SKAO Annual Report 2021

ANNUAL REPORT

The SKAO treaty being displayed in the Giovanni Fabrizio Bignami Council Chamber at the SKAO HQ. Credit: SKAO

ABOUT THE SKAO

The SKAO, also known as the SKA Observatory, is an intergovernmental organisation composed of member states and partners from five continents and headquartered in the United Kingdom.

The SKAO mission is to build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes to transform our understanding of the Universe and deliver benefits to society through global collaboration and innovation.

The two SKAO telescopes, composed respectively of tens of dishes and tens of thousands of antennas, will be constructed in South Africa and Australia. When in operation, they will be the two most advanced radio telescopes on Earth. A later expansion is envisioned in both locations and into other African partner countries.

Together with other state-of-the-art research facilities, the SKAO’s telescopes will explore the unknown frontiers of science and

deepen our understanding of key processes, including the formation and evolution of galaxies, fundamental physics in extreme environments and the origins of life. Through the development of innovative technologies and its contribution to addressing societal challenges, the SKAO will play its part in addressing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and delivering significant benefits to the local communities in which it operates, across its membership and beyond.

SKAO aspires to work in partnership with its hosting communities and recognises and acknowledges the Indigenous peoples and cultures that have traditionally lived on the lands on which the SKAO facilities are located.

ABOUT THIS REPORT

This SKAO Annual Report describes the progress made by SKAO during 2021, its first year, and demonstrates the way in which the SKAO delivers its mission and reinforces its commitment to the transparency of the information disclosed to SKAO member states and stakeholders.

This report covers the period from legal establishment of SKAO on 15 January 2021 to the end of the year.

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

of 2021 from the Council Chairperson

I am delighted to write the foreword for the SKA Observatory’s very first annual report; the first of many over the coming years and decades that will highlight this global observatory’s unique achievements and impact, in science of course but also beyond for society at large.

On the science side, I am happy to see that a flurry of new results are appearing in many fields in astrophysics, awaiting for decisive complementary evidence in the radio range, enlarging continuously the already very rich science case of SKAO.

A requirement under SKAO’s Convention, producing this annual report is an essential exercise of communication and transparency, one that provides the Observatory with an opportunity to report on its activities to its funding bodies, but also to the wider public and taxpayers.

This report covers the 2021 calendar year, the year the SKAO was founded. Reading through its pages provides a valuable insight into the breadth of work that took place that year to get not just a new scientific intergovernmental organisation up and running – a feat in and of itself and quite a memorable moment to be a part of in one’s career – but also to finalise engineering and scientific preparations for the start of construction of the world’s two most sophisticated and largest radio telescopes ever built.

Overview

COVID-19 was one of the biggest challenges for society as a whole and the SKAO was no exception. The pandemic dominated 2021 with extensive and disruptive lockdowns in many member states that forced the Observatory and the global SKA teams to work remotely and virtually. As in many areas, COVID caused disruption and new pressures that required commitment and innovation to overcome, as well as new ways of working, and this report shows the remarkable progress that was achieved, even in the face of such a global trial.

The first meeting of the SKAO Council, the top governing body of the Observatory that represents its member states, took place on the 3rd to 4th of February 2021 and I was honoured to be elected as its Chairperson.

The Council met four times in total in 2021. Major decisions were taken: agreement of the hosting agreements with Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom, the funding schedule for the Member States, the technical Construction Proposal for the SKA telescopes and the Observatory Establishment and Delivery Plan or “OEDP” – a ten-year operational look-ahead, were all approved. This culminated with Council granting approval for the start of construction of the SKA telescopes on 23 June 2021, enabling the Observatory to properly take off and start its operations.

The decisions taken by the SKAO Council in 2021 were the outcome of years of work by so many, in SKA Organisation and in the member countries, showing a steadfast commitment to make this observatory a reality. At the time, I said that these decisions showed states’ confidence in the professional work done by the SKAO to get there, and in the bright future of this ground-breaking research facility.

Through this work and commitment, I very much see the values of the Observatory demonstrated in practice – the values of excellence, of collaboration, of innovation, but also of diversity, safety and sustainability.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank with great emphasis the talent of thousands of skilled professionals, government agencies and organisations who have worked together to bring us to this promising stage. I am privileged and honoured to be a part of this journey alongside all of you.

Happy reading,

Dr Catherine Cesarsky, SKAO Council Chairperson

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

Overview of 2021 from the Director-General

In reading the Annual Report from a distance of a year or so after the events, I remain impressed and, indeed, awed by what the SKAO team, the Member representatives, various officials, colleagues on our review panels and many others achieved in what was an ‘annus mirabilis’ for the SKA Observatory.

To bring a new intergovernmental organisation into being, effect a transition of staff and assets, secure funding commitments for the observatory and have Council approve the start of construction activities, all in a period of a few months and while COVID-19 was raging, demonstrates the professionalism, efficiency and sheer passion of all involved.

Of course, all of this happened as a result of many months of meticulous planning by the SKAO staff and through engagement with the Council Preparatory Task Force (CPTF),

ably chaired by Patricia Kelly through its 19 meetings. CPTF handed over its work to the newly formed SKAO Council in February 2021.

I was delighted when Dr Catherine Cesarsky and Mr Daan du Toit were elected as Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of Council, respectively; they have many years of experience in governance of major science projects and the SKA in particular. I was also honoured and humbled by the trust shown in me by the Council on my appointment as the first Director-General of SKAO.

On 18 August 2021 all associated with the SKAO were saddened to learn of the death of Dr Arun Srivastava. Arun represented India for many years in the governance processes of the SKA, through SKA Organisation Board, the negotiations on the SKAO Convention, and the subsequent CPTF processes leading to the creation of the SKAO. His experience, knowledge and collegiate manner will be missed by all.

One of the key pieces of work that was done in 2021, was the writing of the Construction Proposal (CP) and the Observatory Establishment and Development Plan (OEDP), both excellent documents. Embedded within the CP was a summary of the scientific motivation behind the SKAO, which, as in most areas of science, is always changing. It is fascinating to look back just a few years to when the 2000-page science case ‘Advancing Astrophysics with the SKA’ was written and to see the significant changes in our field over that time. I am confident that by the end of this decade, when the SKA telescopes will be routinely delivering science, that the field will have moved forwards even more.

Also sitting within the CP is a chapter on the expected impacts of the SKA. It is the taxpayers of our Member governments who fund the SKA and, yes, I am sure that they are interested in the scientific results that will flow from the telescopes, but they are also interested in the benefits arising from the investment. We have told the story many

times of how radio astronomers invented wifi, that early development of imaging algorithms were useful in medical imaging and that VLBI’s measurement of earth rotation is critical to allow GPS systems to work. The chapter within the CP provides some current examples of how SKA design and development work is already translating into benefits to society and also describes potential future innovations and spin-offs, of which I am sure there will be many.

The SKAO will be one of humanity’s major scientific undertakings, it will consist of critical infrastructure, high-tech hardware and innovative software; it will rely on highspeed data transmission systems, massive banks of digital signal processing hardware and super-computers to get the enormous volumes of data from the sky to the users, to enable science to be done, all supported in a sustainable, environmentallyfavourable manner. But above all, it will be people that deliver and use the SKAO, and none of this could happen without the talents of thousands of engineers, scientists, administrators and support staff across the world. I echo Catherine’s words and thank all of you who have helped us on this journey.

Professor Philip Diamond, SKAO Director-General

KEY 2021 ACHIEVEMENTS

Construction Proposal & Observatory Establishment and Delivery Plan published

First meeting of the SKAO Council

Appointment of the SKAO Council Chair and the SKAO Director-General

Approval and signature of the HQ Hosting Agreement between the SKAO and the United Kingdom Government

Entry into Force of the Convention establishing the SKA Observatory

Finalisation of report from the Council Preparatory Task Force to Council

Procurement allocations agreed Memorandum of Understanding with SARAO and CSIRO approved and signed

SKAO Science Conference – A Precursor View of the SKAO Sky

First meeting of the SKAO Finance Committee (FC)

Approval by the Swiss Federal Council of its membership of the SKAO

Cooperation Agreement signed by National Research Council (NRC), Canada, and the SKAO

Cooperation Agreement signed by Chalmers University, Sweden, and the SKAO

Conclusion of the Second Science Data Challenge

Signature of the Australian and South African Telescope Hosting Agreements

Fourth Council meeting including approval of budget for 2022

Second Council meeting including approval of the SKAO 2021 budget and the Business Purchase Agreement supporting the transition from SKA Organisation to the SKA Observatory

Launch of the new SKAO brand

Transition of SKA Organisation staff, assets and business to the SKAO Appointment of Telescope & Construction Directors in Australia and South Africa

France’s membership of the SKAO approved by Council

First cooperation agreement signed by Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, and the SKAO

Ratification of the Observatory Convention by China

First meeting of the SKAO Science and Engineering Advisory Committee (SEAC)

Third Council meeting including green light for construction

First Committee of Council meeting

The SKAO admitted as observer to UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

Second Committee of Council meeting

Start of global construction activities

First construction contract awarded

Spain’s membership of the SKAO approved by Council

THE YEAR IN NUMBERS

7 3 112

Member states

9

Prospective member states

Cooperation agreements signed with partner institutions – EPFL (Switzerland), NRC (Canada), and Chalmers (Sweden)

29 39

Staff members transitioned from SKA Organisation to the SKA Observatory

2

Partner staff members were recruited, both in Australia being employed by CSIRO

Cash contracts were presented to the Tender Subcommittee and 2 in-kind awards were presented to the In-Kind Review Committee. All recommendations were endorsed with a total value of €115.8m. 950

SKAO staff members were recruited by the SKA Observatory, including three in Australia and 6 in South Africa

Participants in the first SKAO science meeting, with over 400 abstracts submitted by the community

250,000

Visitors to the SKAO website

40

Policies developed and approved

6,500 26

4

Talks given by SKAO staff in international conferences

Zoom meetings held by SKAO staff members

Emails sent by SKAO staff members, and over 775,000 received

Articles referring to the SKAO and the SKA telescopes being published in the press Governance meetings hosted

53 24,000 20

Speaker Series events hosted by the SKAO

Programme Increment (PI) Planning meetings hosted, bringing together a total of 736 participants from across the community

2,434

New technical and organisational documents registered in the Configuration Management tool

THE SKA OBSERVATORY

The period covered by this first annual report marks a hugely significant year in the history of the SKAO; one which represents a transition from a design project to a construction endeavour and, in parallel, one which featured the transition to a new, global intergovernmental organisation.

Work towards establishing a governance structure for the SKAO as a global project began in the early 1990s with a succession of informal attempts to unify the various funded design efforts developed around the world. The evolution of the design and engineering activities in this period merits its own consideration and will shortly be analysed in a forthcoming book by critical figures from that period.

