Management

Europlanet RI management structure

• The Coordinator

The coordinating research laboratory is the CNRS Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP), which is located in the city of Toulouse, south-west of France.

Michel Blanc, CNRS Astronomer, acts as the Scientific Coordinator. As such, he is the interface to the European Commission, on behalf of the consortium. His deputy is Philippe Louarn, one of the IRAP Deputy Directors.

The Project Office, which is made up of a full-time Project Manager and a part-time Assistant, provides them with all necessary administrative, legal and financial services needed in relation with the coordination of the project.

• Executive Boards
• The Executive Team is the engine room of the project. It is made of up the coordinating team, the Project Scientist, the Business Director and the Transnational Access coordinator. The Project Scientist has prime responsibility for ensuring the scientific coherence of the project, the development of collaborations with other EU networks and projects, and the broadest possible participation of the European planetary science community and other connected communities with the Europlanet RI project. As for the Business Director, his main role is to lead the work on securing the sustainability of the Research Infrastructure at the end of the project. The Executive Team formally meets through teleconferences, on a weekly basis.
• The Project Management Committee undertakes ongoing oversight of the project and monitors progress against milestones and budget. It is made up of the Executive Team and the Activity leaders and meets monthly, through teleconferences.
• The Europlanet Board is the major strategic decision-making body: it has prime responsibility for ensuring the success of the project and compliance with the terms of the Grant agreement. Membership consists of one representative from each beneficiary (contractor). It meets once a year face-to-face and once a year by teleconference or visioconference.
• Consultative boards
• The General Assembly gives an opportunity for all laboratories involved in the project to contribute to future plans. It addresses recommendations to the Europlanet Board based on progress reports. It also gives advice in the event of major changes, such as changes to the composition of the consortium. It is made up of one representative of each contributing laboratory belonging to the beneficiaries (contractors). It meets face-to-face every year, on the occasion of the European Planetary Science Congress.
• The Strategic Advisory Board (SAB) has an important role in ensuring the project achieves its intended impacts in terms of structuring the European Research Area, and raising the international standing of European Planetary Science. It also supports the Project Scientist in assuring the coherence and quality of the project outputs, through evaluation of reports and other deliverables and review of future project plans and priorities. The SAB brings together influential international scientists, as well as other stakeholders, with interests relevant to the project, but who are independent of it. It meets face-to-face once a year, on the occasion of the European Planetary Science Congress.
• The User and Associates Advisory Board (UAAB) is a meeting of users invited as being representative of the users of the facilities and services provided by the project. Through the UAAB, they are able to contribute comments and recommendations to the Project Management Committee.