SKAO Annual Report 2022

SKAO Construction Commencement Ceremonies - 5 December 2022.

Photo collage showing local Rieldansers at the SKA-Mid site (top) and a Wajarri cultural dance performed by Wajarri Yamaji at the SKA-Low site (bottom). Credit: SKAO

SKAO IN BRIEF

The SKA Observatory (SKAO) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of member states and partners from fve continents and headquartered in the United Kingdom.

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

The SKAO’s two telescopes, currently under construction in Australia and South Africa, will comprise 131,072 antennas and 197 dishes respectively, and will be the 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 in the Universe, 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 by delivering signifcant benefts to the local communities in which it operates, across its membership, and beyond.

The SKAO aspires to work in partnership with its hosting communities and recognises the Indigenous peoples and cultures that live on the lands in which its 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 site, where we are building the SKA-Low telescope. Inyarrimanha ilgari bundara means ‘sharing the sky and stars’ in the Wajarri language.

ABOUT THIS REPORT

The SKAO Annual Report reinforces our commitment to the transparency of the information disclosed to our member states and stakeholders, demonstrating in the following pages the progress made during the second year of operation of the Observatory. This report refers to the period between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022.

Our Values

Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Creativity and Innovation

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.

We foster a culture of creativity and innovation where we take time to seek innovative, better solutions and problem-solving, focusing on delivering value to our user community.

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

Collaboration Safety and Sustainability

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

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

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW Council Chairperson letter

I am proud to provide an introduction to this Annual Report, outlining the signifcant activities and key developments undertaken by the SKA Observatory in 2022.

Where 2021 was a momentous year marking the creation of the SKAO and the approval of construction, 2022 saw huge progress in contracting and organisational development, culminating in the formal start of on-site construction activities in Australia and South Africa in December, launching us on a trajectory towards one of the most ambitious scientifc endeavours in history: delivering the world’s largest radio telescopes.

Some of the world’s fnest scientists, engineers, and policymakers are united in pursuit of this goal. Together, we celebrated this milestone in Construction Commencement Ceremonies across our sites. Attending the events in South Africa, I saw frst-hand the dedication and the

eforts of our teams to bring to life our values – Diversity and Inclusion, Collaboration, Creativity and Innovation, Excellence, and Safety and Sustainability – and how well they are integrated into the communities we serve, emphasising the strength of the alliances and connections we have made with our stakeholders.

2022 was a challenging year for many international projects and science organisations and the SKAO was no exception. In big global projects such as the SKA, just as in our everyday lives, we see the impact of pressures on economies and challenges that have increased the cost of purchasing goods, materials, and efort. However, despite the geopolitical instability

and macroeconomic uncertainty, the performance described in this report attests that the SKAO has remained strong and committed in the pursuit of its goals, working hard through its Council and members.

The SKAO Council, the Observatory’s highest body representing its member states, met three times in 2022, tackling a range of important topics in funding, supervision of the construction programme, and looking at the future membership of the Observatory. The frst two Council meetings were held in the UK and the third was held in South Africa, allowing the Council to visit the SKA-Mid site hosted jointly by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) and South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO). It was wonderful to be shown the MeerKAT facility,

already making a massive research impact on the international scene; to be introduced to the growing teams in South Africa, from the SKAO itself to its collaboration partner SARAO; and to see the positive impact the SKA project is having on the local communities.

I would like to acknowledge the outstanding performance that the SKAO team and its partners have achieved so far; leafng through this report, we can see without a doubt the efort and commitment of hundreds of people who, infused with a collaborative spirit, work towards a common goal. I look forward to working with this community of talented professionals as we continue this great success story together.

Happy reading,

Dr Catherine Cesarsky, SKAO Council Chairperson

Director–General letter

It is with great pleasure that I present to you the SKAO 2022 Annual Report, highlighting yet another remarkable year of progress and achievements in our pursuit of delivering the SKAO.

In addition to continuing our impressive technical progress, with over half the contracts for construction in place, one area of particular focus in 2022 has been on continuing to establish and expand our organisation, particularly in our telescope host countries: Australia and South Africa. We are delighted to report major agreements reached in both host countries, formalising our partnerships with CSIRO and SARAO, and establishing the necessary frameworks for access to the telescope sites. In December, Construction Commencement Ceremonies

were held in Australia and South Africa to mark the start of on-site construction activities and celebrate the important impact our organisation will have, working in tandem with the local and Indigenous communities near the sites.

As I refect on the accomplishments of the past year, it is important to acknowledge the range of challenges we face as a major science infrastructure project, which will continue to shape our thinking and the work of our Council in 2023. The lingering efects of

the pandemic and the confict in Ukraine that began in 2022 have signifcantly impacted all our lives both directly and indirectly. For the SKAO, global infationary pressures have emerged as a pressing concern driven by disrupted supply chains and rising commodity prices. In turn, these factors, along with the consequences of heightened geopolitical tension, have resulted in elevated costs of goods and services, raised the risk of disrupted trade links and energy supplies, impacted purchasing power, and overall introduced economic uncertainties.

However, the SKAO remains resolute in its commitment to push ahead and has worked diligently alongside our member states and partners to mitigate the impacts of these global challenges. I recognise the

determination and dedication exhibited by the entire SKAO community, and I extend my heartfelt gratitude to every individual who has contributed to our ongoing success.

The SKAO’s unwavering commitment to fostering international collaboration in these uncertain and unstable times, pushing the boundaries of scientifc discovery, remains steadfast as we continue to advance towards the construction and operation of the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescopes. Together, we will pave the way for groundbreaking scientifc breakthroughs and unlock the mysteries of the Universe.

Thank you all for your continuing support as we navigate through these challenges and strive towards the realisation of the SKAO’s extraordinary vision.

Professor Philip Diamond, SKAO Director-General

OUR HIGHLIGHTS IN 2022

Switzerland joins SKAO as the eighth member

Australian SKAO interim Engineering Operations Centre (EOC) is established

SKAO signs a cooperation agreement with the Indian National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA)

SKAO’s frst scientifc community training

SKAO signs a cooperation agreement with the French National Centre for Scientifc Research (CNRS)

The third SKAO Science Data Challenge starts

Fifth meeting of the SKAO Council is held in the UK

SKAO Construction Commencement Ceremonies take place in South Africa and Australia

SKAO features prominently at the World Science Forum in Cape Town, South Africa

Launch of the SKAO recognition scheme for staf

Launch of the SKAO e-learning platform

South African interim SKAO Science Operations Centre (SOC) is established

Registration of a new Indigenous Land Use Agreement, signed by the Wajarri Yamaji, the Australian Government and CSIRO.

Seventh meeting of the SKAO Council is held in South Africa

Council approves Germany as a future member of the SKAO

SKAO attends the Big Science Business Forum

(BSBF) in Granada, Spain

Launch of the SKAO Values Guide

SKAO hosts workshop for the Chinese community

SKAO attends International Astronomical Union General Assembly in Busan, South Korea

Establishment of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Centre for the Protection of Dark and Quiet Skies from Satellite Constellation Interference (IAU CPS), co-hosted by the SKAO and the US National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab

SKAO attends the European Astronomical Society (EAS) meeting in Valencia, Spain

New SKAO website is launched Hosting of Public Awareness of Research Infrastructures (PARI) 2022 conference at the SKAO HQ Sixth meeting of the SKAO Council is held in the UK

Signature of accession agreement for France to join as an SKAO member

OUR NUMBERS

2 Cooperation agreements signed with partner institutions

410 Worldwide participants in SKAO science engagement initiatives

44 Staf members recruited by the SKAO

19 Partner staf members recruited in Australia, employed by CSIRO

41,182 Visitors to the SKAO website

12 Partner staf members recruited in South Africa, employed by SARAO

6,000 SKAO mentions in online articles worldwide

879 Attendees in the four Planning Increments (PI) hosted by SKAO Software and Computing Ecosystem

2,705

New technical and organisational documents registered in the confguration management tool

ESTABLISHING AND GROWING OUR ORGANISATION

Following the series of foundational steps in 2021, beginning with the establishment of the SKAO as an inter-governmental organisation and the start of global construction activities, 2022 recorded signifcant progress across all areas of the Observatory.

The Programme section describes the impressive progress of the construction programme towards the deployment of the SKA-Low and SKA-Mid telescopes. In other areas, 2022 has been memorable for the rapid development of the SKAO into a fully-functioning, multi-site organisation. The fnalisation and implementation of the Agreements on Bilateral Collaboration with partner organisations SARAO (South Africa) and CSIRO (Australia) are instrumental in putting in place a joined-up structure to support the construction and operation of the SKAO’s telescopes.

As described in detail in the Operations section, the in-country teams in the

telescope host countries have grown into signifcant functioning entities. Supporting the teams in both countries has been a considerable project to establish the physical infrastructure to accommodate these new growing teams and the systems, policies, and procedures to operate the SKAO. Establishing the legal frameworks to enable the SKAO’s Convention and Privileges and Immunities (P&Is) to work, and the organisation to conduct business in Australia and South Africa, has been highly complex, requiring signifcant intervention and interaction with government stakeholders in both host countries.

Following the Council’s approval of Switzerland’s membership in 2021, early 2022 saw the completion of the legal process with the deposit of the instrument of accession in January, making Switzerland the frst new state to join the founding members of the SKAO, less than a year after its establishment in 2021. A workshop to celebrate Switzerland’s membership was held at the World Economic Forum in Davos, featuring discussions on the broad benefts that the membership of a science organisation such as the SKAO can bring to a country.

February saw the signing of an agreement between the SKAO and the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) in India. NCRA has for years been an important technical partner in the development of the SKA project. With India continuing its deliberations on membership and ratifying the Convention, a Cooperation Arrangement was agreed by

the Council to permit an ongoing relationship between India (through the NCRA) and the SKAO. The arrangement allows participation in the SKAO’s activities and involvement of the Indian industry in allocated technical work packages.

March and April 2022 saw a major furry of activity around France in the SKAO. Firstly, an agreement between the SKAO and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifque (CNRS) was concluded, acting as an interim step while France’s full membership of the SKAO (with the announcement of intent already provided in 2021) was being formalised. This interim arrangement, along with others that have been developed during the year, took advantage of the Convention’s fexibility, allowing the SKAO to enter into cooperation agreements with diferent types of entities on terms decided by the Council.

Beginning this annual report with the expansion and development of the organisation, the SKAO started 2022 by formalising the membership of Switzerland.

“Switzerland joins the SKAO” event, hosted at the House of Switzerland in Davos during the World Economic Forum in May 2022.

The signing of the SKAO-CNRS agreement, which took place in Paris in March 2022, permitted the fow of funds from France into the SKAO to support construction and operations. In parallel, following negotiations on the terms of membership after the vote by the Council to admit France as a member

in May 2021, fnal preparations were made to sign the Accession Agreement and start the formal process of French membership. The signature took place in April 2022 at the French Embassy in London; the domestic approval process to fnalise the accession began immediately afterwards.

The SKA Observatory’s Director-General, Prof. Philip Diamond (left), and Prof. Antoine Petit (right), President of the CNRS, signed a cooperation agreement on behalf of the two organisations. Credit: SKAO

The SKAO’s Council was busy throughout 2022. At the October meeting in Cape Town, following the receipt of a request from the Ministry of Research and the conclusion of the agreement on the fnancial terms, the Council approved the membership of Germany in the SKAO. Work began to prepare an accession agreement which will likely be signed in 2023, with Germany’s membership becoming active shortly afterwards. An interim arrangement with the Max Planck Society to enable contributions and ongoing engagement was being fnalised towards the end of 2022.

An important element of developing the case for future membership is understanding the broader impacts of investment in a research infrastructure such as the SKAO. The Observatory has been engaged in a variety of international coordination eforts across scientifc infrastructure domains to develop a coherent, common set of impacts and benefts metrics, understanding and exploiting best practices globally. Eforts have been underway throughout 2022 to develop processes that will ensure the appropriate collation and then management of information, data, and case studies around the benefts accruing from the SKAO.