The emerging influence and engagement with governments and their funding bodies gradually increased the formality of the project’s governance. The assignment of SKA on the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Roadmap and the European ASTRONET infrastructure roadmap at high priority level, were among several important milestones in strategic recognition of the project, and enabling support for technical and policy studies. Driven by its ESFRI status, the critical EC and nationallyfunded ‘PrepSKA’ era, from 2008 to 2012, had two parallel aims. Firstly, it supported the preparatory activities towards the eventual site decisions for the SKAO and development of the system design for the infrastructure. It also featured, for the first time, funded activities to determine the most appropriate governance structure and supporting key policies to carry

the SKAO project through the detailed design and subsequent period. PrepSKA was also instrumental in beginning consideration of the broader impact case of the SKAO with a major international workshop on the Observatory’s socio-economic impacts.

In the policy arena, PrepSKA prepared the way for the establishment of SKA Organisation, a limited liability company established in the United Kingdom with several international governmental and national-scale research organisations as shareholders. Established on 14 December 2011, the organisation continued the formalisation of a central project office with a growing complement of staff led by a DirectorGeneral. In addition, the organisation, its Board and Members, provided a new context through which critical decisions for the project could be undertaken.

The Members of SKA Organisation and their governments went on to consider the future direction for governance and, informed by an ongoing programme of policy study, determined that the most suitable approach was the creation of an Inter-Governmental Organisation (IGO). SKA Organisation Board, in parallel, completed an assessment to determine the long-term location of the SKAO Headquarters to be in the United Kingdom.

In 2015, following a series of preparatory actions, several participating nations began the task of negotiating a convention to establish what would come to be known as the SKA Observatory. The negotiations, conducted under the presidency of the Italian government, took place between October 2015 and September 2016 through four plenary sessions and an extensive programme of supporting meetings and workshops. The negotiations resulted in the development of the Convention Establishing the SKA Observatory (the ‘Convention’) and its supporting high-level policies. Through 2017 and 2018, work to refine and achieve consensus on the critical ‘Tier 1’ Convention documents, supported by ‘Tier 2’ policies, were concluded by the group of negotiating parties, observed by representatives of many other countries in the SKA project family. The development of the ‘final record’ summarising the collective body of knowledge of the Convention, policies and positions of the negotiating parties signalled the point at which ‘initialling’ and then finally signing of the SKA Observatory Convention could take place.

On 12 March 2019, representatives of Italy, Australia, China, Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa and the United Kingdom signed the Convention in Rome, Italy, in front of a large audience of officials, politicians

and other key stakeholders. Signing the Convention initiated domestic action in each of the signatory states to ratify the text under each country’s national laws: a lengthy and complex process in each case.

In parallel with this ratification stage, the signing of the Convention signalled the creation of an interim body, the Council Preparatory Task Force (CPTF), which held its first meeting the day following the signature ceremony (13 March 2019) in Rome. The CPTF was tasked with making all the preparations necessary for the first meeting of the SKAO Council: the governing body of the Observatory representing member states as described in the SKA Observatory Convention.

At the highest level, this meant finalisation of the various policies and procedures to support the operation of the Observatory, its approach to construction and later operations. In addition, the CPTF would develop the so-called ‘funding schedule’ as described in the Convention, to determine the financial commitments to be made to permit sustainable operation of the Observatory and the start of construction of the telescopes. In addition, the CPTF also negotiated and prepared all the necessary administrative, human resources and financial plans required to establish a functioning organisation.

Signatories of the SKAO Convention representing (from left to right) the United Kingdom, China, Portugal, Italy, South Africa, the Netherlands, and Australia. Rome, 12 March 2019. Credit: SKAO

The CPTF met 19 times between March 2019 and December 2020, resulting in a large amount of the CPTF’s preparatory work being recorded in the CPTF ‘final report’ document.

In December 2020, five signatories, including the three host countries of Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom, as well as the Netherlands and Italy, had ratified the Convention. Thirty days thereafter, on 15 January 2021, the SKA Observatory Convention ‘entered into force’, creating the IGO: a body with legal personality; able to undertake activities, employ staff and begin to establish itself as a functioning organisation.

The first meeting of the SKAO Council was held on 3-4 February 2021, also including Portugal as a Member (China completed its ratification in June 2021). The restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the meeting was held entirely virtually, and focused on approval of the CPTF’s final report, election of a

Council Chair, and appointment of an Interim Executive who would act as a short-term legal representative for the Observatory until the transfer of the assets from SKA Organisation to the Observatory.

Approval of the final report meant the Council’s approval, as required by the SKAO Convention, of a vast range of policy and procedural matters. These matters included the basic financial structure of the new IGO, staff rules and regulations, and many of the critical business infrastructure elements required by a new organisation on its creation. The United Kingdom Headquarters Agreement, a bilateral treaty between the United Kingdom Government and SKAO which outlines the arrangements for hosting of the SKAO headquarters in the United Kingdom, was signed at this first Council meeting. So began the ‘transition phase’, with both SKA Organisation (the pre-construction era company) and SKA Observatory (the IGO long-term legal entity for the SKA) in co-existence.

Signing of the Final Record of the SKAO Convention by representatives of the negotiating parties. Rome, 12 March 2019. The Final Record described the collective understanding of a wide range of key policy points around the Convention and established the Council Preparatory Task Force that established the detailed implementation of the SKAO as an intergovernmental organisation. Credit: SKAO

Between February 2021 and May 2021, extensive and detailed preparatory work continued, involving the CPTF, SKA Organisation Board of Directors and a specific working group of governance representatives and business change experts, to prepare the transition of all assets from SKA Organisation to the new SKA Observatory legal entity. In this context, assets included financial elements and the employees of SKA Organisation. All areas of employment, human resources, legal and financial matters were prepared, to enable the new IGO to function from day one of its formal operational existence. At that point, staff were employed under new policy arrangements (although as required by United Kingdom law, employment rights were protected through the transfer) with new payroll and staff regulations.

Following a series of careful milestone assessment points, the transition was completed on 1 May 2021 and the activities of the SKA Observatory reported elsewhere in this initial Annual Report could begin.

Italian Minister of Education Marco Bussetti signing the SKAO Convention. Rome, 12 March 2019. Italy led the international negotiations to establish the SKAO as an IGO. Credit: SKAO

The SKA Observatory Convention displayed within the Giovanni Fabrizio Bignami Council Chamber at the SKAO Global HQ. Credit: SKAO

SKAO’S VISION, MISSION AND VALUES VISION

The SKA Observatory is a next-generation radio astronomy-driven Big Data facility that will revolutionise our understanding of the Universe and the laws of fundamental physics. Enabled by cutting-edge technology, it promises to have a major impact on society, in science and beyond.

As one of the world’s largest science facilities, with a truly global membership, the SKAO has identified key areas where it is endeavouring to have an impact beyond science: to establish a harmonious relationship with the local and Indigenous communities around the telescope sites so that the history and culture of Indigenous communities there

are acknowledged, understood, valued and protected; to minimise its impact on the environment and contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals; to ensure that innovations developed for the SKA project deliver impact and benefit to society; and to help to educate the next generation and strengthen Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

The SKAO Council approved the following statement of vision at its second meeting, setting the context for the planning of the SKAO, while describing the overall structure of the Observatory and its high-level aims:

“The SKAO is one global observatory, with two telescopes, on three sites; a 21st century inter-governmental organisation with sustainability and respect to all our communities at its heart, driven by a commitment to fundamental science and technology.”

The purpose of the SKAO is laid out in Article 3 of the SKAO Convention: that the Observatory shall “facilitate and promote a global collaboration in radio astronomy with a view to the delivery of transformational science”. This high-level statement underpins

essentially all of the activities and planning undertaken to establish the SKAO and guide its activities in the period of this annual report. Building on this foundation, the SKAO Council approved the following mission statement at its second meeting:

This mission statement captures the SKAO’s scientific ambition and deliverables, its global nature, its values of excellence, collaboration and innovation for the benefit of all.

“SKAO’s mission is to build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes to transform our understanding of the Universe and deliver benefits to society through global collaboration and innovation.”

VALUES

The SKAO’s values are intended to describe what the SKAO is and what it stands for, reflecting a modern intergovernmental organisation and observatory in the 21st century. The values are the result of a major collaborative effort and extensive consultation over several years. The principles behind the values were first laid out in the preamble of the Convention by negotiating teams from member states. In parallel, the SKAO’s Human Resources (HR) team conducted workshops with staff to define the values, and a wide range of internal and external stakeholders were surveyed by the communications team to choose the values they most associated with the SKA project.

The resulting five values embody the commitment of the SKAO’s member states to the Observatory and underpin everything the SKAO does as an organisation. In addition to supporting the activity of the Observatory and its staff, every member of the SKA community is expected to embody these values in their professional relationships.

The SKAO is a place where everyone is treated with fairness and respect, where equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is embedded within the DNA of the Observatory and its staff, where new ideas are allowed to thrive and where collaborations with global partners, local stakeholders and other scientific facilities are embraced.

SKAO’s values are:

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

We aim to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone feels they belong, there is fairness and respect for everyone as an individual, and diverse perspectives and ideas thrive.

CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

We will foster a culture of creativity and innovation where we take time to seek innovative, better solutions and problemsolving, focusing on delivering value to our user’s community.

EXCELLENCE

We value professional excellence in the delivery of world-class transformational science. This is founded on ways of working where leadership, integrity, personal responsibility and safety are at the heart of everything we do.

COLLABORATION

We are aligned around common goals and actively create and promote collaborative working across cultural and geographical, functional and specialist boundaries. In doing this we will communicate appropriately and in an open manner, delivering on commitments and building long-term supportive, trusting and professional relationships.

SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY

We pledge to look after our environment and the safety and wellbeing of ourselves, and each other. We take a long-term view and ensure that due care for our social, financial, ecological, cultural and environmental responsibilities is part of everything we do. By this we demonstrate our commitment towards the people, places and resources on which we rely and seek to build long-term sustainable relationships.

OUR ORGANISATION

The mission of the SKAO is defined around a keyword: Collaboration.

In the context of the SKAO, the collaboration is undertaken through the construction of two radio telescope facilities and their exploitation by a global community. The underpinning rationale for the SKAO is to undertake science, and the construction project now underway is informed by the science drivers identified by the radio astronomy community.

The SKAO delivers its mission through structures which establish and maintain the link between the science community and the SKA project, the delivery of construction, the establishment of the SKAO’s Operations teams at the HQ and in the telescope host countries and in the supporting areas of engineering management functions.

OUR STRUCTURE

GROWING OUR ORGANISATION

The SKAO was established in early 2021 with a founding group of Members, joined by China in June 2021. Along with this formative group, the Council has worked hard to support the expansion of the membership with the finalisation of negotiations and then Council decisions to agree the Membership of France, Spain and then Switzerland.

Switzerland concluded its accession in December 2021, Spain is in the process of finalising its domestic ratification processes, and the process to finalise the accession agreement for France is in preparation.

