collaboration agreements that underpin the SKA international project will come to an end. As a result, there is a lot of activity at the moment to move the project on to a new footing, so that it is ready to meet the challenge of the pre-construction stage (2012-2015). Issues that both the ASG and SSEC are currently wrestling with include the need to create a new legal entity for the SKA and deciding upon its nature. The little matter of location also has to be resolved - probably via an open call of expressions of interest later this year. All these issues are expected to be resolved early next year but it will still take sometime to implement the decisions. The process of selecting a site for the SKA is another topic that falls on the plate of both the SSEC and ASG - currently simultaneous measurements of the RFI environment at the core (and later remote) sites in South Africa and Australia are underway. A decision on the site is expected in early 2012. |