The SKAO continued to demonstrate its infuence internationally as an inter-

governmental organisation and its developing reputation as a trusted research organisation. Its status as an Observer at the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) drove attendance at the plenary meeting in June, the Scientifc and Technical Subcommittee, and the Legal Subcommittee, working to progress its agenda around Dark and Quiet Skies and the appropriate use of the space environment. The SKAO also participates in various meetings of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), working with member government delegations and technical specialists to ensure that the SKAO’s facilities can operate in the most pristine radio environments possible. In addition, the SKAO sits on the Steering Committee of the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development, a UNESCO initiative to raise awareness of the role of science to help address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A delegation led by the Director-General (DG) attended the International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly in Busan, South Korea in August 2022, taking the opportunity to convene high-level meetings with South Korean science ofcials to discuss the SKA project.

In October 2022, the SKAO, being one of the partner organisations, ensured a major presence at the Big Science Business Forum (BSBF) held in Granada, Spain. BSBF is a biennial conference for major research infrastructures and organisations which connects Big Science with the industries and businesses that provide services, technologies, and capabilities. The SKAO presented keynote presentations alongside the likes of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the European Space Agency (ESA), and other peer organisations. BSBF was an excellent opportunity to continue to support the rapid procurement actions of the SKAO, connecting the organisation with a range of industry players.

At the SKAO’s headquarters in the UK, the Observatory’s local visibility was enhanced with its hosting of the launch of the North West Space Cluster and hosting of the local government body Cheshire East Council for one of its full formal public meetings.

The SKAO’s connection with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has persisted for

many years, providing valuable assistance on technical and policy matters. This relationship was formalised in late 2022 with the parallel approval by both the SKAO’s and ESO’s Councils of a cooperation agreement covering a wide range of areas of interaction. Together with similar agreements with the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), and on data science topics with CERN, the ESO agreement shows the SKAO’s growing range of strategic partnerships. 2022 ended with the impressive Construction Commencement Ceremonies, described elsewhere in this report, which marked the start of on-site construction activities. In South Africa, the timing allowed a signifcant SKAO presence at the World Science Forum (WSF), which was held in Cape Town for the frst time. The SKAO Council Chair shared the plenary stage with South African President Rhamaphosa during the event, and numerous stakeholder events were organised to highlight the SKAO’s role and position on the global science stage.

SKAO Council Chairperson Dr Catherine Cesarsky giving a presentation at the “Switzerland joins the SKAO” event, hosted at the House of Switzerland in Davos during the World Economic Forum

OUR COMMITMENT TO BENEFITTING SOCIETY

Alongside its partners, a driving force behind the SKAO as a world-leading science instrument is its commitment to making a positive impact on both people’s everyday lives and the broader society.

This commitment was recognised at an early stage and resulted in the SKAO’s Convention stating the intention of ensuring and encouraging positive impact. Thanks to the SKAO’s global reach, this impact is already being felt across the SKAO’s partner countries in many areas: SKArelated training programmes and funding schemes; driving technological innovations and spin-of companies; inspiring younger

generations to become involved in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) felds; celebrating and protecting Indigenous cultures; and ensuring the benefts of this global endeavour are felt by the communities close to the SKA telescope sites through sustainable development and job opportunities.

Australia

In Western Australia, the SKAO is working with the Wajarri Yamaji, the Traditional Owners and native title holders of the site where the SKALow telescope will be built. An essential part of the preparations for SKA-Low construction was the negotiation of the Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA), which was signed by the Wajarri Yamaji, the Australian Government, and the national science agency CSIRO (SKAO’s collaboration partner in Australia) in 2022. This agreement ensures that the Wajarri Yamaji culture and heritage will be protected and

that the Wajarri Yamaji will receive substantial inter-generational benefts in areas such as enterprise, training, and education. In the fve years before the ILUA was signed, approximately 4,008 hectares of ground were surveyed in collaboration with the Wajarri Yamaji to ensure that signifcant sites and heritage areas are protected. Based on the survey results, the SKAO worked with the Wajarri Yamaji to avoid signifcant heritage sites, including making amendments to the telescope station layout.

Russell Simpson (left) and Valerie Jones (right) sign the Indigenous Land Use Agreement on behalf of the Wajarri Yamaji at a community meeting. Credit: Wajarri Yamaji Aboriginal Corporation (WYAC)

South Africa

Over the last 20 years, as part of the MeerKAT and SKA projects, SARAO, the SKAO’s collaboration partner in South Africa, has invested in initiatives to support local people and improve facilities. These initiatives included funding 1,400 student bursaries for technical training and graduate study programmes, providing teacher training in STEM and funding three full-time STEM educators at Carnarvon High School, supporting a community computing centre in Carnarvon, and running an annual innovation

challenge for young people living close to the SKA-Mid site. Some initiatives go beyond scientifc felds and address specifc societal needs. In this area, the SARAO has supported the construction of a soup kitchen that feeds 90% of the community in Swartkop, which primarily consists of San descendants, one of the Indigenous communities in the Karoo, and assisted in the set up of a livestock feeding station to help the farmers afected by a severe drought near the SKA-Mid site.

SARAO bursary recipients speaking at the SKA-Mid Construction Commencement Ceremony in December 2022. Credit: SARAO

THE UK

The SKAO is an active part of the local community around its headquarters near Manchester in the UK, from engaging with local authorities and businesses on issues such as sustainability to participating in public outreach through science festivals, community radio broadcasts, and school visits, and welcoming work experience students to garner experience with teams at the HQ.

As the only inter-governmental organisation in the northwest region of England, the SKAO is also a signifcant presence in the

North West Space Cluster and hosted its launch event in May 2022. The cluster is led by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), a long-time SKAO partner, and is designed to support the region’s businesses, create skills, generate jobs, and attract investment. The SKAO HQ also neighbours and regularly teams up with the historic Jodrell Bank Observatory and its Centre for Engagement, which has a long legacy of public engagement and welcomes thousands of visitors each year, including thousands of school children.

Aerial image of the Jodrell Bank site during the Bluedot festival.

Credit: Jodrell Bank/Bluedot

Across the partnership

Evidence of the impact realised across the entire SKAO partnership by investment in the observatory and the SKA project was extensively documented in the Impact section of the SKA Construction Proposal. Several of the initiatives and impact-related activities highlighted in that document have continued in 2022, growing even further the value proposition of the SKA endeavour to its member states and observers. In China for instance, “SKA Summer Schools” have been organised for several years to equip astrophysics university students with the needed skills in key areas such as data processing and imaging, preparing them to become highly skilled researchers in a competitive international research landscape. Over 700 students have been trained since 2013; many are now successful researchers in China and overseas.

In Italy, building on the previous work from universities and institutions across the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Malta, and China, the design and development of the antennas of the SKA-Low telescope enabled a small family-owned company to acquire new expertise and expand its reach into new markets within Europe. The company was subsequently awarded the contract for manufacturing the SKA-Low antennas,

which allowed it to increase the number of its employees by a quarter.

Several spin-of companies have emerged in the SKAO context based on the work radio astronomers, software engineers, and other experts have been involved in during the design phase of the SKA telescopes. These include Cambridge ElectroMagnetic Technology Ltd in the UK, Fourier Space Pty Ltd in Australia, and ATLAR in Portugal. These companies now recruit highly skilled individuals, play a role in training students, and often win contracts in other sectors, demonstrating how radio astronomy and related engineering skills permeate through other parts of society.

The SKAO and its international partners are also regularly organising or participating in public engagement initiatives to raise awareness of radio astronomy and enthuse and educate members of the public. Across the partnership, these initiatives attract tens of thousands of astronomy enthusiasts every year and contribute to the uptake of STEM careers by young generations. These are but a few examples of how the SKA project is fulflling the mission of beneftting society entrusted to it by its member states.

OUR STRUCTURE

The mission of the SKAO is clearly described in its founding Convention around a single concept: “....to facilitate and promote a global collaboration in radio astronomy with a view to the delivery of transformational science.”

This collaboration is undertaken in the frst instance through the construction of two radio telescope facilities. The SKAO delivers on its mission through structures which establish and maintain the link between the scientifc community and the SKA project, the delivery of construction, the establishment and growth of the SKAO’s teams in Australia, South Africa, and the UK, business enabling areas, and engineering management functions.

Collaboration is at the heart of the SKAO’s progress, exploiting our diversity and convening power to bring people together to develop and deliver innovative and entrepreneurial solutions on a global scale. This is only possible with the dedication and hard work of the SKAO’s global team, working around the world and with the organisation’s members, partners, the scientifc community, and other communities. Together, we all have a role to play in the construction of the largest science facility in the world.

Director General

Philip Diamond

Secretariat Colin Greenwood Legal

Theunis Kotze

Director General’s Ofce

Simon Berry

Communications, Outreach and Education

William Garnier

Strategy

Theresa Devaney

International Relations

Qiming Wang

Deputy DG and Programmes

Joseph McMullin

Human Resources

Fiona Davenport

SKA-Low Site Construction

Antony Schinckel

SKA-Mid Site Construction

Tracy Cheetham

System Science

Robert Laing

Computing and Software

Nick Rees

Engineering

Luca Stringhetti

Project Management

Andrea Casson

Operations

Lewis Ball Science

Robert Braun

SKA-Low Telescope

Sarah Pearce

SKA-Mid Telescope

Lindsay Magnus

Operations Antonio Chrysostomou

Finance

Caroline Whiteley

Procurement

Ian Hastings

Assurance and HSSE

Tim Stevenson

SCIENCE

The SKAO continued to engage closely with the global astronomy community in 2022 to prepare for the scientifc discovery opportunities that will fow from a functioning SKA Observatory in the years ahead.

SKA Science Working Groups (SWGs)

CRADLE OF LIFE COSMOLOGY

EPOCH OF REIONIZATION

EXTRAGALACTIC CONTINUUM

EXTRAGALACTIC SPECTRAL LINE

SOLAR, HELIOSPHERIC & IONOSPHERIC PHYSICS

TRANSIENTS

HIGH ENERGY COSMIC PARTICLES (FOCUS GROUP)

VLBI

The SKA Science Working Groups (SWGs) are scientifc bodies that provide input on issues related to design, construction, and future operations that are likely to afect the SKAO’s user relations, scientifc capability, and productivity. SWGs are one of the most important forums for engagement with the scientifc community. The 14 working groups count on the participation of 1,150 astronomers from all over the world and welcome contributions from graduate students, early career scientists, and active publishing researchers.

In 2022, the SKAO Science team led regular monthly SWG meetings with community partners. The subjects covered during the meetings provided important updates to the science community on the progress made by the SKAO, including new technologies being used in astronomy, regular updates from the SWGs and their events, construction progress, access to the Observatory, and updates on Science Data Challenges, prototyping activities, and from the Council and the Advisory Committee on Science and Engineering (SEAC).

The growth in membership of the SKAO Science Working Groups between 2014-2022. Credit: SKAO

SKAO hosts a workshop for the Chinese community

At the end of September, the SKAO hosted a two-day workshop to provide potential and active Chinese scientists with information on the expected science programme and operational model of the SKA telescopes. Over 150 participants participated in the workshop, a strong indication of the interest in the SKA telescopes by the Chinese community. Presentations from members of the Science, Operations, and System Science teams covered a range of topics dealing with how scientists will interact with the SKA project, ranging from the SKA science model, plans for commissioning and verifcation, and access to SKA data products. All the presentations were well received with a lot of engagement with the scientists in attendance.

Science Data Challenges

During 2022, the Science team continued its eforts to provide the science community with regular SKAO Science Data Challenges (SDCs). These are designed to help the science community prepare for the unique size and complexity of SKAO data products. By inviting participants to solve a specifc problem, each challenge aims to drive the development of new analysis methods that will maximise scientifc discovery using future SKAO data. The simulated data products produced for each challenge remain publicly available to support the planning of future SKA observations and the development of analysis methods. Additionally, the delivery of these challenges allows us to test the strategies, technologies, and prototype software being developed in the context of the SKA Science

Regional Centre (SRC) network. To facilitate the challenge, several computational facility partners, some of which are proto-SRC facilities, ofer computational resources to the participating teams. The interaction between the centres and the teams ofers a direct insight into the computational and software needs of the community for the SKAO data analysis addressed by the challenge. These needs are then fed into the requirements for the SRC software pipelines. The need to transfer the simulated data across the diferent facilities provides an opportunity to stress-test the data transfer protocols that are being developed for the SRC network. Close interaction with the SRC software development team allows better integration of the SRC prototype solutions going forward.