The SKAO Convention, and in particular Article 6(4), provides the possibility of other entities such as States, international organisations, and institutions, to cooperate with the SKAO.

2021 saw the first of these Cooperation Agreements, with the aim of creating a legal relationship with a legal entity within a country, where that country is still

in the process of becoming a Member of SKAO. It is important to establish this legal relationship so as to make possible the flow of financial contributions to SKAO. Also, through these agreements, companies and organisations based in the particular country can participate in the procurement process, so as not to cause delays to the construction schedule. Switzerland, with the renowned École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) serving as the legal entity, acted as the first for which a Cooperation Agreement with SKAO was drafted and signed. It proved an excellent template for later agreements drawn up in 2021. On 8 June 2021 Martin Vetterli (President, EPFL) and Phil Diamond (Director-General, SKAO) signed the Cooperation Agreement in an online ceremony. Later in the year, there were similar establishments of aspiring Member legal entities serving as a proxy, in particular with Chalmers University in Sweden, signed by Chalmers University President, Stefan Bengtsson, on 30 September 2021 and with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) signed by NRC President, Iain Stewart, on 24 November 2021.

First Council meeting, held online on 3-4 February 2021, officialising the launch of the SKAO as an intergovernmental organisation. Credit: SKAO

SKAO’s primary mission is the delivery and operation of a pair of radio telescope facilities, called SKA-1. Supporting this mission are a wide range of activities, including the scope of the construction project, the establishment of operational structures in our host countries, and a range of other tasks bringing us to the international stage.

Of particular note is SKAO’s presence and interaction in two international coordination and governing bodies: the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS). As discussed elsewhere in this report in more detail, SKAO continued its engagement as a Sector Member of the ITU and in 2021, was approved as a permanent observer at COPUOS, giving Observatory representatives the right to attend all relevant plenary and specialist supporting meetings, and engage with the work agenda of the UN.

A point of particular specialist and public interest that emerged in 2021 was the rising profile of the

impact of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations being prepared and launched, enabling commercial availability of access to satellite-based internet around the world. For both optical and radio astronomy, the rapid programmes of launches of these systems, and the apparent rapid growth in commercial operators in this space, present significant threats to the capabilities of next generation astronomical facilities such as the SKAO telescopes.

Engagement at policy level in COPUOS and in parallel in a programme of engagement with the key industry players have started a process which will hopefully work to mitigate the specific challenge to SKAO’s facilities. Engagement in COPUOS will also place SKAO as working at the vanguard of the global policy programme aiming to develop potential legal and policy solutions relevant to the LEO satellite issue and the broader, emerging policy area of space sustainability. These issues are considered in more detail in the Spectrum Management section of this document.

The European Union has always been an important collaborative partner for SKAO in many respects. The early stages of SKA Organisation, from critical technical outline design activities, initial conceptual discussions on the formation of a legal entity, to developing the eventual United Kingdom company structure, were made possible through European Commission funded projects such the SKA Design Study (SKADS) and Prep SKA. In 2021, good relations were upheld with the various stakeholders in Brussels and particularly the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. As was expressed in a high-level bilateral meeting in 2020, both sides have the ambition to put an MoU in place in the near future.

2021 saw the successful bid for funding from the Opticon-RadioNet-Pilot, which brings together a large portion of the European radio-astronomy stakeholders. Its mission is to facilitate astrophysical discoveries with a comprehensive set of research infrastructures in the related domains of optical and radio astronomy, through supporting a harmonised access procedure, unified data interfaces, and improved services toward scientific excellence. A common goal that is important and relevant is the development of common strategies to tackle radio frequency interferences.

The SKAO is a vehicle for science diplomacy, fostering cooperation and dialogue at government and international institutions level. This photo, featuring then-Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Carlos Moedas (right), and then-Ambassador of South Africa to Belgium, Luxembourg and the Mission to the European Union, Mr Baso Sangqu (left), was taken at the European Commission Headquarters in April 2018 during the SKAO’s touring indigenous art-astronomy exhibition Shared Sky. Credit: © European Union / Source: EC – Audiovisual Service / Photo: Jennifer Jacquemart

SCIENCE

Despite the pandemic, during 2021 the SKAO made efforts to involve the community and maintain a stimulating space for scientific research.

Remote and hybrid activities have been widely used to foster collaborations and cooperation with scientific and non-scientific entities.

The SKA Science Working Groups (SWGs), the main forum for community engagement, have grown in both number and participation. There are now 14 working groups involving

more than 1,000 active astronomers. SWGs are open to any actively publishing researcher from any country, including early career scientists and graduate students. There was a regular series of monthly SWG telecons during 2021, led by SKAO Science Team and pathfinder telescope representatives.

THE SKA SCIENCE WORKING GROUPS

TRANSIENTS SOLAR, HELIOSPHERIC & IONOSPHERIC PHYSICS

The topics covered during the meetings provide the science community with important updates on SKAO progress, astronomy technologies and other science-specific content: Science Data Challenges updates, a first look at proposal allocation models, investigations into the SKALow array configuration and station layouts, results from the Aperture Array Verification

System (AAVS), updates from the Board, Council and the Science and Engineering Advisory Committee (SEAC), an SKAO-hosted video repository, planning for the Observatory Development Programme Science Roadmap, a discussion on SWG gender diversity, as well as regular updates from the SWGs themselves including their science-focused workshops.

EXTRAGALACTIC SPECTRAL LINE

EXTRAGALACTIC CONTINUUM

EPOCH OF REIONIZATION CRADLE OF LIFE COSMOLOGY

HI GALAXY SCIENCE GRAVITATIONAL WAVES PULSARS OUR GALAXY MAGNETISM

VLBI HIGH ENERGY COSMIC PARTICLES (FOCUS GROUP)

Science Conference

The SKAO Science Conference 2021: “A Precursor View of the SKA Sky” was held between 15-19 March 2021 as a fully virtual event. The focus was on the new and exciting results being produced by SKA precursors and pathfinders and the resulting prospects for the SKA telescopes. As the first fully virtual event organised by the SKAO, it presented unique challenges. After careful consideration, several different software tools were utilised to access the main conference (OnAir), extended scientific discussions (Slack channels) as well as poster sessions and social networking (Gathertown) to achieve the required functionality and deliver an informative and entertaining conference within the virtual format.

The programme featured plenary talks organised by the Scientific Organising Committee as well as splinter sessions organised by the SWGs, and was designed to allow participation from all countries and time zones. Each talk of the plenary programme was repeated after a 12 hour interval, with all talks also available to play as a recording after they first went live.

The conference had a record number of more than 900 attendees and around 400 abstract submissions: it was a major success that received positive feedback from the participants. The presentations were well received, in terms of content and video quality, instructions provided to speakers and attendees, and the online support.

Examples of outreach banners describing the SKA Science Working Groups.

Several groundbreaking radio astronomy facilities have been established globally in the past 15 years across the SKAO partnership. These facilities, known as SKA pathfinder and precursor telescopes, are part of a global effort to design and build ever-more sensitive instruments to provide further insights into the radio sky and grow new scientific and technical communities.

These telescopes are allowing astronomers to develop improved techniques and explore new phenomena, as exemplified recently by exciting discoveries they’ve enabled. The year 2021 saw a large number of science highlights coming from these facilities, including the sharp rise in the detection – and, in some cases, localisation – of fast radio bursts (FRBs) using several SKA pathfinders; MeerKAT’s discovery of two giant radio galaxies in a small patch of sky, suggesting they may be more common than previously thought; the Murchison Widefield Array’s (MWA’s) first detection of an incredibly faint pulsar; the Giant

Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT’s) detection of neutral hydrogen emission from galaxies at a redshift of 1.3; achieving new insights into the FRB emission mechanism with the Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST); and the creation of the most detailed images of the Universe ever made at low frequencies using the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR); to list just a few examples. At the same time, these telescopes allow engineers to develop new technical and innovative solutions.

Overall, these facilities are also playing a key role in training a new and more diverse generation of astronomers, engineers and technicians who will be ideally placed to make use of the SKA telescopes but also contribute to building a knowledge society. The knowledge and experience gained by the precursor and pathfinder telescopes will guide the SKAO through construction and operation, and will be at the heart of a productive and ground-breaking use of the SKA telescopes in the years to come.

Poster of the 2021 SKAO Science Conference

“A Precursor View of the SKA Sky”.

Credit: SKAO

Team MINERVA – the winners of the challenge – applied two independent methods to the data before combining the results to achieve an improved score. Their algorithms were deployed on supercomputer Jean Zay (on the photo here), named after the French education minister who in October 1939 helped set up the country’s National Centre for Scientific Research. The Jean Zay can reach a peak performance of 28 billion operations per second (28 Pflops/s). Credit: Cyril Fresillon / IDRIS / CNRS Photo library

Science Data Challenges

The SKAO Science Data Challenges (SDC) are designed to help the science community prepare for the unique size and complexity of SKAO data products. By inviting participants to solve a specific problem, each challenge aims to drive the development of new analysis methods that will maximise scientific discovery with future SKAO data. Simulated data products produced for each challenge remain publicly available to support planning of future SKA observations and development of analysis methods.

Within the scope of this report, the Science Data Challenge 2 (SDC2) ran from February to July 2021 (following SDC1 which ran from November 2018 to July 2019), inviting participants to find and characterise galaxies

in a 1 TB simulation of a deep SKA-Mid spectral line survey of neutral hydrogen. SDC2 received generous support from several major international computing facilities (Figure S2) on which teams were able to access and process the challenge dataset without needing to download it. This support allowed the challenge to be run in an accessible way and provided valuable prototyping opportunities for aspects of the future network of SKA Regional Centres. Twelve teams, together containing over 100 participants from 22 countries and 40 institutions, completed the challenge (compared with 9 teams, containing participants from 8 countries and 12 institutions for SDC1).

SKAO Science Data Challenge 2

The two top-scoring challenge teams used novel machine learning methods to tackle the data. Notably, the winning team – the MINERVA team at Paris Observatory-PSL and partners at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics and Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg – using the resources of the French National Jean Zay supercomputer of GENCI operated by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Institut IDRIS, applied two independent methods to the data before combining results to achieve a significantly improved score. One of the main findings of SDC2 – the complementarity of analysis methods – was also highlighted by the ability of different teams to perform well on different aspects of the challenge. It is likely that a combination of several methods will produce the very best scientific outcomes.

Six teams took part in the SDC2 reproducibility awards, which were developed in partnership with the Software Sustainability Institute to recognise best practice in Open Science. All six teams received an award for the preparation of reproducible and reusable analysis pipelines that are easy to find and easy to use. The value of clearly documented and easily accessible codes was highlighted by the use of a single existing software package by half of the challenge teams. The complete challenge results were submitted to the monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

SDC2 was made possible thanks to several important partnerships and collaborations. Both the challenge development and its outcomes strongly underscore the importance of collaborative, open science: a principle which sits at the heart of SKAO values.

AusSRC & Pawsey Perth, Australia

ENGAGE SKA - UCLCA Aveiro & Coimbra Portugal

IRIS (STFC) UK 1TB Teams analysing of astronomical data 280 22 registered participants in countries 15 million CPU core hours* and 15 TB RAM available for teams Computing facilities

CSCS Lugano Switzerland INAF Rome Italy

GENCIIDRIS Orsay,France

SKA Observatory 31

China SRC-proto Shanghai China

PROGRAMMES

In 2021, recruitment of critical construction staff continued in line with the necessary capabilities outlined by the project plan. In particular, SKAO’s Site Construction Directors for the SKA-Mid and the SKALow telescopes were appointed. Working within the Telescope Delivery Teams (TDTs), their role is to coordinate the construction activities on the ground and with the Telescope Directors (see the Operations section) to align with the broader SKAO activities in-country.

At the inaugural meeting of the SKAO Council in February 2021, Members received formally from the Council Preparatory Task Force the two key foundational documents underpinning the construction and delivery of the Observatory: the SKA1 Construction Proposal (CP) and Observatory Establishment and Delivery Plan (OEDP).

The two documents and their executive summary, which total some 500 pages,

brought together the major outputs from several hundreds of documents that were produced during the years of detailed planning for the SKAO and its telescopes after a series of independent external reviews were conducted to ensure the overall readiness to move from planning to construction. Together, these documents represent the culmination of a huge global effort to design and plan the construction of the SKA telescopes and the ongoing operation of the Observatory, and many years of work by scientists and engineers from around the globe who contributed so much to the design of the SKAO.

The two documents were published in February 2021 to provide insight into the benefits that flow from the technology developments required to deliver a state-of-the-art scientific facility. The Council endorsed both documents as the basis for planning and later approval of activities later in 2021.

The period of this first Annual Report covers a period of profound progress and achievement in the delivery of the SKAO’s construction mission through its Programmes team.

The Construction Proposal considers a sequential approach, progressing through the delivery of a series of Array Assemblies (AAs), each bigger than the last and with a growing suite of scientific and technical capabilities over the coming years.

When endorsing the CP and the OEDP, the SKAO Council considered in detail the emerging environment for Member State funding. With the SKA1 Design

Baseline remaining the initial goal for the Observatory, but recognising the available funding commitments possible this time, Council supported an approach for management of a ‘staged delivery’ approach to an intermediate conclusion point (AA*) which could be accommodated within the projected available funding contributions described in the Construction and Operations Funding Schedule.

The SKA-MPI prototype dish being assembled at the SKA-Mid site in the Karoo in South Africa as part of the pre-construction activities. Credit: SARAO

Staged Delivery was specified around several key principles in that it:

• adheres to the central planning assumption that the Observatory will build the SKA-1 Design Baseline;

• retains the reviewed design baseline architecture which provides the capabilities advertised for SKA-1;

• follows the existing roll-out plans developed over several years with only minor modifications to support the possible pause between the staged delivery and the full design baseline realisation;

• allowed a start to construction according to the CP in July 2021;

• supports the negotiated Fair Work Return arrangements from the CPTF negotiations;

• meets the committed funding line and enables a rapid, economical expansion up to the Full Design Baseline (AA4) when new funding is available.

From this starting point, the team’s principal activity between May and June 2021 was on the finalisation of preparation for the start of construction based around the staged delivery concept.

January – June 2021: Construction Preparation Finalisation

Following the first Council meeting, an intense period of work tackled the preparation of a compelling case for approval, which was ultimately achieved in June 2021.

Key among the required deliverables to enable programme delivery were the finalisation of a Project Execution Plan (PEP) for the staged delivery, aligned with the Construction Proposal and supported by key documentation describing the procurement and workshare environment, the project schedule, and the complex and evolving membership/cooperation situation.

In preparation for the construction approval step, a series of Contracting Readiness Reviews (CRRs) were undertaken, spanning approximately 70 contracts across SKA-Low and SKA-Mid. They required the participation of SKAO staff across programmes, assurance, legal, operations and procurement, who carried out the reviews and

subsequent actions for the near-term contracting areas in both SKA-Low and SKA-Mid.

These Reviews were used as the gating event to release the subsequent Invitations To Tender (ITT). TDTs for SKA-Low and SKA-Mid performed internal workshops to refine planning details for the start of construction; for example in SKAMid, a change to the dish structure drive supplier was made after new design and qualification activities were added to the project scope.

In SKA-Low, the qualification of the updated design for the power and signal distribution system completed the conceptual design, while analysis of the prototype SKA-Low station Aperture Array Verification System (AAVS) continued to provide information to refine deployment, integration and calibration. A major planning meeting was held in June, outlining the software development activities targeted for the start of construction, encompassing both science data handling and processing, and Observatory management and control.

At the June 2021 meeting, in a momentous decision, the SKAO Council gave the green light to start construction activities of the SKA telescopes across the partnership. Credit: SKAO

Ongoing project change control was maintained with due documentation and communication of all changes. Project Monthly Reports were established as a summary of the project for both internal and governance (Council and primary stakeholder) review and are being produced regularly. The monthly reports cover the status and progress by each Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) branch, Project Office, SKA-Mid, SKALow and Software, critical path assessment, cost control earned value assessment.

project risks/opportunities, changes and the contingency log, upcoming activities, and the next steps to be taken for any divergences from the plan at the work package level.

Final submissions of construction planning, alongside operations planning, were submitted during the period February – June 2021, with formal approval from Council to commence construction given on June 24, 2021.

The AAVS2.0 prototype station was deployed in Western Australia as part of the SKA preconstruction activities to further refine and improve the design of the SKA-Low antennas. Credit: ICRAR

July – December 2021: Construction Execution

The construction plan focused on several highlevel milestones which delivered incrementally increasing quantities of hardware subsystems (with correspondingly increased scientific performance). At the start of construction, the immediate focus was the achievement of the earliest possible working demonstration of the SKA-Low and SKAMid infrastructure (termed Array Assembly 0.5 or AA0.5). The construction staff activity transitioned from the pre-construction planning work to the high volume contracting necessary to deliver the component systems, while developing the assembly, integration and verification teams and finalising the residual design areas. The initial 12-month period (six months represented in this report) has seen intensive contracting activities to match the aggressive project schedule. In particular, infrastructure activities, long lead time, specialist component procurements and creation of construction teams needed to be initiated.

In SKA-Mid, the telescope delivery teams drove toward completion of residual design details for the dish subsystems, in particular utilising prototype testing of dish structure, Band 5 single pixel feed and cryogenic systems. SKA-Mid supported the MeerKAT+ project infrastructure work (the South Africa-led development of an expansion of the MeerKAT telescope at the SKAMid site) which realised the first SKA-Mid compliant foundations. In SKA-Low, the redesigned power and signal distribution system was working toward its

field deployment and qualification while analysis of the calibration stability was being reviewed through the prototype station. In computing and software, a key technical focus was on the early software control capabilities needed at AA0.5 as well as the stability and general quality of the current software prototype. A critical facet of the construction execution relies upon the activities of the host countries to secure site access as well as a set of agreements to enable SKAO construction activities within host country institution areas. For SKA-Low, the pandemic and movement restrictions in 2021 impacted negotiations of the critical Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) as well as the heritage surveys. For SKA-Mid, the process to acquire access to the majority of land along the spiral arms is underway; however progress continued in both locations towards concluding these critical agreements. SKA-Mid also has a set of agreements to be completed (site condition report, permission to access the site, site services agreement) to make existing MeerKAT assets and infrastructure available for construction.

Overall in 2021, the construction project key performance metrics were tracking according to the planning envelopes, with the total project cost maintained, planned performance and scope maintained, and probabilistic risk modelling indicating risk management contained the necessary contingency reserves in both budget and schedule to manage identified risk.

OPERATIONS

Operations grew in scope during 2021, from a core activity based at the Global Headquarters to spanning the telescope host nations of Australia and South Africa.

Council’s approval in June of the SKA Observatory Establishment and Delivery Plan – which forms the plan for the first ten years of operation of the SKA Observatory –together with the Construction Proposal, underpinned the full breadth of operations activities during 2021.

Telescope Directors were appointed to lead SKA’s efforts in the telescope host countries. These appointments represented a major milestone in initiating the establishment of SKAO in Australia and South Africa.

The SKA telescopes will eventually comprise 197 dishes in South Africa, incorporating the existing MeerKAT radio telescope, and 131,072 antennas in Western Australia. This image blends real hardware already on the ground on both sites with artist’s impressions of the future SKA antennas. L-R: SKA dishes and the existing precursor MeerKAT dishes in South Africa, and the existing AAVS2.0 prototype station with SKA-Low stations in Western Australia. Credit: SKAO

Collaboration with the telescope host countries

In October 2021, the two Host Country Agreements with the governments of the telescope hosts, Australia and South Africa, were signed in a small ceremony as part of the fourth meeting of the SKAO Council. These

agreements sit alongside the Headquarters Agreement with the United Kingdom government, and together they embody the commitments and obligations of the SKAO and the host countries.

The operation of the SKA telescopes in Australia and South Africa, and indeed all Observatory activities in the telescope host countries, will be undertaken through close collaborations with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) in South Africa. The associated legal arrangements will be covered in a pair of “Agreements for Bilateral Collaboration” and extensive formal tripartite negotiations to develop these agreements took place during 2021. These complex agreements

are fundamental to the delivery of the SKA project and negotiations progressed in a positive spirit throughout 2021 (and continued in 2022). Most significantly, the majority of the people who will work to deliver SKAO’s goals in Australia and South Africa will be employed by the partner organisations CSIRO and SARAO, but will work under the direction of the SKAO, and follow SKAO practices and procedures. Collaboration activities started in 2021 under interim arrangements but form the underpinning arrangements for the structure of SKAO in Austrlaia and South Africa into 2022 and beyond.

SKAO Director-General Prof. Philip Diamond (centre), Australia’s David Fredericks, Secretary of the Department of Industry, Science Energy and Resources (left), and South Africa’s Dr Phil Mjwara, Director General of the Department of Science and Innovation (right) signing the Host Country Agreements during the fourth SKAO Council Meeting. Credit: SKAO

Power

The SKAO’s telescopes and computer systems need substantial, reliable electricity supplies and the telescope sites are remote, so existing infrastructure is limited or non-existent. Furthermore, electricity supply and distribution equipment create radio-frequency noise, which would limit the science that could be achieved with the SKA telescopes if it wasn’t very carefully minimised and managed. The SKAO power procurement programme is the responsibility of the operations team and is led by the Observatory Power Engineer. The focus of the

power procurement programme in 2021 was to create initial reference designs for the Mid and Low Remote Power Stations (RPS) and to perform feasibility studies on power supply options for the Cape Town Science Processing Centre (SPC) and Karoo core site. The initial reference designs were created by design consultants, with significant inputs from an electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) specialist consultant and the SKAO EMC team. Over 100 technical drawings and documents were submitted for a technical review at the end of 2021.