The SDC2 challenge’s 3D data cube is a series of stacked radio images, each refecting a different frequency. It shows galaxies across a distance of 4 billion light years. Credit: SKAO

Slices of a SDC3 data cube showing the simulated EoR signal (left) and the foreground emission which is obscuring it (right: orange dots are galaxies, and the ribbon-like shape is diffuse gas in our galaxy). While the features of each image appear equally bright here, in the data cube the background is millions of times fainter than the foreground. Credit: Dr Philippa Hartley (SKAO)

The Science Data Challenge 2, which ran from February to July 2021 and invited participants to fnd and characterise galaxies in a 1 TB simulation of a deep SKA-Mid spectral line survey of neutral hydrogen, was consolidated in 2022 into a scientifc article which will be published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Over 100 co-authors, representing 50 worldwide institutions, contributed to the article, which describes the simulated data product, the analysis methods of 12 participating teams, and the fndings of the challenge. The simulation software used

to produce the challenge data product has also been prepared as a publicly available pipeline to support the science community in producing custom simulations of the sky as observed by SKA-Mid.

In the meantime, the team developed the Science Data Challenge 3 (SDC3) in collaboration with the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) Science Working Group. This will be the frst Science Data Challenge to explore the capabilities of SKA-Low to unveil the earliest history of the Universe.

Science community training

At the beginning of 2022, the SKAO held the frst training event on containerisation, which is a means to deploy data reduction pipelines at the SRCs. The event had 260 registrations from around the world and included lectures and hands-on practical sessions delivered by experts in this feld. The event was organised

by members of the Science team who are involved in the SKA Regional Centre Steering Committee (SRCSC) ‘user engagement’ working group. It was the frst of a series of training events to prepare the scientifc community to make optimal use of SRC resources to access and analyse SKA data.

Precursor and Pathfnder science highlights

In the past 15 years, several groundbreaking radio astronomy facilities have been established globally across the SKAO partnership. These facilities, known as SKA pathfnder and precursor telescopes, are part of a global efort to design and build evermore sensitive instruments to provide further insights into the radio sky and grow new scientifc and technical communities.

These telescopes are allowing astronomers to improve existing techniques and explore new phenomena that will be relevant for SKA, as exemplifed by the exciting discoveries they have already enabled.

These telescopes allow engineers to develop innovative technical solutions and play 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 and contribute to building a more knowledgeable society. The knowledge and experience gained by operating the precursor and pathfnder telescopes provide input to SKAO construction and operations and will be at the heart of the productive use of the SKA telescopes in the years to come.

2022 saw many scientific highlights coming from these facilities, including:

● The exceptional imaging of the central portions of our galaxy using MeerKAT;

● The detection and localisation by the Australian SKA Pathfnder (ASKAP) of the highest red-shift Fast Radio Burst (FRB) yet witnessed;

● The discovery of a brand-new kind of object with an ultra-powerful magnetic feld by the Murchison Widefeld Array (MWA);

● The discovery of steep spectrum ‘mega-halos’ in four galaxy clusters extending over several megaparsecs by the LOFAR telescope;

● The discovery of 16 massive neutral hydrogen clouds without obvious stellar counterparts by the Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST);

● The greatly improved characterisation of the average neutral hydrogen content of galaxies at red-shift 1 using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT).

The new MeerKAT image of the Galactic centre region is shown with the Galactic plane running horizontally across the image. Many new and previously-known radio features are evident, including supernova remnants, compact star-forming regions, and the large population of mysterious radio flaments. The broad feature running vertically through the image is the inner part of the (previously discovered) radio bubbles, spanning 1400 light-years across the centre of the Galaxy. Colours indicate bright radio emission, while fainter emission is shown in greyscale. Credit: I. Heywood, SARAO.

PROGRAMMES

2022 saw the enormous progress that began with the approval of construction activities in 2021 continue at pace in the SKAO Programmes team.

The themes of the year were based on several cornerstones:

● Engineering and contract management of the ongoing construction programme service and supply contracts while fnalising and issuing the remaining contracts in a challenging global fnancial environment;

● Residual engineering design analysis and qualifcation through prototyping (for example, SKA-Low Aperture Array Verifcation System 3 (AAVS3), SKA-Mid Dish Structure, SKA-Low PaSD, and SKA-Mid Band 5 SPF) and developing integration and verifcation platforms (for example, Integration Test Facilities for both SKA-Mid and SKA-Low);

● Conclusion of the remaining site access requirements, working in support of the Observatory and the host countries, to enable the start of the critical major infrastructure contracts for both Australia and South Africa, and the ofcial start of on-site construction.

With 18 months of activity since the start of construction activities in July 2021, the end of 2022 saw 46 contracts awarded for a total commitment of approximately €470M. These contracts range across many of the critical areas of the SKAO’s delivery of the AA* deployments of SKA-Mid and SKA-Low by 2028.

Of particular note is the work involving the SKAO to award contracts for the major infrastructure works in each country. These hugely complex procurement actions were fnally announced in December 2022 and totalled over €300M.

These contracts include provisions for local participation from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) near the two sites and are now in place together with the required regulatory approvals, allowing the SKAO to start its on-site construction in earnest. The contracts address the construction of roads, foundations, and other critical elements to enable the delivery of the telescopes.

The other areas of signifcant contracting efort are the services and technical subsystems required to complete facility systems. The focus has been on the long lead items needed for the frst key construction milestone AA0.5, which consists of six SKA-Low stations and four SKA-Mid dishes

deployed within the architecture of SKALow and SKA-Mid. The items include signals processing, synchronisation and timing, correlation and beam-forming, and science data processing.

The highly successful initial stages of software and telescope control system development have continued in 2022 with four major Planning Increment (PI) meetings, bringing together all players across the project to support delivery through agile team working. Regular demonstrations of the software outputs show the progress being made. More than 200 people across the globe are engaged in the SKA’s software development activities.

SKA-Low site

The SKAO secured the right to use its two parcels of land (around 15,400 hectares) for SKA-Low through site licences executed with the SKAO’s partner organisation CSIRO in December 2022. This followed the completion of the negotiation and registration of the ILUA by the Australian Government and CSIRO with the Wajarri Yamaji in November 2022. The

SKAO obtained the required access to the site through a new lease between government of Western Australia (WA) and CSIRO. The lease states that radio astronomy has primacy on the entire CSIRO observatory site, and CSIRO provides the SKA project with a licence and a suite of interlinked documents.

Respecting Wajarri Yamaji heritage in the SKAO’s activities on site is a key priority for the Observatory. For example, before disturbing any land with a heritage classifcation, approval must be obtained using a process specifed under WA cultural heritage legislation. The state is currently transitioning from the Aboriginal Heritage Act (WA 1972) to the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act (WA 2021). The proponent (CSIRO, on behalf of the SKAO) and the Native Title Owners (the Wajarri Yamaji) jointly proposed how some aspects of Wajarri heritage may be afected by the telescope’s construction, a path forward that will meet the obligations of both pieces

of legislation, and what mitigations will be put in place. The Wajarri Yamaji nominated an area of cultural heritage to be protected; consequently, sections of the SKA-Low telescope were relocated. However, other cultural heritage areas will be disturbed. A process was agreed with the Wajarri Yamaji to minimise the impact on these areas. With this heritage survey completed, the formal start of site construction was anticipated for Q1 2023, beginning with initial surveying and geotechnical activities as well as the agreed heritage mitigation actions under the Section 18 approvals before commencing infrastructure site works in Q2 2023.

Prototype SKA-Low antennas on site in Australia. Credit: SKAO

SKA-Mid site

For the initial SKA-Mid site access, the land and construction licences required from the National Research Foundation (NRF) were obtained for the start of construction. This NRF land hosts 90% of the Mid telescope.

Land servitudes are required for the remaining land access. By the end of 2022, for the three spiral arms, 28 of the 73 servitudes were secured and discussions continue with the remaining afected landowners.

An SKA-Mid antenna foundation under construction. Credit: Hendrik Hurter/SKAO

Programmatic performance

The delays to land access for both telescope sites, combined with the impact of global macroeconomic challenges and increases in raw material, labour, and component costs, have resulted in the programme showing some slippage to the overall schedule. In turn, this impacted the availability of schedule contingency.

Concerning budget performance, most contracts awarded in 2022 have been consistent with expectations in the project

cost book; however, a subset was severely impacted by the global economic situation with signifcantly increased costs over the budgeted level. Signifcant project contingency funds have been spent to manage these Observatory-level risks, which are defned as issues external to the project but still impacting its execution, such as delays in deliverables caused by global issues. At the end of 2022, the Council and the members continue to work together to mitigate the remaining project budget risk.

An SKA-Mid antenna foundation under construction. Credit: Hendrik Hurter/SKAO

Start of on-site construction: Construction Commencement Ceremonies

In the history of the SKA project, Monday 5 December 2022 will remain a momentous day: the global celebration of the start of on-site construction of the telescopes. The Construction Commencement Ceremonies (C3) consisted of fve events: two aimed at local stakeholders, government ofcials, and members of the media at the two SKA telescope sites; two events respectively in Cape Town, South Africa, and Perth, Australia, for the SKAO member representatives and national stakeholders; and one event at the SKAO HQ for SKAO staf. Other events were also organised with SARAO and CSIRO to cement the SKAO’s relationship with the partner institutions in the telescope host countries and celebrate people who have been involved over many years in getting the project to this exciting point.

The C3 events required months of preparation with multiple stakeholders in the telescope host countries. They were highly successful, featuring national, regional, and local political fgures.

They were also a great demonstration of the strong connection between the international Observatory and the local communities, which played a key role in the on-site ceremonies and highlighted the past and future benefts of hosting a world-class science project in their immediate locality. In Australia, the SKAO was honoured to have the Wajarri Yamaji give a Welcome to Country and perform a cultural heritage dance; in South Africa, the event featured a traditional celebratory ‘Riel Daans,’ a dance from local Indigenous inhabitants of the Karoo region. The events drove impressive media coverage, in telescope host countries, and beyond, with an overall very positive sentiment.

The SKAO Communications team created a dedicated Construction page on the SKAO website, a one-stop shop summarising all construction progress and milestones, and a global construction video featuring the construction activities that took place across the SKAO partnership since the ofcial launch of construction in July 2021.

A collage of photos of the C3 events. Credit: SKAO

OPERATIONS

The rapid recruitment of staf in Australia, South Africa and, to a lesser extent, the UK continued throughout 2022 and was a key element of the establishment of the SKAO as an operating entity across multiple locations.

Key agreements that underpin SKAO activities were fnalised, concluding complex negotiations that in some cases had extended over multiple years. Most signifcant were the Agreements on Bilateral Collaboration (ABCs) between the SKAO and both CSIRO and SARAO, which underpin the long-term arrangements for the delivery of the SKA project in Australia and South Africa, respectively. The ABCs describe the relationship between the SKAO and its partner institutions in the telescope host countries and were written to encompass the 50-year lifespan of the Observatory. The ABCs formalise how CSIRO and SARAO employ most of the staf who will deliver SKA-Low and SKA-Mid in the host countries,

working alongside smaller complements of SKAO employees under each SKA Telescope Director. A key element of the ABCs is that aside from specifc circumstances, the work done for the SKA project will follow SKAO rules and use SKAO-supplied equipment, software, and systems. The ABCs are complex and wide-ranging; their completion marks a major milestone in the establishment of the Observatory.

2022 also saw the adoption of the cobranding guidelines that were agreed between the SKAO and both CSIRO and SARAO for use by collaboration staf. These guidelines focus on ensuring the clear identifcation of personnel, resources, and locations associated with the collaboration.

The telescope Host Country Monitoring Committees, which play a key role in monitoring and reporting to the Council on the implementation of the Host Country Agreements, were established in 2022. The Terms of Reference were drafted and the status of delivery on commitments by the host country governments and the SKAO was reviewed. The agreements were essential to enable the start of on-site

construction activities. The site licence for SKALow, between SKAO and CSIRO, required the conclusion of a chain of negotiations including the Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) between the Australian Government, the Western Australian Government, CSIRO, together with the Wajarri Yamaji, who are the Traditional Owners and native title holders of the land on which SKALow will be built.

The Wajarri Yamaji held an ILUA signing celebration on 5 November 2022, during which they gifted a name for the observatory site - Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, which is where the SKA-Low telescope will be built. Inyarrimanha ilgari bundara means ‘sharing the sky and stars’. Credit: CSIRO

Power

The procurement of power continued in Australia and South Africa, with reference designs and infrastructure requirements for the SKA-Low and SKA-Mid telescopes completed with input from engineering design consultants and electromagnetic compliance (EMC) experts in each country. These are a key part of the SKAO’s risk mitigation strategy to manage radio frequency interference (RFI) and limit the overall cost of the power supply contracts that the SKAO intends to enter with independent power producers.

For SKA-Low, a decision was made to power the full array of outer stations from a central power station rather than several remote

facilities. For SKA-Mid, experiments were carried out to fnalise the reference design on the remote power station (RPS). Cost savings were achieved from the removal of over 800 electromagnetic interference (EMI) flters at a value of €2m and the ability to use welded rather than shielded containers to house SKAMid’s remote power stations, thereby allowing work to be performed by general industrial contractors.

Throughout the year, the continued challenge of load shedding from the electricity grid in South Africa further validated the SKAO’s approach of sourcing power generated from renewable sources independent of the grid.

Casey Bryant from MESA Solutions uses an antenna to record emissions from buried cables - part of the teams unique solution to use soil attenuation to absorb Electromagnetic Interference (EMI). Credit: Prof. Howard Reader/ MESA Solutions

Data operations

In June 2022 a new software development collaboration was launched, bringing together eforts from across the SKA community to build prototype systems for the SKA Regional Centre Network (SRCNet). The SKAO’s focus

during this initial prototyping phase was to deploy test-bed systems to test the SRCNet architecture and explore how well existing options met the requirements of the SRCs.

In 2022 work focused on a few key areas:

● Building a global data management test bed – this now has sites across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia;

● Deploying an identity and access management service and integrating it with other prototypes and sites;

● Exploring science platform options and architectures, particularly in setting the vision for what an SRC science platform needs to provide to users;

● Deploying and assessing visualisation tools and moving towards supporting the visualisation of data collections spread over multiple sites;

● Building expertise in the hardware and infrastructure middleware options that might be suitable at individual SRCNet sites;

● Developing scientifc use cases to help understand what users need to be able to do on SRCs;

● Further developing an understanding of how to work collaboratively to deliver the SRCNet, including forming an active community that shares plans, agreeing on priorities, and demonstrating results.

A zoom screenshot of the team members who took part in the frst quarterly planning event for the SRC network, in June 2022.

Engineering Performance

The Engineering Operations team continued setting up the Operation Monitoring Room at the SKAO HQ in the UK. The room will eventually provide Operations scientists and engineers with key information about the status and performance of the SKA-Low and SKA-Mid telescopes, as well as the local

RFI and weather conditions, refecting the dashboards used by the Operations teams at the local operations centres in Perth and Cape Town. Moreover, it will serve as a space to evaluate operational challenges and seek opportunities for improvement and demonstrations.

Science operations

The establishment of the Science Operations team became a strong focus in 2022, transforming it from a team at the SKAO HQ

to a distributed team consisting of three staf at the HQ and two at SKA-Low.

T his expansion allowed the continued refining and elaboration of operational plans, such as:

● Supporting software development across areas, including user-facing tools such as sensitivity calculators. An important milestone in 2022 was the limited release of the Mid sensitivity calculator for community testing;

● Developing high-level plans for the increased provision of information to the astronomical community. More talks were given at meetings, conferences, colloquia, and dedicated training events;

● Understanding our aspirations for creating an accessible environment and suite of tools for staf and users;

● Writing science guides for both the Mid and Low correlator beamformers (CBFs);

● Developing a comprehensive set of SRCNet use cases to inform the prototyping work on the SRC Agile Release Train (ART).

Director of Operations Dr Lewis Ball shows the Operations Monitoring Centre at the SKAO HQ. Credit: SKAO

Observatory establishment in Australia

It was an eventful year for the SKAO team in Australia, which saw a rapid expansion of SKA-Low staf (collab staf) and the establishment of sites in Perth and Geraldton.

A key priority in 2022 was delivering the legal basis of the Observatory in Australia. This included establishing the ABC between the SKAO and CSIRO, which is Australia’s national science agency and our partner in the operations and construction of the SKA-Low telescope.

In November 2022, the ILUA between the Wajarri Yamaji, Australian Government, and CSIRO was signed. Registration with the Western Australian Government was completed in November 2022. The ILUA grants permission for the SKA-Low telescope to proceed on Wajarri Country and provides inter-generational benefts to the Traditional Owners over the 50 years of the agreement.

A critical element of the ILUA is ensuring culture and heritage protection and land management of the site, as well as building genuine partnerships with the Wajarri Yamaji through contract, education, and training opportunities.

As part of the ILUA, the Wajarri Yamaji generously gifted a new name to the observatory site - Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory.

The SKAO is the frst inter-governmental organisation with a large body of staf in Australia. The SKAO is working closely with the Australian Government to establish

The SKA-Low team in Australia. Credit: SKAO

the Observatory’s presence in Australia in the long term, negotiating policies for visas, taxes, how it works with regulators, and developing a detailed understanding of how the Observatory’s Privileges and Immunities interact with Australian law.

The correlator and supercomputer for SKA-Low will be hosted at the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre in Perth. In 2022, the SKAO

team in Perth started to work closely with Pawsey in preparation for on-site telescope construction. This included signing a letter of agreement enabling the two organisations to collaborate on a verifcation system (AAVS3) to transport and process the frst SKA data at Pawsey. A more comprehensive agreement to cover the next ten years will be negotiated in 2023.

Image of the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre in Perth, Australia. Credit: Pawsey/CSIRO

Stafng

The main achievement in 2022 was the rapid growth of the SKA-Low team in Australia. Starting with fve members of staf at the beginning of the year, 28 more were recruited by December. The SKA-Low team now comprises 22 staf members employed by the CSIRO, 10 by the SKAO, and one secondee.

Across the year, the SKA-Low team in Australia completed recruitment of the team’s senior leadership positions, including the Heads of Science Operations, Software and Computing, and Engineering Operations. This resulted in a gender-balanced leadership team for the SKA project in Australia. More staf was also recruited to support Observatory operations, including in fnance, procurement, human resources, legal, IT, HSE, and administration.

Visitors

2022 saw the re-opening of WA’s borders with both the rest of Australia and the world. Although the SKAO’s early staf had been able to get permission to quarantine and then enter the state, the opening of the borders allowed easier entry for both new staf and other SKAO members. Staf from the SKAO HQ and SKA-Mid visited the SKA-Low telescope site as well as the Perth and Geraldton ofces. It was extremely benefcial for the teams to be able to meet in person after several years of remote working.

With the establishment of the SKAO’s facilities in Australia, the SKAO was also able to host events and VIP visits.

SKAO Director-General Prof. Phil Diamond visiting the SKA-Low team in Perth, Australia. Credit: SKAO

Facilities

In January 2022, the SKA-Low team moved into its interim Science Operations Centre (iSOC) in Perth, Western Australia. The centre is located in the same building as some of the CSIRO staf working on the SKA project and associated precursor telescopes and next to the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre. This is the base for the Telescope Director, Deputy Director, and several enabling teams: Science Operations, Software and Computing, and Business. The Science Operations Centre was formally opened on 28 September 2022 with a reception for local stakeholders and currently has enough space for 35 people, which will be sufcient until mid-2023. CSIRO is planning the SKAO’s permanent Science Operations Centre, which will include an extension to the current building. A feasibility

study was concluded in 2022 and confrmed this as the preferred way forward.

In March 2022, the interim Engineering Operations Centre (iEOC) was established in Geraldton. This temporary facility is being rented commercially and will be used for several years while the permanent EOC is built by the Australian Government. The iEOC is the base for SKA-Low engineering operations, site management, RFI, and integration and testing facility teams. In 2022, the SKA-Low team procured a feet of seven SKAO-branded 4WD vehicles to support the work on site. Work to establish the Integration and Testing Facility in the iEOC workshop has also begun and will continue into 2023.

The interim Science Operations Centre in Perth, Australia located in the CSIRO ARRC hub. Credit: SKAO/CSIRO

Observatory establishment in South Africa

SKAO activities in South Africa were similarly signifcant with a substantial ramp-up in personnel and establishment of a presence in both Cape Town and at both Klerefontein and the SKA-Mid telescope site which are served from the town on Carnarvon in the Karoo.

The SKAO’s activities in South Africa are underpinned by the Agreement on Bilateral Collaboration (ABC) between the SKAO and SARAO, which is a National Facility managed by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the SKAO’s partner in the operations and construction of the SKA-Mid telescope. The ABC with SARAO/NRF was negotiated alongside the agreement with CSIRO: the two agreements are for the most part identical, difering only where needed. The ABC with SARAO was fnalised in late 2022.

The SKAO also negotiated and signed licences with SARAO to access NRF-owned land and facilities during the SKA-Mid construction phase up to the point where the MeerKAT telescope is handed over to the SKAO for integration into SKA-Mid. Before that milestone, the arrangements are based on shared use of facilities since MeerKAT will continue operation under SARAO’s management. Agreements for exclusive access following the MeerKAT handover will be negotiated later.

The SKA-Mid team in South Africa. Credit: SKAO

The SKAO is working closely with the South African Government to establish its presence in South Africa as an inter-governmental organisation, negotiating issues related to visas, taxes, interactions with regulators, and developing a mutual understanding of the interaction of the Observatory’s Privileges and Immunities with South African law.

The SKAO’s permanent Science Operations Centre (SOC) and the Science Processing Centre (SPC) will be located, together with

Facilities

In November 2022, the Observatory took possession of its interim Science Operations Centre (iSOC) in the same ofce park as the SARAO ofces. The year began with the temporary share of ofce space with SARAO and a delay in the ft-out of the iSOC required the SKAO team to temporarily take up space in an adjacent building. The second phase of the iSOC is due for occupation in early 2023 and should provide sufcient ofce space for the next few years. The iSOC also hosts the Integration and Test Facility (ITF), which will play an integral part in the test and

the new headquarters for SARAO, on NRFowned land in the Cape Town area near Somerset West, which also hosts the iThemba LABS National Facility. The development of the requirements for these facilities, the delivery of the SOC and SPC, and the related interactions between the SKAO, SARAO, and iThemba LABS were a major focus in 2022. The SKAO and SARAO agreed to pursue a modular approach to the building of the SPC, a method that is increasingly common for data centre construction.

preparation of SKA-Mid systems before their deployment to the Karoo.

RFI remains one of the biggest challenges during construction. To address this, an unused farmhouse near the core of SKA-Mid has been refurbished to allow daily pen-andpaper-only planning meetings at the start of each day. The facility was ofcially opened by the Director-General during the Council’s visit to the site. Highlighting the importance of these meetings, the facility has been named the Big Bang Ofce.

The interim Science Operations Centre in Cape Town, South Africa. Credit: SKAO

Stafng

The staf complement for the SKAMid telescope increased from nine to 27 members in 2022. Moreover, we completed the selection process for the Heads of Engineering Operations, Science Operations, and Computing and Software, who will all start in early 2023.