CSIRO’s hybrid solar-diesel power station near the SKA site. An array of 5,280 silicon solar panels, covering an area of three hectares, generates up to 1.6MW of renewable power. Credit: CSIRO

Data Operations

Once in normal operations, the SKA telescopes will generate in the order of 600PB of calibrated science data products each year –an unprecedented amount of data in modern astronomy, indeed in science more generally. The infrastructure for delivering such large data volumes to users around the world and the computational resources required to process that data into science results is not within the scope of the SKAO. Innovative solutions are needed to manage these data volumes that will allow the SKA scientific community to fully exploit them. A collaborative partnership between the SKAO and member states and partner countries is working to establish a global network of SKA Regional

Centres (SRCs) to address this issue, with activities being coordinated through the SKA Regional Centres Steering Committee (SRCSC). In June 2021, an SRC Architect was hired to lead and guide the design and definition of the global SRC network architecture. Work progressed towards defining that architecture through the definition of use cases and requirements. In the meantime, work on prototyping and developing the technologies needed in support of the SKA Regional Centres network (SRCnet), such as the tools and resources for handling data at the exascale level, continued in the data operations team within the operations group.

Engineering Operations

The engineering performance team remained deeply involved in the procurement process that began with the official commencement of SKA telescope construction in July 2021. The team has continued to provide input on the maintenance and operational aspects of each contract through the review, negotiation and issuing steps. The Engineering Management System (EMS) sits at the centre

of all telescope engineering operations activities for the SKAO. This ‘system of systems’ is to manage maintenance, problem reporting, tracking and resolution, telescope configuration and asset tracking. An EMS Engineer was hired in October 2021 to take on the responsibility to develop and implement the EMS to support construction and operation.

Science Operations

In science operations, development of the SKA Access Rules and Regulations progressed substantially. This important document sits under the Observatory’s Access and Operations Policies and describes their implementation. The close out of SKAO involvement in the EU-funded Jumping JIVE (Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe) project was completed as part of work to define an operations model for Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) with the SKA telescopes. This model will feed into the final

operations plan for VLBI. Science Operations also plays an important role in guiding and advising the software development for the SKA telescopes and the SRCs. In this period, the primary focus was on supporting the definition and early development of a sensitivity calculator for the SKA-Mid telescope, and producing a document describing many of the ways that SKA users will want to engage with and use the SRC Network through engagement with the SKAO science community.

Members of the engineering team enjoying collaborative work at the SKAO HQ following the relaxation of COVID-19 rules in the UK. Credit: SKAO

SKAO in Australia

2021 saw the establishment of the SKA Observatory in Australia. Legally, this was implemented by the Australian Commonwealth Government through the International Organisations (Privileges and ImmunitiesSquare Kilometre Array Observatory) Regulations 2020. These regulations form the basis for SKAO’s legal status and privileges and immunities in Australia.

Australia’s international borders remained closed throughout 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, for much of the year the border between Western Australia (WA) and other Australian states was closed. These constraints required SKAO initially to establish its WA offices and staffing from outside the state, with both the Telescope Director and Site Construction Director based in Sydney and working remotely. Although facing these challenges, SKAO developed a constructive relationship with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade during the year, which resulted in the first international SKAO employee entering Australia through the highly controlled WA border in December 2021. The

team expanded at pace through 2021 with key appointments in the leadership team and beyond. This included the first appointments through CSIRO, demonstrating successful initial steps in this long-term collaboration.

SKAO will have two primary bases for staff in Australia: the SKA-Low Science Operations Centre in Perth, and the SKA-Low Engineering Operations Centre in Geraldton. Both will be provided to SKAO’s specifications by CSIRO on behalf of the Australian Government. While these permanent buildings are being designed and delivered, SKAO was able to identify two interim facilities in 2021. It was agreed that the interim Science Operations Centre would be in CSIRO’s offices at Kensington in Perth. It has enough space to host SKAO staff members through the end of 2024. A suitable commercial facility in Geraldton was also identified that will form the interim Engineering Operations Centre, including hosting the SKA-Low system Integration and Test Facility. The facility will be leased for five years. In the meantime, SKAO’s staff in Geraldton were hosted by CSIRO at their offices.

SKAO in South Africa

2021 saw the establishment of the SKA Observatory in South Africa. This was implemented legally through the Government of South Africa’s ‘Government Gazette’ publication.

The SKAO’s Mid telescope directorate continued to engage with the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), as well as its partnership representatives, both the National Research Foundation (NRF) and SARAO. The challenges brought science, technology and innovation to the fore as the SKAO embarked on implementing the Observatory Establishment and Delivery Plan in South Africa.

Building on the agreement with SARAO, initiating the collaboration was the primary activity in South Africa in 2021. The focus in 2021 was on identifying options for interim arrangements for the SKA-Mid Science Operations Centre in Cape Town, and for the SKA-Mid Engineering Operations Centre at Klerefontein in the Karoo, outside the town of Carnarvon and co-located with the existing MeerKAT operations centre.

Ultimately the MeerKAT telescope is to be incorporated into the SKA-Mid array, and many existing SARAO roles and responsibilities will be superseded by SKA-Mid roles and activities. Considerable time and effort in 2021 was devoted to the consideration of these complex issues. The contribution of the MeerKAT telescope, and delivery of the long-term Operations Centres are responsibilities of the South African Government, acting through the NRF and SARAO. The location of the longterm SKA-Mid Science Operations Centre was confirmed as the iThemba LABS site and planning for the SARAO and SKAO facilities to be constructed on that site commenced in 2021. During the year SKAO staff in South Africa worked from home and from the SARAO offices in Black River Park in Cape Town.

Created by low-Earth orbit satellites reflecting sunlight, all of these streaks were captured in less than two hours and digitally combined onto the single featured image, with the foreground taken consecutively by the same camera and from the same location. Most of the streaks were made by the developing Starlink constellation of communication satellites, but some are not. In general, the streaks are indicative of an increasing number of satellites nearly continuously visible above the Earth after dusk and before dawn. Understanding and removing the effects of satellite trails on images from Earth’s ground-based cameras and telescopes is now important not only for elegant astrophotography, but for humanity’s scientific understanding of the distant universe.

Image Credit & Copyright: Joshua Rozells

Continuing to champion radio astronomy at the highest levels, the SM group also collaborated with the SKAO’s Strategy team to obtain permanent observer status in the UN Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), joining the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the IAU. This status was granted at the 2021 UN General Assembly.

In line with the SKAO’s spectrum management strategy, the SM group held numerous meetings with national, regional and international bodies on SKA-related spectrum management matters, and participated in ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) meetings following agenda items for the World Radio Conference in 2023. On the industry side, a strong working relationship was developed

with SpaceX and OneWeb to discuss the potential effects of their systems on the SKA-Mid telescope’s band 5b, and to identify mitigation possibilities (beyond the existing ITU Radio Regulations); a relationship that will be carried on in 2022, with positive interactions with both operators. The SM group also gave a presentation on satellite constellations to the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) and engaged with the Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA).

In addition, the Spectrum Management group has collaborated with the European Science Foundation’s Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies (CRAF) and Jodrell Bank Observatory in the United Kingdom to monitor radio frequency interference from satellite constellations.

Radio Frequency Interference Management

Radio frequency interference (RFI) is the single biggest threat to the scientific performance of the SKA Observatory. Alongside various RFI policies and procedures developed during this period to manage RFI-related risks, and the growth of the RFI team with new engineering appointments, 2021 also saw the establishment of the SKA Observatory RFI Management Working Group. This comprises the SKAO RFI Manager, Telescope Directors, Deputy Director of Operations, Site Construction Directors, Director of Assurance, Telescope Engineers, Senior Project Managers and Spectrum Manager.

The RFI team has been involved in the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) reference design for the SKAO Power Procurement Programme, which included RFI impact assessments of diesel generators as part of the photo-voltaic power solutions.

An online web tool, emc-standards. skatelescope.org, was developed to assist contractors in interpreting the SKA RFI/EMC Standard and shielding requirements for compliance of their systems on the telescope sites.

HR

With the formation of SKA Observatory in 2021, the focus in this year has been on the establishment and set up of the IGO, including the implementation of the Observatory staff regulations, starting to establish local offices in South Africa and Australia and recruiting the global talent needed to deliver SKAO’s priorities. This was made more challenging during the year against a backdrop of COVID-19. However, during this time, the SKAO successfully managed to remotely induct all staff transitioning from SKA Organisation into

the Observatory and remotely recruit and induct all new Observatory staff members as detailed in the key areas of focus below.

From a cultural perspective the SKAO has set out to create an environment where people thrive, feel valued and respected and are able to perform at their best, including through collaboration, benefiting from diversity of ideas and a sustainable approach. SKAO’s staffing environment aligns with the SKAO values as detailed earlier in this document.

The SKAO’s people are among its greatest assets in the delivery of the Observatory’s mission. As such it is essential that it is able to attract, motivate, retain and develop global talent across all its locations.

KEY AREAS OF FOCUS FOR 2021 INCLUDED:

1. Recruitment and Capability: Ensuring the SKAO has the right people, in the right roles, at the right time to deliver the mission.

In May 2021, 112 staff transitioned from SKA Organisation to the Observatory. Following this, a further 39 SKAO staff were recruited during the remainder of the calendar year. Of the 39 new recruits, three new staff members were recruited into Australia and six new staff members recruited into South Africa, these being the first staff appointed in these locations.

Staff who transitioned to the SKA Observatory from SKA Organisation transferred in line with United Kingdom legislation regarding the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE), retaining their continuity of service.

Average length of service of SKAO staff at the end of 2021

As a newly established IGO, the focus in 2021 has been on laying foundations for effective people management. One of these foundations has included considerable work undertaken to develop a career framework for the Observatory.

During 2021, a draft career framework was developed and consultation with staff representatives commenced. The career framework defines four job families and provides descriptors for each of our 13 career levels. To be launched in 2022, the career framework and supporting descriptors will be a key tool in providing clarity on what is expected at each level in the Observatory, while supporting capability and development planning in the future.

2. Policy: Building and implementing the approach and guidance necessary to deliver excellence across the employee lifecycle.

A key characteristic of the operation of IGOs is that their Conventions generally confer the organisation and staff with a range of Privileges and Immunities (P&Is). The SKAO has been developing processes and procedures that support staff with P&Is.

Another area of focus during 2021 involved the development of detailed guidance and policies for staff members. More than 20 people-related HR policies were developed and signed in the first Council meeting, providing clear and transparent guidance that aligns with the SKAO’s culture and values.

SKAO aims to be a great place to work where staff may develop personally and professionally in a vibrant, diverse environment with access to global thought leaders within our science and technical communities. It looks to engage staff through an effective staff representative body, supported by a capable line manager community and an environment that is open to feedback and in starting to deliver against this aim, SKAO established a Staff Association in 2021.

The SKAO aims to offer competitive reward and benefits, enabling the Observatory to attract and retain the talent it needs. During 2021, the new Observatory reward and benefits proposition was launched, providing core reward and benefits for staff, with additional support for international colleagues, including those subject to personal P&Is. The support for international staff is designed to recognise costs that may be incurred as a result of working in a location other than their own country and, where applicable, additional allowances for staff subject to personal P&Is where access to state support may be restricted.

One of the core benefits for staff includes access to an appropriate retirement plan and during 2021 a new international retirement savings plan for all SKAO staff subject to personal P&Is was launched. For local staff in each of our three locations, the retirement plan aligns to each country’s pension and superannuation regulations. For the United Kingdom, SKA Organisation’s pensions group personal pension plan was formally transferred to SKA Observatory.

3. Staff engagement, reward and benefits: Creating an environment where staff are valued, feel engaged and motivated.

The breakdown of staff by retirement plan type

4. Administration: Establishing the systems and processes to deliver the HR programme.

The establishment of the Observatory IGO in 2021 required a number of new and updated processes to be defined and established, including matters in relation to P&Is and payroll.

Work in relation to P&Is included establishing the process for applying for and managing exempt vignettes and diplomatic visas, identity cards and the accreditation processes in Australia and South Africa.

For payroll, international staff with personal P&Is pay an internal tax and internal social security contribution which mirrors the local tax regulations of each country. A payroll system needed to be established in each of the host countries, which both complied with local tax regulations for local staff and for international staff subject to personal P&Is.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION (EDI)

Equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion are core to our organisational values. The SKAO’s vision is to create an inclusive culture and environment that values all, is free from bias and which enables SKA Observatory to both attract, retain and develop a diverse workforce, benefitting from the talents and different perspectives of all.

During 2021 the Observatory continued to remain focused on EDI with several areas of priority.

In recruitment, this work included targeted advertising, supplemented by proactive search activity with the aim of seeking to attract as diverse a range of candidates for interview as possible, both in terms of gender and nationality.

2021 also saw extensive work by the SKAO’s EDI Working Group (EDIWG). In mid-2020 the group was asked by the Director-General to look at practices and processes across the organisation and produce a plan looking at enhancing and evolving these in order to ensure that discrimination and bias in SKAO and its recruitment processes are absent.

After several months’ work, the EDIWG produced a set of 23 recommendations addressing staff engagement, working

culture and diversity, accessibility, diversity Key Performance Indicators, recruitment, professional development and more. The recommendations were submitted to the Director-General and Executive Leadership Team (ELT) for their consideration in June and were formally endorsed in December.

In order to prioritise and implement the recommendations, in December the ELT set up a small EDI task force composed of members of the ELT, HR and the EDIWG and chaired by the Director of Operations.

As at the end of 2021, the breakdown of staff by key diversity indicators is detailed below. This data does not currently include an analysis of ethnicity, with further working being done to identify the right index for SKAO appropriate to all locations where we employ staff.

HEALTH, SAFETY, SECURITY AND ENVIRONMENT (HSSE)

As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to evolve throughout 2021, SKAO Headquarters (HQ) physical and mental health and wellbeing management plans and procedures were continually reviewed, and emergent best practices were applied to protect and support visitors and staff.

Meeting weekly, a COVID-19 Advisory Group assessed pandemic developments, developed and maintained contingency plans, and formed proactive strategies and communications with staff. Many preventive and mitigation actions were taken to contain and/or avoid spreading any infection. SKAO also ensured all staff working from home were provided with appropriate equipment and remote ergonomic assessments.

During this period, business travel was for essential purposes only and a revised risk assessment process was developed to ensure any permitted travel was expedited as safely as possible.

SKAO requested the British Safety Council audit its HQ COVID-19 measures, and upon completion, the observations were that SKAO HQ had:

“…implemented a range of excellent practical methods and measures aimed at … controlling/

reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace…” and “…been exceptionally proactive in implementing excellent COVID-19 controls for both the current level of occupancy but also having in place detailed plans for a staged reopening of the HQ...”

As SKAO teams were built in Australia and South Africa, senior leaders and Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) teams ensured the transmission of previous learnings. The host country teams were then able to seamlessly develop and implement local COVID-19 exposure prevention plans that aligned with national and regional statutory requirements, as well as aligning with those of its partner organisations, CSIRO and SARAO. In addition, the growing teams in Australia and South Africa started to consider the critical HSE policies and processes needed to ensure work on the telescopes sites is safe.

STAFF ASSOCIATION

The SKAO Staff Association was established in July 2021 following the election of four UK based representatives for a term of two-years.

There is the intention to elect an SKAO Australian representative and SKAO South African representative in 2023, by which time recruitment of SKAO staff in these countries will have progressed.

The Staff Association is a representative body serving the interests and rights of all SKAO-employed staff across all business functions and geographical locations. It acts as an internal consultative body to enable the views of staff to be considered by the SKAO management team when making decisions which impact the safety, welfare and general working conditions of staff. It also champions the culture and values of the SKAO in support of delivery of the Observatory’s mission. The main forum by which the Staff Association provides feedback to SKAO management is the Joint Consultative Group, the membership of which comprises the Deputy Director

General (Chair), Head of HR, HR ManagerPolicy, Reward and Engagement, and Staff Association Representatives.

The Staff Association meets every two weeks and held eight meetings in 2021. An early focus of the Staff Association’s activities during 2021 was to develop its terms of reference and rules of procedure and work with SKAO management to close off any outstanding questions raised by staff during the transition from SKA Organisation to SKA Observatory. Further questions from staff around the transition to the new working environment were also fielded in the months following transfer of staff to SKA Observatory. Throughout the second half of 2021, the Staff Association supported the staff consultation process regarding the ongoing development of the Career and Pay Framework, due to be implemented during 2022.

FINANCE

RSM UK Audit LLP, as appointed external auditors of the SKAO, have provided their opinion that the financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2021 present a true and fair view of the SKAO’s financial activities in accordance with the SKA Observatory Convention, its financial protocol and supporting policies.

The accounts are prepared under the International Financial Reporting Standards framework, as adopted by the European Union, on an accruals basis of accounting.

The SKAO has registered offices in Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom, however the financial statements are reported on a consolidated basis, including the accounting related to the construction of the telescopes and associated software. The Unit4 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system was substantially developed during early 2021 to support this accounting structure.

The SKAO became a legal entity on 15 January 2021, however the financial activity of the Observatory did not commence until the transfer of assets, liabilities and staff from its predecessor, SKA Organisation took place. The transfer occurred on 1 May 2021 and has been accounted for as a re-organisation using a modified ‘pooling of interests’ method. The assets and liabilities included within the transfer are recognised in the SKAO Statement of Financial Position at their book values at the date of transfer, in the respective line items. Two key financial milestones relating to the transition were to establish new transactional bank

accounts in the name of SKAO, and to transfer the accounting records of the transferred assets and liabilities from SKA Organisation’s ledgers to the new SKAO ledgers within Unit4 ERP.

For the 2021 year, the SKAO reported a surplus of €144.1M. However, much of this surplus is expected to be expended on capital expenditure relating to the construction of the telescope assets in the coming years. The operating expenditure of SKAO remained low during 2021 but is expected to increase over the coming years as construction activities commence and Observatory operations begin. The SKAO also generated €3.4M of income from financing activities during the year, largely owing to favourable exchange rates on the Euro to British Pound and Australian Dollar.

The SKAO holds a significant net asset position, underpinned by the large cash balance generated from the in-year surplus. The cash balance is expected to reduce as the non-current assets, in the form of tangible and intangible assets from the telescopes’ construction, continues.

As SKAO only became operational during 2021, no comparative figures are provided in the financial statements.

Statement of Financial Performance

Statement of Financial Position

Statement of Cash Flows

PROCUREMENT

During 2021 Procurement Services successfully transitioned from being a largely strategic function, developing the SKAO procurement approach, to a tactical and transactional function supporting all procurement activity for SKAO including, importantly, the construction project.

2021 also saw the implementation of the SKAO Supplier Portal allowing procurement opportunities, information and documentation to be shared with the SKAO Industrial Liaison Officer Network and the international markets.

The SKAO Finance Committee was established with oversight of the procurement and contract award process included within their remit. In turn, the Finance Committee delegated authority to the newly established Tender Subcommittee (TS) to oversee the tender processes, and to the newly

established In-Kind Review Subcommittee (IKRS) to oversee the management of In-Kind contributions.

During the period from the establishment of the Observatory until December 2021, 29 cash contracts were presented to the TS and two in-kind awards were presented to the IKRS. All recommendations were endorsed with a total value of €115.8m.

The table below depicts the area and value of commitment presented to the TS and IKRS.

The decision to use the NEC4 contract type is delivering value, supporting clarity of approach pre-contract and improving administrative and programmatic control in the delivery phase.

2021 saw the Observatory continue to develop measures to ensure Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and local businesses, including local Indigenous businesses, are provided with interesting procurement opportunities. To provide such opportunities for these smaller, local businesses the

Observatory has subdivided larger contract packages, such as the infrastructure contracts, into smaller contract packages. Furthermore, the Observatory will often mandate the larger Tier 1 contractors to include an attractive Local Participation Plan within their tender submissions. All Tier 1 tenderers understand that these Participation Plans are rigorously evaluated and scored by the Observatory and this approach encourages Tier 1 tenderers to increase the level of local and Indigenous participation within their proposals.

The Shijiazhuang-based Chinese company CETC-54 was involved in manufacturing two SKA prototype dishes in the pre-construction era. Credit: SKAO

RISK MANAGEMENT AND CONTROLS

RISK MANAGEMENT

During 2021, SKAO leaders and risk specialists continued to meet through a structured process to manage and mitigate risks identified as potentially impacting its processes and financial stability.

From this, an overall status of risk was maintained to protect the SKAO and its employees, creating confidence and enabling sound decision-making.

Throughout 2021 the risk management framework provided a path for reporting risk which ensured transparency and visibility throughout the organisation, the Finance Committee and Council. Identified Risks have been categorised according to whether they impact the construction project or the broader Observatory, and at Council level noting some risks could impact across these categories. Strong collaboration and clear, timely communication, as well as a commitment to risk management within the global SKAO

team ensured a focus on control alongside the drive for innovation to deliver the Construction Project.

In 2021, SKAO also started preparing for the establishment of an Internal Audit function. A key element of this preparation was to plan for an internal process review in 2022. The aim is to assure processes across the Observatory, focusing on Human Resources, project management controls, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and procurement. This review will set a baseline for SKAO and the findings will be used to develop the organisations business process and enterprise architecture. The review will be a key input to future SKAO Internal Audits which will start to take place from 2023.