Visitors

The COVID-19 risk profle in South Africa improved signifcantly in 2022. This allowed a gradual winding back of working from home and an increase in travel between SKAO locations. Visits to and from the SKAO HQ had a huge positive impact on the establishment of the Observatory and the development of the global team necessary to deliver the SKA project. The attractiveness of the SKAO’s ofce space at the iSOC resulted in almost 50% occupancy by the end of the year, comprising a combination of local staf and visitors from the HQ.

Partly because of COVID-related travel restrictions, the Site Management team that leads activities in the Karoo worked primarily from the Cape Town ofce, with trips to the site as needed.

The October SKAO Council meeting was held in Cape Town. This aforded the opportunity to take Council members to the Karoo for a frst-hand overview of the site. Council member representatives were shown the town of Carnarvon, the location of the future Engineering Operations Centre, the construction camp for use by contractors during the construction phase, and the frst SKAMid antenna foundations that were constructed as part of the MeerKAT Extension Project. The representatives also inspected the Max Planck Society (MPG) SKA prototype dish that was constructed as part of the dish consortium’s design process. Tests and measurements on this system have proved valuable in fne-tuning the SKAMid dish design.

SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT AND RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE

Spectrum management

2022 saw the SKAO play a signifcant role as a Permanent Observer in UNCOPUOS, its Scientifc and Technical Subcommittee, and its Legal Subcommittee. The SKAO worked to increase its visibility as a participating organisation in the plenary meetings and coordinated with peer astronomy organisations and its member national delegations to speak to the Committee and, working with others, support strategically important lines relevant to radio astronomy

aligned with the SKAO’s Spectrum Management strategy.

In early 2022, following calls from the International Astronomical Union to address the threats to astronomy presented by lowearth orbit satellite constellations, the SKAO and the US National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab led the creation of the Centre for the Protection of Dark and Quiet Sky from satellite constellation interference (CPS).

The SKAO’s participation in the CPS is fully in line with the Spectrum Management strategy and involves providing the CPS with a CoDirector and Co-lead of their Industry and Technology Hub. These positions are flled by the SKAO’s Spectrum Manager and Director of Assurance, respectively.

The achievements of the CPS in the domain of radio astronomy centre around the creation of a community of observatories providing

coordinated and calibrated observations of constellations and building cooperative relations with industry regarding the reduction or elimination of radio emissions. Participation in global and regional spectrum management (SM) bodies and processes continued at a signifcant pace in 2022 and included preparatory work which will continue into 2023 to support the World Radio Conference in late 2023.

Radio frequency interference management

The management of RFI, meaning interference under the SKAO’s and the host country’s regulator and Site Entity’s control, moved from the writing of requirements and plans to the development of facilities capable of the extremely demanding tests required for the SKA project. Facilities are expected to operate in South Africa, Australia, and Sweden during 2023 as a result of this work.

SKAO Spectrum Manager Federico Di Vruno representing the SKAO at the Scientifc and Technical Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Credit: SKAO

HUMAN RESOURCES

People are at the core of the SKAO’s operating strategy and the Observatory’s greatest asset. Building the best teams is the SKAO’s top priority to deliver the Observatory’s mission and as such, attracting, retaining, and developing global talent is essential.

Following the establishment of the SKA Observatory in 2021, the focus for 2022 has been on embedding staf regulations, continuing to establish the local ofces in Australia and South Africa, and further

developing and implementing the people practices required to deliver the SKAO’s Employee Value Proposition (EVP) as detailed in the fgure on the next page.

All-hands staff photo for the team at the SKAO global HQ at Jodrell Bank, UK. Credit: SKAO

EMPLOYEE VALUE PROPOSITION (EVP)

People are at the core of the SKAO’s operating strategy and the Observatory’s greatest asset. Building the best teams is the SKAO’s top priority to deliver the Observatory’s mission and as such, attracting, retaining, and developing global talents is essential.

A culture that values Diversity and Inclusion, Creativity and Innovation, Excellence, Collaboration and Sustainability

Being an appealing and attractive employer for diverse, international talent

Supporting employability by providing exciting and challenging work within a world class international project

Joining us

Performance and capability

Enabling employees to reach their potential

Leaving us

Enabling fexible working patterns that support diversity and enable a work life balance

Working patterns and time away from work

Culture and ways of workings

Rewards and benefts

Dealing with issues at work

Employees need catered for through competitive reward and benefts

Providing an environment, where staf are valued and respected at all levels

As part of the EVP, the SKAO aims to be a great place to work where everyone contributes to the delivery of the project whilst developing personally and professionally within a vibrant, diverse environment and with access to global thought leaders from across the organisation and the broader professional, scientifc, and technical communities.

Throughout 2022, the SKAO kept growing with recruitment continuing at pace across all locations.This included the recruitment of both SKAO-employed staf and collaboration staf, the latter being employed by the SKAO’s partners CSIRO and SARAO, with both the SKAO and collaboration staf working as one team to deliver the SKA project.

Key areas of focus for 2022 have included:

● Attraction and recruitment

● Launch of the SKAO Career Framework

● Implementation of a new pay structure

● Launch of the SKAO Values Guide.

Attraction and recruitment: being an appealing and attractive employer for diverse international talent

New recruits in 2022

Contract Type United Kingdom South Africa Australia Total SKAO Fixed Term 7 - - 7 SKAO Indefnite 26 5 6 37 CSIRO Partner Staf - - 19 19 SARAO Partner Staf - 12 - 12 Totals 33 17 25 75

values. Through our attraction and recruitment methodologies, there continues to be a focus on attracting diverse candidates. The gender diversity of the applicants is detailed below.

Gender diversity of applicants for SKAO roles in 2022

Annual Report 2022 58

The recruits in 2022 bring the total project headcount at the end of the year to 214, including partner-employed staf, contingent resources, and secondees.

as at 31st December 2022

2022 had 20 leavers, providing a turnover rate of 12% based on the average headcount across the year. The length of service of staf employed by the SKAO is shown in the fgure below.

SKAO Employed Staff by Length of Service as at 31st December 2022

SKAO Learning

The SKAO also launched a new learning platform in late 2022. SKAO Learning is an e-learning portal that will provide all staf with access to a mix of mandated and optional learning resources designed to contribute to our blended learning strategy.

This supports our commitment to professional development as underpinned by the Career Framework and provides a platform for the future delivery of essential learning for staf across all geographies and time zones.

Launch of the SKAO Career Framework

Facilitating staf performance and development and establishing practices to enable employees to fourish

The launch of the Career Framework for SKAO employed staf in 2022 provides one of the underpinning tools necessary to help achieve this aim. The Career Framework defnes four job families, provides descriptors of the career levels within these job families, and includes a career map showing where SKAO roles are positioned by level within the framework. This provides the tools necessary for employees to have meaningful performance conversations and development plans, supporting capability

growth and career development goals. All our career levels are underpinned by Korn Ferry Hay job sizing and are aligned to our pay structure. This approach allows SKAO to ensure staf are paid at a level commensurate with their job size, irrespective of their gender or other protected characteristics. On implementation, analysis showed no gender pay diference within Career Levels. The gender profle of staf by career level and job size is shown below.

women to men across SKAO

Implementation of a new pay structure

The SKAO is determined to provide competitive rewards and benefts that meet the needs of the Observatory staf.

In 2022, the SKAO launched a new pay structure covering the UK, Australia, and South Africa which refects the career levels detailed in the Career Framework. In line

with our pay policy, the pay structure in each location is established based on the job size and local market pay data. For SKA employed staf, the diference across all mens pay compared to all women’s pay across all roles in the observatory is detailed below.

The SKAO ofers competitive benefts packages, enabling the Observatory to attract and retain the talent it needs. All staf can access an appropriate retirement plan

based on location and employment type. The breakdown of SKAO-employed staf by retirement plan type is shown below.

The breakdown of staff by retirement plan type

Launch of our Guide to the SKAO Values

Embedding our culture and values

Building on the culture and values work conducted in 2021 during the establishment of the SKAO, 2022 saw the launch of the SKAO Values Guide. This guide aims to bring the SKAO’s values to life, including behaviours and ways of working and sharing best practices.

SKAO Recognition Toolkit

The Recognition Toolkit was launched with a range of recognition resources that allow our staf to recognise the work of our talented

SKAO Awards

Recognition at the SKAO is all about valuing the hard work and accomplishments of its individuals and teams. It is an ongoing refection of the excellent work being carried out across the Observatory every single day; reinforcing a sentiment of collective

The SKAO has set out to create an environment built on excellence, creativity, and innovation where people thrive, are valued and respected at all levels, and can perform at their best through collaboration, benefting from a diversity of ideas and a sustainable approach.

colleagues, celebrate success, and share good practices across the Observatory.

progress and boosting everyone’s desire to keep performing, guided by the values of our Observatory. In 2022 we celebrated success and recognised colleagues, partners, and members of the community who have received prestigious grants, awards, and honours.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION (EDI)

The SKAO is committed to being an equal opportunities employer and to the principles of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). The SKAO aims to create an inclusive environment that values all, is free from bias, and enables the Observatory to attract, retain, and develop a diverse workforce, beneftting from the talents and diferent perspectives of all. The SKAO has the ambitious EDI objective of becoming an exemplary employer in science, building on the SKAO’s values and being an employer of choice for women in STEM.

EDI taskforce

The SKAO EDI Working Group (EDIWG) was established in 2020 with representatives of diferent departments, executive leadership, and HR to create and implement solutions to drive systemic change within the workplace and our communities. Building on the recommendations made by the EDIWG, a task force developed an EDI implementation plan, released in December 2022, identifying three overarching ambitions:

● Gender balance;

● Diversity that refects the member countries

● Equity of access to SKA activities, including science.

These ambitions refect a particular focus on the following areas:

● Recruitment - to focus on diversity and equity through recruitment;

● Systems - to embed equity and inclusion into the SKAO’s tools, systems, and culture as the Observatory grows;

● Communication - to continually communicate the SKAO’s commitment to the principles of EDI, including measuring and reporting on outcomes and using metrics and KPIs to drive improvement.

Each of the nine specifc actions identifed sits under the responsibility of Executive Leadership team members for implementation within 12 months.

The EDIWG task force also produced and released the Code of Conduct for Meetings and Events organised by the SKAO, as well as the Guidelines for External Facilitators and Trainers to ensure third-party providers working with the Observatory adhere to good practices in their activities.

Ensuring the SKAO’s telescopes are accessible fairly and equitably to all users, contributors, and collaborators in the community is an important tenet of the Observatory’s EDI strategy. It involves maximising the usability of the websites, scientifc user-facing tools, and telescope control systems for all. This commitment is codifed in the Observatory’s draft Access Rules and Regulations developed in 2022. The year concluded with the publication of a special edition of Pulse, the SKAO’s internal newsletter, dedicated to EDI; this was one of the actions identifed in the EDI implementation plan.

By the end of 2022, 38% of Observatory staf were female.

Staff by Gender as at 31/12/22

In the Business Enabling job family, 62% of roles were flled by women; in the other job families, female staf ranged between 19% and 30%.

Gender split across job families

Percentage of women at SKAO by work category over the last 10 years

Over the last decade, the overall proportion of women at the SKAO remained around 25%.

Age diversity in the workplace is an important issue. The SKAO hires and retains staf of all ages to create a more inclusive workplace. In 2022, most of our staf were in the 35-44 age group.

SKAO/CSIRO/SARAO Staff by Gender & Age Band as at 31st December 2022

At the end of 2022, the SKAO had 23 nationalities represented among its staf.

SKAO/CSIRO/SARAO Staff by Nationality as at 31/12/22

Non-Member countries include the following Nationalities: American, Argentinian, Canadian, Chilean, French, German, Greek, Indian, Japanese, Kenyan, Nigerian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Zambian and Sri Lankan

The Observatory also engages with astronomers from many countries. During 2022 the 14 Scientifc Working Groups interacted with 1,150 astronomers from over 40 countries.