COMPLIANCE AND TRANSPARENCY

● Anti-Corruption and Bribery Policy

● Code of Ethics

● Supplier Code of Conduct

● Procurement Policy

● Finance Policy

● Data Protection Policy

In order to uphold these values and intensify our efforts to strengthen and disseminate the culture of compliance, the SKAO has developed procedures and policies to ensure that our governance practices are in line with our obligations to member states and society.

In 2021, in line with SKAO’s strategy and the best corporate governance practices, many policies were created during this period, including:

Among their main responsibilities, the policies serve to guide and monitor SKAO’s internal controls and risk exposure. In addition, they aim to oversee relationships with suppliers and partners, ensuring the quality and integrity of SKAO’s reports and financial statements, and the compliance and transparency of its actions in line with SKAO’s values and commitments.

“ SKAO takes a zero tolerance approach to bribery and corruption and is committed to the values of professionalism, fairness and integrity in all business dealings and relationships.”

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The IT team is structurally under Programmes within the SKAO organisation chart but supports the needs of the business enabling and operations functions of the Observatory, as well as the needs of the construction programme.

During the period of the report, the team spent most of their time focussing on the transition needs of the Observatory, but

Support for SKAO transition

In-country IT procurement was ramped-up in South Africa and Australia during 2021. This included finding new mobile, landline, internet and hardware suppliers in both host countries, and procurement of mobile, desktop and network systems for these sites. Multiple applications and sites were updated with the new SKAO branding, including the relevant colour schemes, logos and fonts. Emails

there was also a significant amount of new user functionality and some back-office development.

and other mentions of relevant addresses were updated to reflect the change from organisation to Observatory. New technical support was provided to website developers, Betawerk. Essential data stored in SKAO cloud services were migrated to be hosted in SKAO Member countries to ensure compliance with the SKAO legal status.

New User Functionality

A new helpdesk portal using the Jira based service desk was welcomed by users. A similar system was rolled out to HR and finance. An asset module has also been added so asset management can also go through the helpdesk. SKAO EduROAM credentials were made available to users registered on our systems. This allows staff to directly access wireless networks throughout the world. An intranet was developed based on Confluence. The pre-existing use of Confluence elsewhere across SKAO has helped to further align our systems. A comprehensive suite of Information Security Management Systems based on the ISO 27001 standard was developed and implementation started in the year.

Back Office Developments

IT continued migrating all systems off of the University of Manchester networks onto a more resilient SKAO network. By the end of the year nearly all systems were in place for the changeover. The IT team also started transitioning to working on SAFe cadence for projects. This ensures that the workload is reviewed and aligned with the wider project. IT continued work to make systems more secure and resilient. This year focused on the widely used Jira and Confluence systems. Systems are now routinely patched within 24 hours of a security flaw becoming known.

COMMUNICATIONS, OUTREACH AND EDUCATION

The communications function is responsible for disseminating information to a wide variety of stakeholders to build, maintain and strengthen support for public investment in the Observatory by highlighting its positive contributions and impacts, whether they are scientific, technological or societal.

Its scope is quite broad, ranging from strategic communication, brand custodianship, corporate communication, internal communication, risk and crisis communication, stakeholder engagement to content development, online communication, science communication, public outreach, media relations, public affairs, and education.

2021 was a momentous year in the history of the SKA project, as described elsewhere in this report. Through a number of communications campaigns, the Communications team, supported by the SKA Communications and Outreach Network (SKACON) – a network comprising communications experts across the SKAO partnership – capitalised on key milestones within the organisation to further raise awareness of the Observatory and cement its strategic positioning in political spheres as a credible and highly

promising global research infrastructure worthy of investment. More specifically, in a global context still marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the team put a particular emphasis in highlighting the wider impact of the Observatory and its relevance to society in the communications outputs, building on the work undertaken in the previous years and complementing the Impact section of the SKA Construction Proposal.

In line with the development of the Observatory and the establishment of SKAO teams in the telescope host countries, the Communications team initiated recruitment activities for Communications Managers for SKA-Low and SKA-Mid, and reinforced the media relations function with the appointment of a Media Relations Manager in anticipation of a hive of activity as telescope construction kicks in.

Brand

In 2021, the transition from SKA Organisation to the SKA Observatory provided a unique opportunity to refresh the SKA brand and develop a new brand that would truly reflect the identity of the newly created organisation. Following a five-year development period, involving a thorough consultation with SKAO’s key stakeholders and the broader SKA community, and the involvement of a brand agency in the final stages to ensure a professional design approach to such important work, the newly created SKAO Council approved at its first meeting the SKA brand evolution roadmap, including the launch of the new SKAO identity and the SKAO Brand Book document , a foundational document of the Observatory laying out all aspects of the

Observatory’s identity. The SKAO logo was unveiled in April 2021 at the second meeting of the SKAO Council, followed by the roll-out of the SKAO brand across the Observatory and the development of a number of applications (SKAO partner labels, SKAO SRC logos, national consortia logos, etc.). On 31 March 2021, the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) International Bureau published the SKAO’s application for Article 6ter3(b) Paris Convention protection to protect the SKAO name and logo against unauthorised registrations and use as a trademark. No objections were received during the following one-year legal period, meaning the SKAO name and logos are now fully protected across all countries.

Contact

Contact is the SKAO’s flagship publication, aimed at the various stakeholder audiences. In 2021, three issues of Contact were published, together comprising more than 100 articles. These three issues garnered over 11,400 reads, with readers spread across 62 countries. Filled with contributions both from SKAO and from its partners around the world, Contact aims at providing updates on progress within the Observatory and across the project on all matters of relevance for the SKAO, including construction activities, precursor and pathfinder activities, governance, engineering, science and outreach.

Shared Sky

Shared Sky is SKAO’s astronomy-Indigenous art exhibition bringing together Yamaji and other Aboriginal artists from the Mid-West region of Western Australia, and African artists of San descent and others from the central Karoo region of South Africa’s Northern and Eastern Cape. These artists have created artworks in response to ancestral stories about the night sky – a sky they both share as it appears above their traditional homelands, which will soon host the SKA telescopes.

Shared Sky has been exhibited in prestigious venues around the world the last few years and, from October 2021 until mid-2022, was hosted by the Leiden Old Observatory, through a collaboration with Leiden University and the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON). Despite a period of shut down in the country due to the pandemic, Shared Sky was seen by thousands of visitors, demonstrating the strong interest people have in Indigenous astronomy and how valuable art is in sparking interest in astronomy.

SKAO’s indigenous art-astronomy Shared Sky exhibition at the Old Observatory Leiden. Credit: Leiden Observatory/ Elinoor Veldman Photography

Website

A full revamp of the SKAO website started early 2021, with an expected completion date mid-2022. In the meantime, main updates and development of the website concerned the news section. During the year, the SKAO published 20 news stories, celebrating major milestones and progress within the Observatory and across the partnership. Around 250,000 people visited the website, the vast majority of whom came from the host countries, as well as the USA, followed by India, China, and Italy.

Media

SKAO news stories and press releases triggered significant media coverage across the partnership as well as other countries (in particular the USA), with over 6,000 pieces referring to the SKAO and the SKA telescopes being published. A press conference was organised on 29 June to announce and celebrate the start of construction. The press conference coincided with the European Astronomical Society (EAS) conference, held virtually, allowing SKAO to maximise the news utilising EAS media contacts and other key attendees.

Social media

The number of posts on SKAO social media channels in 2021 totalled 469 (581 including Instagram stories). The number of social followers grew substantially in 2021, with 36% more on Instagram, 43% more on LinkedIn, and 8% more on Twitter. On Twitter, there were about 1.8 million impressions (number of times users see an individual post), with the vast majority in the first two semesters, coinciding with major media campaigns (launch of the SKAO brand and start of construction). On Instagram, posts and stories were seen close to 80,000 times, and on LinkedIn slightly over 200,000 times.

Events

The major event filling the SKAO calendar in 2021 was the science conference A Precursor View of the SKA Sky, jointly organised by the communications and the science teams. More details are provided in the Science section of this report.SKAO engagement at international conferences, although disturbed by the pandemic and the cancellation of a number of events, remained very high and more than 50 talks were given (for the most part remotely) by SKAO staff members in science, engineering, policy, high-performance computing, and science communication events, as well as for SKA Days or focused workshops organised by SKAO partners.

Outreach funding

In 2021 the SKAO started a collaboration with the International Astronomical Union’s Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO) to fund the development of new radio astronomy outreach resources. This collaboration aims at bridging a gap in existing astronomy outreach and encouraging the creation of more open-source content that educators can freely use, as well as fostering collaborations between the SKAO’s and IAU’s outreach networks. Following a competitive process administered by the OAO, the SKAO communications team allocated €6,500 from its budget to three projects in Europe, India and South America.

Internal Communications

Internal

communications is an important part of the wider SKAO communications function and plays a strong role supporting other functions and other departments of the Observatory to ensure an efficient flow of information upwards, downwards and across, through a number of tools and initiatives.

SKAO Prospectus. Credit: SKAO

COUNCIL, COMMITTEES AND SUBCOMMITTEES

Governance oversight of the SKA Observatory is provided by the SKAO Council and its committees and subcommittees.

Each Member State has voting rights, with delegations comprising representatives and advisors; several aspiring member countries have non-voting representatives in attendance with observer status.

In 2021, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, each SKAO Council meeting was held via videoconference. Going forward, the Council and its committees will meet three times each year; subcommittees meet as required.

SKA GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

SKA Observatory Council

SKAO governance structure

■ CHAIRPERSON:

Dr Catherine Cesarsky

■ VICE-CHAIRPERSON:

Mr Daan du Toit

The Council, the main governing body of the SKAO, is regulated by the SKAO Convention. The Council is responsible for the overall strategic and scientific direction of the SKAO, good governance, and the attainment of SKAO’s purposes.

In 2021, the Council had four meetings, receiving updates from the SKAO Executive on construction and operations, host country activities, and membership and cooperation agreements. The Committee of Council, attended by Member State representatives only, is a forum for informal discussion.

At its first meeting (February 2021), the Council appointed Dr Catherine Cesarsky as its Chairperson, Mr Daan du Toit as its Vice-Chairperson, and Dr Simon Berry as the SKAO Interim Executive, responsible for executive actions under the guidance of Council in the initial phase of the SKAO’s operation, prior to the transition of all activities to the Observatory. That role was dissolved upon appointment of the Director General at transition.

To ensure appropriate governance, the Council approved its rules of procedure, the structure of the supporting committees and subcommittees, various financial policies and procedures. Other approvals

included the SKA Observatory Headquarters Agreement, the SKAO Interim Funding Schedule and the SKAO Budget for 2021. The direction of the SKA Observatory Establishment and Delivery Plan (OEDP) and the SKA-1 construction proposal were endorsed (to be used as the basis for planning), and were approved later in the year.

In April 2021, the Council appointed the Chairpersons of the Finance Committee and the Science and Engineering Advisory Committee (SEAC), and the SEAC membership. The process to transition from SKA Organisation to the SKA Observatory and the related business purchase agreement were approved, as were revisions to the budget and financial rules, and the overall funding strategy.

In June 2021, the Council met to approve the final SKA-1 construction proposal and the OEDP as goals for the SKA Observatory (2021–2030), with its procurement plan and allocation table. The Construction and Operations Funding Schedule (COFS) and related payment schedule, superseding the initial funding schedule, were also approved as was the commencement of construction of sites in the telescope host countries.

Switzerland was approved as the eighth Member State of the SKA Observatory in October 2021. Other approvals included the signature of the Telescope Host Country Agreements with South Africa and Australia, the career and pay framework, the SKAO Budget for 2022 and related payment schedules. The approach to appointing an external auditor was endorsed.

The Council is supported by two committees:

1. Science and Engineering Advisory Committee with representatives who act as individual experts and do not represent any Members’ views to advise the Council and the Director-General on construction, technology, and engineering.

2. Finance Committee

who ensure sound financial management, efficiency, transparency and accountability by assessing financial proposals. The Finance Committee has three sub-committees.

Members Representative

Australia Douglas Bock

Janean Richards (Voting Member)

China Linhao CHEN (Voting Member)

Qi’an WANG

Italy Enrico Padula

Marco Tavani (Voting Member)

Netherlands Oscar Delnooz (Voting Member)

Michiel van Haarlem

Portugal Ricardo Conde (Voting Member)

Luis Serina

South Africa Rob Adam

Phil Mjwara (Voting Member)

UK David Rawlins (Voting Member)

Mark Thomson

*As of December 2021

Observers Representative

Canada Dr Michael Rupen

Dr Luc Simard

France Dr Pascale Delbourgo

Dr Chiara Ferrari

Dr Michel Perault

Germany Dr Jürgen Kroseberg

Prof. Michael Kramer

Ms Bernadette Klose

Ms Sabine Krabichler

Dr Catharina Sasse

India Prof. Yashwant Gupta

Mr Sunil Ganju

Japan Prof Masao Saito

Prof. Hideyuki Kobayashi

South Korea Dr Hyunwoo Kang

Dr Bong Won Sohn

Spain Dr Rafael Bachiller

Ms Inmaculada Figueroa Rojas

Dr Lourdes Verdes-Montenegro

Sweden Prof. Lars Börjesson

Mr Mathias Hamberg

Switzerland Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib

Mr. Kevin Reymond

Dr Emma Tolley

Dr Olivier Küttel

*As of December 2021

Science and Engineering Advisory Committee (SEAC)

■ CHAIRPERSON:

Prof. Naomi McClure-Griffiths

Australian National University (ANU) Australia

■ VICE-CHAIRPERSON:

Prof. Brian Glendenning

National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) USA

The SEAC held its first meeting in June 2021, at which its own governance procedures were reviewed. The SEAC also discussed the update on SKA-Low in Western Australia and the SKA Observatory’s readiness to commence construction.

In September 2021, the SEAC met and received a project update including science plans and station layouts. The Science Data Challenge 2 was reviewed, particularly in terms of how it will help advance the emerging SKA Regional Centre (SRC) network and the development of software tools.

Members Affiliation Representative

Australia Naomi McClure-Griffiths

China Zheng QIAN

Italy Andrea Ferrara

Netherlands Wim van Cappellen

Portugal Claudio Melo

South Africa Francois Kapp

UK Carole Mundell

Observers Canada Kristine Spekkens

France Guilaine Lagache

India Uday Shankar

Spain Antxon Alberdi

Sweden Garrelt Mellema

Switzerland Andre Csillaghy

At Large NRAO Brian Glendenning

SARAO Justin Jonas

ESO Andreas Kaufer

ESO Adrian Russell

UKATC Gillian Wright

*As of December 2021

Finance Committee

■ CHAIRPERSON:

Mr Colin Vincent Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) United Kingdom

■ VICE-CHAIRPERSON:

Ms Ana Reis

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) Portugal

At its meeting in March 2021, the Finance Committee elected Dr Colin Vincent as its Chairperson. The Finance Committee recommendations to the Council for their approval included revisions to the budget to support the transfer of operations from SKA Organisation, the Initial Funding Schedule (IFS), and the Financial Rules. The awarding of the construction insurance brokerage was also recommended.

In May 2021, the Finance Committee agreed to recommend to Council for approval a Budget Revision to incorporate the additional income and costs related to the construction programme, and delegated authority to the subcommittees (see on page 76).

The Finance Committee also reviewed internal policies including the finance policy, the treasury management policy and the travel and expenses policy.

The September 2021 meeting considered, and recommended to the Council for their approval, the SKAO 2022 Budget, revisions to the Financial Rules, two financial policies, and the proposed approach for the establishment of SKAO’s Career and Pay Framework.

Members Representative

Australia Stephanie Gorecki Natik

China Shuang LIU

Italy Maria Luisa Pozone

Netherlands Jeroen Arts

Portugal Ana Reis

South Africa Bishen Singh

UK Chris Wrench

*As of December 2021

Observers Representative

Canada Mr Morrick Vincent

France Dr Michel Perault

Mr Samuel Brunet

Germany Ms Bernadette Klose

Ms Sabine Krabichler

India Mr Abhay Kumar

Japan Prof. Hideyuki Kobayashi

South Korea Prof. Bong Won Sohn

Spain Ms Esther Martín Malagón

Switzerland Mr Kevin Reymond

Mr Xavier Reymond

*As of December 2021

Subcommittees

The Finance Committee has three supporting subcommittees which provide scrutiny, advice and recommendations to the Council on areas covered by their mandates, with each member appointing their own representative. Subject to their agreement with the SKA Observatory, observers may also appoint a representative. The subcommittees have the following oversight responsibilities as delegated by the Finance Committee:

1. Administration Subcommittee (AS): administration management including, but not limited to, review of staff remuneration and amendments to the SKAO staff regulations. The AS met once in 2021 to consider the SKA Observatory career and pay framework, and the salary component of the 2022 budget.

Members Representative

Australia Richard Barry (Chairperson)

China Yang JIE

Italy Marco Guerrieri

Netherlands Jeroen Arts

Portugal Carolina Rêgo Costa

South Africa Pontsho Maruping

UK Vikki Gledhill

*As of December 2021

2. In-Kind Review Subcommittee (IKRS): In-kind contributions are non-financial (such as providing staff for a project), and the IKRS reviews and endorses the award of in-kind contributions and approves cost book values on behalf of the Finance Committee. The IKRS met once in 2021, to consider three contracts.

Members Representative

Australia Cat Attard

China Shuang LIU

Italy Andrea Argan

Netherlands Michiel Van Haarlem

Portugal Claudio Melo

South Africa Adrian Tiplady (Chairperson)

UK George Madden

*As of December 2021

3. Tender Subcommittee (TS): the TS reviews and endorses competitive contract award recommendations above €500k, and single or sole-source contract award recommendations above €250k, for final signature and approval by the Director-General. It also oversees the administration of the fair work return formula and ensures that it has been correctly applied in all tender evaluations.

Members Representative

Australia Jacqueline Cooke

China Yu LU (Co-Chairperson)

Italy Corrado Perna (Co-Chairperson)

Netherlands Gert Kruithof

Portugal Luis Serina

South Africa Shawn Basson

UK Justine Mannino

*As of December 2021

Observers Representative

Germany Dr Gundolf Wieching

India Gert Kruithof

Japan Luis Serina

South Korea Asst. Prof. Bong Won Sohn

Spain Dr Javier Echávarri Delmás

*As of December 2021

AAs Array Assemblies

ANU Australian National University

AAVS Aperture Array Verification System

AS Administration Subcommittee

ASTRON The Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy

CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

COFS Construction and Operations Funding Schedule

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease of 2019

CP Construction Proposal

CPTF Council Preparatory Task Force

CRAF Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies

CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

CRRs Contracting Readiness Reviews

DSI Department of Science and Innovation

EAS European Astronomical Society

EC European Commission

EDI Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

EDIWG Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group

ELT Executive Leadership Team

EMC Electromagnetic Compatibility

EMS Engineering Management System

EPFL Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

ERP Enterprise Resource Planning

ESFRI European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures

ESO European Southern Observatory

FAST Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical radio Telescope

FC Finance Committee

FCT Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

GMRT Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope

GSOA Global Satellite Operators Association

HPC High-Performance Computing

HQ SKAO Headquarters

HR Human Resources

HSE Health, Safety and Environment

HSSE Health, Safety, Security and Environment

IAU International Astronomical Union

IKRS In-Kind Review Subcommittee

ILUA Indigenous Land Use Agreement

IGO Inter-Governmental Organisation

ISO International Organisation for Standardisation

IT Information Technology

ITT Invitations To Tender

ITU International Telecommunications Union

ITU-R International Telecommunications Union – Radiocommunication

JIVE Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe

LEO Low-Earth Orbit

LOFAR Low Frequency Array

MWA Murchison Widefield Array

NRC National Research Council

NEC4 New Engineering Contract 4

NOIRLab National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory

NRAO National Radio Astronomy Observatory

NRF National Research Foundation

OAO International Astronomical Union’s Office for Astronomy Outreach

OEDP Observatory Establishment and Delivery Plan

PEP Project Execution Plan

PrepSKA International collaborative project funded under the EC’s Framework Programme 7 initiative to develop critical design and policy aspects of the SKA Project

P&Is Privileges and Immunities

PI Programme Increment

RPS Remote Power Stations

RFI Radio-Frequency Interference

SARAO South African Radio Astronomy Observatory

SATCON Satellite Constellation conferences

SDC Science Data Challenge

SDC1 Science Data Challenge 1

SDC2 Science Data Challenge 2

SEAC Science and Engineering Advisory Committee

SIA Satellite Industry Association

SKA Square Kilometre Array

SKACON SKA Communications and Outreach Network

SKADS SKA Design Study

SKA-Mid Square Kilometre Array Mid

SKA-Low Square Kilometre Array Low

SKAO SKA Observatory

SM Spectrum Management

SMEs Small and Medium Enterprises

SPC Science Processing Centre

SRCs SKA Regional Centres

SRCSC SKA Regional Centre Steering Committee

SRCnet SKA Regional Centre network

STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

STFC Science and Technology Facilities Council

SWGs Science Working Groups

TDTs Telescope Delivery Teams

TS Tender Subcommittee

TUPE Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment)

USA United States of America

UN COPUOS United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

UNOOSA United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

VLBI Very-Long Baseline Interferometry

WA Western Australia

WBS Work Breakdown Structure

WIPO World Intellectual Property Organisation

our

We recognise and acknowledge the Indigenous peoples and cultures that have traditionally lived on the lands on which

facilities are located. We acknowledge the Wajarri Yamaji as the Traditional Owners and native title holders of Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, the site where the SKA-Low telescope will be built.