Countries represented in the Science Working Groups: Dec 2022 snapshot

HEALTH, SAFETY, SECURITY AND ENVIRONMENT (HSSE)

The safety record of SKAO establishments remains excellent. Health and Safety Management Plans were developed in 2022 for Australia, South Africa, and the UK to satisfy the welldeveloped and distinct regulatory environment of the three host countries.

Together with this formal planning, the recruitment of Health and Safety Managers and teams was initiated. The Management Plans were developed to conform to the health and safety management standard ISO 45001 and the process towards accreditation under that standard was initiated. In the UK, the Observatory undertook the process towards ISO 45001 accreditation in 2022. This process is intended to be a precursor to similar accreditation for the SKAO in Australia and South Africa.

In the UK, new starters and visitors receive mandatory induction training encompassing evacuation, frst aid, and physical security issues. A revised business travel risk assessment procedure has been implemented which includes

destination-specifc hazards, risks, and their mitigation. The HQ safety management planning now includes H&S competence guidelines, continual improvement reviews, communication, and change management protocols. The Health, Safety, Security, and Environmental training plan has been implemented and provides a matrix of essential deliverables to support the SKAO’s business processes.

In South Africa, new SKA-Mid starters undergo mandatory induction training relevant to the SOC and EOC, addressing health, safety, ergonomics, emergency procedures, and so on. A similar mandatory induction is delivered to visitors of both facilities and the SKA-Mid site.

In Australia, new SKA-Low starters receive mandatory online training on a range of Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) topics along with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural awareness training. The training then continues through specifc face-toface (or online if appropriate) training sessions for new starters to gain more knowledge of the site’s safety risks and relevant hazard management. All staf and visitors who are likely to go to the site for more than fve days in a calendar year undertake a one-day Wajarri cultural and heritage site induction to gain an understanding of Wajarri Yamaji culture and respect for the land upon which the SKAO operates. The SKAO has already commenced training our on-site team in Australia in mental health and physical health. Detailed HSE records including incidents, resolution tracking, risks, and current training are maintained in the CSIRO-hosted Donesafe system.

Solar panels of

Environment

Environmental Management in the SKAO is driven by two imperatives: the need to comply with local regulation and site licensing conditions and a strategic drive towards an integrated management system, specifcally ISO 14001.

Environmental management plans were drafted for Australia and South Africa in 2022 in the forms required to satisfy hosting and licensing agreements. These high-level plans are tightly coordinated with each host country’s observatory environmental requirements to ensure best practices.

‘Safety and Sustainability’ is one of the SKAO’s core values. It refects the importance of sustainability to the Observatory and the international community that we seek to serve. This value complements the references to sustainability in the SKAO Convention and the Observatory’s foundational documents. The Sustainability Steering Group (SSG) was established in 2022 with membership drawn from the Executive Leadership team and spanning the three host countries: Australia, South Africa, and the UK. The SSG is working on the development of an Observatory statement on sustainability. The initial focus is on the environmental elements of sustainability, especially the greenhouse gas emissions associated with Observatory

activities. In 2022, the SSG engaged with ESO to learn from their greenhouse gas emissions audit, which has been running for several years. This interaction has proved very valuable as it allowed the SKAO to learn lessons from ESO’s early steps along that path. The interaction was facilitated under the collaboration agreement between the SKAO and ESO, the only two astronomy-focused inter-governmental organisations in the world.

Once in full-science operation, the SKAO’s greenhouse gas emissions are expected to be dominated by the generation of the electricity needed to operate the Observatory. The dual approach of constraining the electricity required by each array subsystem and seeking to procure energy from clean renewable sources continued to be a key element of the SKAO’s sustainability strategy throughout the year. Details of the power procurement activities in 2022 are given in the Operations section of this report.

STAFF ASSOCIATION

The Staf Association is a representative body serving the interests and rights of all SKAOemployed staf across business functions and geographical locations. It comprises four UKbased representatives and, since August, one observer from each of Australia and South Africa to strengthen links with staf in these countries.

The representatives engage with staf via a range of communication channels including one-to-one and town hall meetings, emails, internal electronic messaging, and anonymously via an online form. As an internal consultative body, the Staf Association enables the views of staf to be considered by the SKAO management team when making decisions which impact the safety, welfare, and general working conditions of our staf. It champions the culture and values of the SKAO in support of the delivery of the SKAO’s mission.

The main forum by which the Staf Association provides feedback to the SKAO management team is the Joint Consultative Group, the membership of which comprises the Deputy Director-General (Chair), Director of HR, HR Manager, and the Staf Association representatives.

The Staff Association undertook a wide range of activities in 2022, including:

● Supporting the Director-General’s decision on the scaling of the 2022 annual pay award (lowest grades had the highest rise);

● Supporting the staf consultation process regarding the Career and Pay Framework, including providing extensive feedback on the implementation plan and supporting staf during its rollout;

● Providing feedback on messaging to encourage staf to return to the ofce in mid-2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic;

● Providing feedback and advice on the cost of living pay award for 2023 and its communication to staf;

● Providing feedback on the establishment of an Independent Employment Tribunal;

● Supporting the procurement process to appoint a mediation services provider;

● Contributing to internal focus recognition groups;

● Holding a hybrid town hall meeting with staf in November which was attended by more than 100 staf;

● Successful resolution of issues raised by staf such as internal tax, fights home, residency status, pay framework, and car purchase VAT.

FINANCE

RSM UK Audit LLP, the appointed external auditor of the SKAO, has provided its opinion that the fnancial statements for the year ending 31 December 2022 present a true and fair view of the SKAO’s fnancial activities in accordance with the SKAO’s Convention, fnancial protocols, and supporting policies.

The accounts are prepared under the International Financial Reporting Standards framework, as adopted by the European Union, on an accrual basis of accounting. The SKAO has registered ofces in Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom; however, the fnancial statements are reported on a consolidated basis, including the accounting related to the construction of the telescopes and associated software. In 2022, the SKAO completed the tender process and selected a new primary global banking partner. The transition of transactional banking activities and integration with the Unit4 Enterprise Resource Planning system began.

The SKAO reported a surplus of €161.7m in the 2022 fnancial year. The surplus is expected to cover capital expenditure related to the construction of the telescope assets in the coming years. As expected, the operating expenditure of the SKAO increased in 2022 owing to the increased headcount and costs related to the establishment of ofces and operation centres in the host countries. Other operating expenditures included €4.8m of loss allowances and provisions relating to member state receivables and tax receivables which have been recognised in accordance with SKAO accounting policies, although it is expected that these receivables will be fully recoverable in future years and the unutilised provisions will be reversed at that time.

The SKAO holds a signifcant net asset position underpinned by the large cash balance generated from the accumulated surplus. In 2022, the SKAO continued to invest surplus cash balances into money market funds and deposit accounts which are selected and managed in accordance with the SKAO’s Treasury and Financial Investment Management Policy. The SKAO earned €0.8m of fnancing income from these investments in 2022.

The SKAO sustained a foreign exchange loss of €5.5m in 2022, of which €5.3m is unrealised at the reporting date. While the SKAO receives a large proportion of member state contribution income in euros, expenditure is primarily incurred in the host country currencies: Australian dollars (AUD), British pounds (GBP), and South African rand (ZAR). The SKAO has adopted a hedging strategy whereby currency cash is purchased for contracted and highly probable cash outfows once the annual budget is approved. Therefore, the SKAO holds signifcant cash balances in AUD, GBP, and ZAR. Of the total unrealised foreign exchange loss, €4.1m relates to the cash balances held to cover future certain or highly probable outfows and €1.2m relates to trade receivables.

The cash balance is expected to reduce as expenditure on non-current assets, in the form of tangible and intangible assets from the telescopes’ construction, continues. In 2022, capital expenditure was €40.1m, most of which related to software, design of infrastructure, and hardware and equipment at the telescope construction sites.

In the Statement of Financial Position, there is a signifcant increase in both trade receivables and deferred income compared to the prior period. Both balances are largely related to

invoices raised in advance for 2023 member state contributions. The receivables are largely due for payment in January 2023, and the deferred income will be recognised in revenue during 2023 in accordance with the SKAO’s revenue accounting policy.

The prior year comparatives in the fnancial statements cover the eight-month accounting period from 1 May 2021, that is when the transfer of assets, liabilities, and staf from the SKAO’s predecessor (the SKA Organisation) took place, through to 31 December 2021.

The total 2022 expenditure is split into operating and capital expenditures; the capital and operating expenditure is further broken down as shown in the below charts.

Total Expenditure

PROCUREMENT

2022 was a challenging year for many organisations around the world. However, despite the difcult market conditions, the SKAO’s procurement services team showed agility and creativity in developing strategies to mitigate the challenging macroeconomic situation, global infationary pressures, and shortages of critical supplies.

In 2022, the team focused on sourcing contracts for the construction of the SKA telescopes, including both the Mid and Low civil works contracts, Low antennas, and many other products required to build both AA0.5 telescope arrays. Through the eforts of the wider value chain, AA0.5 supplies started to be delivered to both telescope construction sites.

An SKAO staff member on-site at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, CSIRO’s Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, during installation of an SKA-Low test array.Credit: ICRAR/Curtin

Supply chain activities

The SKAO continuously works to build strong relationships across our global supply chain, constantly emphasising our core values to ensure suppliers are aligned with our Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct. The Observatory ofers equal opportunities for bidding on and winning contracts by following competitive criteria when selecting business partners, such as price, experience, quality, and service. The Procurement Services team

also has a robust process in place to identify and eliminate any potential or actual conficts of interest.

Along with many other internal solutions, the Procurement Services team continued to develop a global supply chain capable of picking up hi-tech telescope products from suppliers globally and shipping them to the point of need.

Local suppliers

The Observatory endeavours to create value for all its stakeholders, especially potential suppliers and contractors such as micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) located near the two telescope sites. In Australia, Wajarri-owned companies can take part in telescope construction activities: the

aim is to contribute to the development of the local and Indigenous communities where the SKAO operates. Understanding the expectations of neighbouring communities and building mutual trust are key to delivering a successful construction programme with support from all parties.

Industrial liaison network

The SKAO’s procurement actions are supported by a network of Industrial Liaison Ofcers (ILOs), experts appointed by SKAO members and partners who are responsible for generating interest in contract actions advertised by the Observatory. The SKAO Industrial Liaison Ofcer Network continued to be well engaged in 2022 and a hybrid ILO meeting was held in October to coincide with BSBF 2022 in Granada, Spain.

Fair Work Return (FWR)

In 2022, particular attention was paid to ensuring that all awarded construction contracts refected the allocation of work described within the SKA Construction Proposal and the SKA Outline Procurement Plan, thus working to enable fair work return commitments to be achieved.

The fgure below shows the breakdown of where the 23 contracts awarded in 2022 were placed. The largest tranche by value was awarded to industry in Australia, refecting

the placement of the major infrastructure contracts enabling construction to start. Similarly, signifcant awards were made for infrastructure in South Africa and the supply of SKA-Mid dish structures by China. In consultation with the Council, the SKAO continues to pay attention to the application of the procurement policy and ensures that the required Fair Work Return principles are being administered and factored into procurement planning actions.

Contracts Endorsed by Tender Subcommittee (TS) and In-Kind Review Subcommittee (IKRS)

In 2022, 20 cash contracts (construction and corporate) were presented to TS and three inkind agreements were presented to IKRC for approval. All procurement recommendations were endorsed with a total value of €383.9m

building on the €115.8m value during 2021. By the end of 2022, just over half of the total construction contracts were awarded with an aggregate value of approximately €470m.

2022 – significant contract awards requiring TS or IKRS endorsement

RISK MANAGEMENT AND CONTROLS

Risk management

In 2022, considerable efort was put into establishing a new formal framework to manage risks across the Observatory. Evolving from earlier approaches, the framework informs the terms of insurance policies and is based on a more sophisticated analysis of risk appetite within the Observatory. The focus was on developing an Observatory-wide framework to enable future reporting on the SKAO’s full risk exposure, which will help to safeguard the SKAO throughout its lifetime. Whilst Construction risk management is quantitative, Operations risk management and Business risk management are qualitative. A high-level design for the framework was produced to be built in 2023. The framework will also highlight cross-directorate risks and issues, which will enable teams to collaborate to mitigate

these and ensure efcient and efective working practices.

A new and critical element of the framework is the concept of Risk Appetite, whose values in various categories are used to determine the degree to which mitigations are pursued and to set the terms of insurance policies. Each risk is subject to mitigation action to bring the residual risk exposure within limits set by the risk appetite. Having clearly defned risk appetites will ensure consistency across the risk registers that form the SKAO framework and will result in more accurate reporting. The Risk Appetite is graphically reported below. Note: ‘Technology Risks’ are those for the Observatory as a whole, such as IT; technology risks concerning telescope design are included in ‘Project Risks’ as part of Construction risk management.

The proposed risk management framework and risk appetites were presented in successive papers to the Finance Committee during this period and were given the green light to develop and implement in 2023. This triggered the development of the risk registers and associated processes and procedures in the coming year. Sharing ideas and knowledge and planning put this on course for full implementation in the frst half of 2023.

RISK CATEGORIES

● Financial Risks

● Legal Risks

● Property and Commercial Risks

● Information System Security Risks

● Technology Risks

● Project Risks

● Operational Risks

● Reputational Risks

Compliance and transparency

Responsible business conduct is key to the SKAO’s goal of making ethical and responsible decisions. We are absolutely committed to achieving full compliance with all relevant regulatory and legislative standards aligned with the expectations of the member states we represent. To achieve this goal in 2022, our focus continued to be on improving compliance and monitoring the Observatory’s performance. To this end, internal audits are vital: in 2022, process auditing was initiated. The Assurance team undertook a selected internal business process audit focusing on construction projects, human resources, and fnancial processes. The process audit followed the general approach taken in ISO 9000 management systems and focused on critical processes within each Observatory

business area selected. The scope included the way that software tools were used, the processes inherent to the tools and their use, and data management.

The internal audit provided useful indications of areas which are working well and others with scope for improvement. This frst step in quality management provided comfort that compliance with policies is good. A more formal audit framework is planned.

Further elaboration of a formal Internal Audit (IA) was undertaken in 2022. The resulting plan was prepared for presentation to the Finance Committee in the frst quarter of 2023. In essence, the IA will provide assurance that critical business processes are correctly documented, followed, reviewed, and improved.

Ethical conduct

Recent developments in the feld of astronomy have highlighted the importance of having robust policies to deal with bullying, harassment, and other issues at work. The SKAO takes seriously any complaints of bullying, harassment, victimisation, or discrimination by anybody within the scope of our EDI policies.

The SKAO’s Code of Ethics guides the organisation’s commitment to ethical, responsible, and transparent management. If someone is afected or witnesses some type of violation by a member of the SKAO team and/or third parties, the Code of Ethics is an instrument that contains useful information and defnitions (as well as registering complaints) to guide whistle-blowers to report information and facts promptly to maintain an ethical and respectful organisational

environment. In case employees want to speak confdently, they can also contact one of the Ethical Champions (members of staf nominated to act as advisors and supporters) to receive support and necessary guidance on how to raise a complaint. All pieces of information are received and treated with absolute confdentiality and no retaliation against any complainants is allowed.

Another important tool available to SKAO employees is the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). The EAP is an independent professional service that provides confdential advice, practical information, support, and counselling on a wide range of personal and work-related issues. It is available around the clock, either over the telephone or online, and can provide face-to-face counselling if necessary.

Policy framework

As an international organisation, the Observatory’s policies are an integral part of its governance documents and form a key part of its sources of law by providing a framework that codifes the SKAO’s principles and approaches to the delivery of its mission across its functions.

Work to ensure that the policy landscape at the SKAO is comprehensive and ft for purpose whilst still supporting dynamic ways of working has been ongoing. The work around this has been managed through the Strategy team and has focused on identifying the diferent tiers of policies, mapping out existing policies, identifying gaps, and developing a plan as well as an implementation strategy to ensure the SKAO has a comprehensive set of policies covering all its business areas. In its process of development, approval, implementation, and maintenance of policies, the SKAO is guided by the provisions of the Observatory Convention and supported by considerations on cost implication, workforce and staf requirements, risk, resourcing requirements,

and links to the SKAO’s long-term strategic objectives.

The nature of the SKAO is that a select number of policies identifed through the Observatory Convention, such as the Intellectual Property Policy and Procurement Policy, are to be approved by the Council while the rest of the policies are approved by the Director-General supported by a rigorous internal review process. The review process involves the subject matter experts, the Staf Association, the Executive Leadership team, and the Internal Policy Group, which is the advisory body tasked with driving and overseeing the assurance process on policies.

The SKAO is committed to ensuring that staf have access to clear documentation that outlines their obligations as well as how to fulfl them. The body of policies forms an integral part of the SKAO’s governance and the SKAO strives to improve transparency, accountability, efciency, and efectiveness in day-to-day activities to maintain the highest standards of practice.

COMMUNICATIONS, OUTREACH AND EDUCATION

The Communications team is responsible for disseminating information to a wide variety of stakeholders to build, maintain, and strengthen support for investment in, and engagement with, the Observatory. This is achieved by highlighting the Observatory’s positive outputs, outcomes, and impacts, whether they are scientifc, technological, or societal.

Following the green light from the Council to start construction in mid-2021, 2022 saw a surge in construction activities across the SKAO’s host countries. This ofered many opportunities that the Communications team capitalised on, working in close collaboration with members of the SKA Communications and Outreach Network (SKACON) – a network of communications practitioners from across the partnership – to convey the excitement around the phase the SKAO was entering and highlight the industrial and economic return on investment across the partner countries. This culminated in December with ceremonies marking the ofcial launch of on-site construction (see the Programmes section).

2022 also saw the consolidation of the establishment of the SKAO in the telescope host countries, as detailed elsewhere in this report. The frst communications representatives for the SKA-Low and SKA-Mid telescopes were established, marking a signifcant step as the Observatory began to establish the SKAO brand in the two countries in preparation for the start of construction and to support recruitment for the Science and Engineering Operations Centres.

2022 was also declared the International Year of Basic Sciences and Sustainable Development (IYBSSD) by UNESCO, acknowledging the intrinsic value of basic sciences and their role in addressing global challenges and attaining sustainable development. The SKAO joined the initiative as a member of the IYBSSD 2022 Steering Committee. This was a great opportunity to reafrm the SKAO’s ambition to underpin all its activities with sustainability and showcase the past, current, and expected impact of the Observatory and its partners in addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (read the Impact section of the SKA Construction Proposal for more information).

SKAO website

The brand-new SKAO website, launched in 2022, was developed over 18 months, capturing input from over 100 sources and putting a strong emphasis on accessibility for all. Dutch digital agency Betawerk won the website contract through a competitive international procurement process. The

website refects the concept of the SKAO brand as well as the Observatory’s ambition and status as an inter-governmental organisation. It was ofcially unveiled by the chair of the SKAO Council, Dr Catherine Cesarsky, at the Council’s July meeting.

In the six months between the website’s launch and December, the site received over 41,000 visits from all over the world.

The new skao.int website saw an average of 1,500 visits per week, with a strong increase the week of the SKA Construction Commencement Ceremonies, reaching 5,000 visits.

Contact magazine

Contact is the SKAO’s fagship publication aimed at the Observatory’s many stakeholder groups.

Free and publicly available in digital format, it features contributions from partner organisations, interviews with experts, relevant science news, technical insights, and other updates from across the SKAO world.

Three issues of Contact were published in 2022, garnering 4,792 reads – numbers which have continued to grow since – with readers located in 79 countries. The list of subscribers to Contact grew by 10% in 2022; the magazine is now sent to a mailing list of around 1,900 people.

Media

In 2022, the SKAO and SKA telescopes again received more than 6,000 mentions in online articles worldwide. Highlights other than the Construction Commencement Ceremonies include being featured in a chapter of a Royal Astronomical Society book, in-depth articles about our commitment to sustainability in Wired and on Space.com, a full-length episode of Vice’s Motherboard show dedicated to the SKAO, and the SKAO

Social media

The SKAO has a presence on fve social media channels: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, with Twitter representing the Observatory’s largest audience. Almost 350 updates were posted across these channels in 2022, plus 128 Instagram story posts which together had more than a million impressions (number of times a post is viewed). There was a strong growth in followers across the year, particularly coinciding with the Construction Commencement Ceremonies in December.

Council chair, Dr Catherine Cesarsky, being interviewed for the BBC’s The Conversation podcast. Several announcements featuring relevant happenings within and across the Observatory, including the signature of cooperation agreements with partner institutions and the launch of the IAU CPS, also generated positive media coverage and participated in increasing the SKAO’s visibility.

SKACON

The SKAO Communications team continues to lead the SKA’s Communications and Outreach Network, on which comms and outreach professionals from 22 institutions in 16 countries sit. Nine meetings were held, including a face-to-face one during the year to coordinate action on a range of topics, from producing the SKA’s refreshed communications strategy to communicating the SKA’s Construction Commencement Ceremonies and the construction contracts awarded by the SKAO.

The South African delegation led by Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Blade Nzimande (on the right) visiting the SKAO booth at the opening ceremony of IYBSSD 2022, UNESCO HQ, Paris, July 2022

PARI 2022

In July 2022, the Communications team hosted the biannual Public Awareness of Research Infrastructures (PARI) conference at the SKAO Global Headquarters. Previously hosted by the ESO and the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the event brought together 100 science communication professionals from 20 countries, including from fellow inter-governmental organisations

CERN, ESO, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). The event was also the SKAO’s frst fully hybrid conference.

Over 50 talks were delivered over three days to exchange best practices and lessons learned in communicating science to the public, addressing topics such as public relations practice, outreach, education, diversity in STEM, and the societal impact of research infrastructures. The conference was also an opportunity to visit STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory, Jodrell Bank’s newly opened First Light Pavilion, and the bluedot festival at the weekend.

Group photo of the PARI 2022 participants at the SKAO HQ. Credit: Paul Worpole

External Events

The SKAO actively participated in various events at global, national, and local levels to develop partnerships, promote the Observatory’s mission, and update the community on the happenings and milestones across the Observatory. These included the involvement of SKAO staf members in National Astronomy Meetings and Industry Days across the partnership, in international science, engineering, computing, and science communication workshops and conferences, as well as in public engagement events, which are an important element of the social role of the

Observatory as a taxpayer-funded facility. A major highlight with a strong SKAO presence in key elements of the programme was the World Science Forum (WSF), an international conference hosted by the South African government’s Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) in early December 2022 in Cape Town. In his welcoming address, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke at length about the opportunities for scientifc and technological sustainable development on the African continent through the presence of the SKAO.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa at the opening session of the World Science Forum in Cape Town. Credit: GCIS

OUR GOVERNANCE SKAO Council, Committees and Subcommittees

The SKA Observatory (SKAO) was established as an inter-governmental organisation (IGO) in early 2021. The Convention establishing the SKAO was signed in March 2019 by representatives of Australia, China, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Switzerland became the eighth member of the SKAO on 19 January 2022.

Governance oversight of the SKA Observatory is provided by the SKAO Council (the ‘Council’) and its two committees and three subcommittees. Each member has voting rights with delegations comprising representatives and advisors; several aspiring member countries have non-voting representatives in attendance with Observer status.

SKAO GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

Finance Committee

Science & Engineering Advisory Committee

SKA Observatory Council

SKAO Council

■ 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

Country Members Council

Australia Ms Janean Richards

Dr Douglas Bock

China Dr Sun Jian

Prof. Zhao Jing

Italy Prof. Marco Tavani

Netherlands Dr Judith Vermeer

Dr Jessica Dempsey

Portugal Mr Ricardo Conde

Mr Luis Serina

South Africa Dr Philip Mjwara

Ms Pontsho Maruping

Switzerland Mr Xavier Reymond

Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib

UK Dr David Rawlins

Prof. Mark Thomson

is responsible for the overall strategic and scientifc direction of the SKAO, its good governance, and the attainment of its purposes. The Council is also focused on both minimising the SKAO’s impact on the environment and establishing a harmonious and mutually benefcial relationship with the local and Indigenous communities in host countries.

Country Observers Council

Canada Dr Luc Simard

Dr Michael Rupen

France Dr Guy Perrin

Dr Chiara Ferrari

Germany Dr Jurgen Kroseberg

Prof. Michael Kramer

India

Mr Sunil Ganju

Prof. Yashwant Gupta

Japan Prof. Hideyuki Kobayashi

Prof. Masao Salto

South Korea Assoc. Prof. Bong Won Sohn

Dr Hyunwoo Kang

Spain Ms Inmaculada Figueroa Rojas

Dr Rafael Bachiller

Sweden Prof. Lars Borjesson

Mr Mathias Hamberg

In 2022, the Council had three meetings where it received updates from the SKAO Executive on construction and operation, host country activities, and membership and cooperation agreements. The Committee of Council, attended by member state representatives only, continued to meet for informal discussions.

March 2022

The Council approved both the payment schedule for 2022 and revised payment schedule and Construction and Operations Funding Schedule (COFS), taking into account Switzerland’s contribution as a new member state. Global cost escalations and plans to address the additional funding required were a strong focus of the meeting.

July 2022

The Council considered the implications of indexing on contributions (payments): this would afect the project share of member states and aspiring countries and the SKAO’s funding strategy. A draft communications strategy was reviewed.

October 2022

The meeting followed a Council site visit to the Karoo hosted jointly by the South African National Research Foundation and South African Radio Astronomy Observatory. The visit provided context on the site’s geography, the challenges of site construction and operations, the planned development, and local economic benefts. The meeting approved the budget and payment schedule for 2023 as well as a data protection process for complaints. The Council also considered cash fow planning and its implications on construction and operations.

The Council is supported by two committees

1. Science and Engineering Advisory Committee (SEAC): the representatives act as individual experts and do not represent the views of any members. They advise the Council and the Director-General on construction, technology, and engineering. They receive the Construction Monthly Report, which outlines the progress made.

2. Finance Committee (FC): this committee ensures sound fnancial management, efciency, transparency, and accountability by assessing fnancial proposals. The FC has three subcommittees.

Science and Engineering Advisory Committee

■ CHAIRPERSON

Prof. Naomi McClure-Grifths (ANU, Australia)

■ VICE-CHAIRPERSON

Prof. Brian Glendenning (NRAO, US)

At each meeting, the SEAC is provided with a project update to provide context for their discussions. The update covers science activity, construction, operations, and design for each site: dishes in SKA-Mid, South Africa, and antennas in SKA-Low, Western Australia.

In February 2022, the SEAC considered the ongoing plans for creating a SKA Regional Centre Network (SRCNet), ideally with a centre in each country, to analyse the enormous volumes of data the Observatory will produce.

In May 2022, the SEAC considered the Science Data Challenges used to drive the development of new analysis methods to maximise scientifc discovery and achieve transformational science using future SKAO data. Options for the power procurement programme for each site were discussed. The focus was on reducing power consumption using sustainable sources and minimising electromagnetic interference, which would afect the scientifc data provided by the Observatory. The SEAC advised on both the SRCNet blueprint and preliminary plans for the allocation of the Observatory’s observing time. The Convention requires access to be proportional to a member state’s share and level of contribution.

In September 2022, the SEAC considered the draft access rules and regulations relating to observing time in the context of how to maximise ‘transformational science’. The SEAC provided feedback on options for a staged delivery of infrastructure, its implications on science, and prototyping of the global SRCNet. Software architecture and technical detail on the software design were considered, and an update on diferent software developments was presented.

Members Afliation Representative

Australia Naomi McClure-Grifths (chairperson)

China Zheng Qian

Italy Gianfranco Brunetti

Netherlands Wim van Cappellen

Portugal Cláudio Melo

South Africa Francois Kapp

Switzerland Andre Csillaghy

UK Carole Mundell

Observers

Canada Kristine Spekkens

France Gullaine Lagache

Germany Gundolf Wieching

India Uday Shankar

Spain Antxon Alberdi

Sweden Garrelt Mellema At

NRAO Dale Frail

ESO Andreas Kaufer

ESO Adrian Russell

UKATC Gillian Wright

*As of December 2022

Finance Committee

■ CHAIRPERSON

Dr Colin Vincent (STFC, UK)

■ VICE-CHAIRPERSON

Ms Ana Reis (FCT, Portugal)

At each meeting, the Finance Committee is provided with fnancial management accounts, a risk report, and a project update to provide context for their discussions. Subcommittees report on actions taken.

February 2022:

A strong focus was on global cost escalations, the related additional funding required, and methods to mitigate procurement risks due to global cost escalations and material shortages. The Finance Committee recommended the following for the Council’s approval: the Construction and Operations Funding Schedule (Rev 1) and the Payment Schedule 2022 (Rev 1) to accommodate the inclusion of Switzerland. Planning for the 2021 External Audit and the 2021 Annual Report were discussed. The Rules of Procedure for each of the subcommittees were approved. The Committee also reviewed:

● The consolidated Observatory and Project Risk Report. The SKAO’s risk appetite had been quantifed in some areas, and a strategic approach across all functions was being managed;

● The Treasury Report with corrective action to manage funds to comply with the Treasury Management Policy;

● A foreign exchange hedging strategy under development and an analysis of the foreign exchange gains/losses.

June 2022

The Finance Committee approved the appointment of RSM as the SKAO’s external auditors for 2021 and 2022. It also reviewed RSM’s proposed external audit plan for 2021 and recommended it for Council approval. The Risk Report and the Treasury Report were both considered by the committee. A report on global cost escalation was discussed. This led to a review of cash fows and the proposed Additional Funding to fund the cost escalations caused by global events.

September 2022

The Finance Committee recommended the approval by the Council of the proposed Data Protection Complaints procedure, the associated delegation of authority, and both the budget and the payment schedule for 2023. The Construction Annual Financial Review (year to 30 June 2022), the Treasury Report, the Construction and Operations Funding Schedule (Revision 2), and the Financial Rules and Payment Schedule 2022 (Revision 2) were reviewed.

November 2022

The Finance Committee recommended the 2021 Financial Statements and the appointment of RSM as the external auditors for three years from 2023. The committee also considered the external audit report from RSM and management responses on suggested control improvements.

Members Afliation Representative

Australia Stephanie Gorecki Natik

China SUN Xiaoyun

Italy Maria Luisa Pozone

Netherlands Jeroen Arts

Portugal Ana Reis

South Africa Bishen Singh

Switzerland Xavier Reymond

UK Colin Vincent (chairperson)

Christopher Wrench

Observers Canada Morrick Vincent

France Stêphanie Lê Vàn

Germany Catharina Sasse

India Arjit Sagar

Japan Hideyuki Kobayashi

South Korea Bong Won Sohn

Spain Esther Martin MalagÓn

*As of December 2022

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 state appointing their representative. Subject to their agreement with the SKAO, observers may also appoint a representative.

The subcommittees have the following oversight responsibilities as delegated by the Finance Committee.

Administration Subcommittee (AS):

The AS oversees administration management, including the review of staf remuneration and amendments to the SKAO’s staf regulations. The AS met once in 2022 to consider the salary component of the 2023 budget.

Members Afliation Representative

Australia Richard Barry (chairperson)

China JIE Yang

Italy Marco Guerrieri

Netherlands Jeroen Arts

Portugal Carolina Rêgo Costa

South Africa Pontsho Maruping

Switzerland Kevin Reymond

UK Vikki Gledhill

Observers Germany Viola Tegethof

*As of December 2022

In-Kind Review Subcommittee (IKRS)

The IKRS oversees non-fnancial ‘in-kind’ contributions such as providing staf for a project, reviews and endorses the award of such contributions, and approves cost book values on behalf of the Finance committee.

Members Representative

Australia Cat Attard (vice chairperson)

China LIU Shuang

Italy Andrea Argan

Netherlands Michiel van Harrlem

Portugal Cláudio Melo

South Africa Adrian Tiplady (chairperson)

Switzerland Kevin Reymond

UK George Madden

Observers Representative

Germany Jochen Weller

Japan Hideyuki Kobayashi

Spain Javier Echávarri Delmás

*As of December 2022

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 fnal signature and approval by the DirectorGeneral. It also oversees the administration of the Fair Work Return formula and ensures that it has been correctly applied in all tender evaluations. The TS considered 20 contract tender awards in 2022.

Members Representative

Australia Jaqueline Cooke

China YU Lu (joint chairperson)

Italy Corrado Perna (joint chairperson)

Netherlands Gert Kruithof

Portugal Luis Serina

South Africa Shawn Basson

Switzerland Xavier Reymond

UK Justine Mannino

Observers Representative

Germany Jochen Weller

Japan Hideyuki Kobayashi

South Korea Bong Won Sohn

Spain Javier Echávarri Delmás

*As of December 2022

AAs Array Assemblies

AAVS Aperture Array Verifcation System

ABCs Agreements on Bilateral Collaboration

ANU Australian National University

ART Agile Release Train

AS Administration Subcommittee

ASKAP Australian SKA Pathfnder

BSBF Big Science Business Forum

CBFs Correlator beamformers

CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research

CNRS Centre national de la recherche scientifque

COFS Construction and Operations Funding Schedule

COPUOS United Nations Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

CPS Satellite constellation interference

CSIRO Commonwealth Scientifc and Industrial Research Organisation

CTAO Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory

C3 Construction Commencement Ceremonies

DG Director-General

DSI Department of Science and Innovation

EAS European Astronomical Society

EDI Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

EDIWG Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group

ELT Executive Leadership Team

EMBL European Molecular Biology Laboratory

EMC Electromagnetic Compliance

EMI Electro-magnetic Interference

EoR Epoch of Reionization

EPFL Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

ERIC European Research Infrastructure Consortium

ESA European Space Agency

ESO European Southern Observatory

FAST Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical radio Telescope

FC Finance Committee

FCT Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

FRB Fast Radio Burst

GMRT Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope

HQ SKA Headquarters

HR Human Resources

HSE Health, Safety and Environment

HSSE Health, Safety,Security and Environment

IA Internal Audit

IAU International Astronomical Union

iEOC interim Engineering Operations Centre

IGO Inter-Governmental Organisation

IKRS In-Kind Review Subcommittee

ILUA Indigenous Land Use Agreement

ISO International Organisation for Standardisation

iSOC interim Science Operations Center

IT Information Technology

ITF Integration Test Facility

ITU International Telecommunications

UnionIYBSSD International Year of Basic Sciences and Sustainable Development

LOFAR Low Frequency Array

MPG Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

MSMEs Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises

MWA Murchison Widefeld Array

NCRA Indian National Centre for Radio Astrophysics

NOIRLab National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory

NRAO National Radio Astronomy Observatory

NRF National Research Foundation

NSF National Science Foundation

PARI Public Awareness of Research Infrastructures

PI Planning Increment

P&Is Privileges and Immunities

RPS Remote Power Stations

RFI Radio-Frequency Interference

SARAO South African Radio Astronomy Observatory

SDCs Science Data Challenges

SDC1 Science Data Challenge 1

SDC2 Science Data Challenge 2

SDC3 Science Data Challenge 3

SDGs United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

SEAC Science and Engineering Advisory Committee

SKA Square Kilometre Array

SKACON SKA Communications and Outreach Network

SKA-Mid Square Kilometre Array Mid

SKA-Low Square Kilometre Array Low

SKAO SKA Observatory

SM Spectrum Management

SMEs Small and medium enterprises

SOC Science Operations Centre

SPC Science Processing Centre

SRCs SKA Regional Centres

SRCSC SKA Regional Centre Steering Committee

SRCnet SKA Regional Centre network

SSG Sustainability Steering Group

STEM Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

STFC Science and Technology Facilities Council

SWGs Science Working Groups

TS Tender Subcommittee

UK The United Kingdom

US The United States of America

UNCOPUOS United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

VIPs Very Important Person/s

WA Western Australia

WSF World Science Forum