The governance of Labex FOCUS is organised through four committees.

The executive committee

Composition : the executive committee is made of one member of each partner. In the case of the LabEx this means 11 persons.

Missions :it elaborates the yearly budget in agreement with the scientific committee and submits it to the director, it reviews on a regular basis (every three months) the running projects of the action plan, and it takes operational decisions linked to this plan. It rules the policies for the collaborative call for tenders released by the main agencies and manage the corresponding answers. Its first mission will be the writing of the consortium agreement (operational and legal parts)

Meetings : four times a year

The Scientific Committee

Composition : It is composed of six scientists from the partner units (two scientists per research programme, one for valorisation and one for training). Four scientists from outside the Labex (space science, astronomy, technology and detector science. And the Labex directors.

Roles : Following the calls for proposals, the scientific committee examines each proposal and selects the most relevant projects according to defined criteria. The analysis of the proposals is carried out using external data from the agencies’ foresight and an analysis of the needs for major instruments. It ensures the scientific relevance of FOCUS actions in relation to the progress and needs of the community. It defines education and training actions accordingly. It provides an evaluation of responses to external calls for tenders (ESA, CNES, EU, FUI, etc.). It analyses the results obtained in the framework of ongoing programmes and prepares the presentation of the evaluation to the High Scientific Committee.

Meetings : Twice a year but organises regular meetings to maintain a reactive capacity to follow the work related to the agencies’ calls for tender.

The Management Committee

FOCUS is managed by a Director and a Deputy Director with complementary skills (detection/astrophysics). They are appointed for 4 years by the management committee, after proposal of the executive committee. An assistant financed by the LabEx will help the director in his daily work.

The steering committee

Composition : One representative from each partner institution. The Labex is composed of 5 people.

Roles : it validates the annual plan and the associated budget proposed by the director, it validates the annual results of the previous action plan, it rules on any decisions submitted to it by the executive committee via the director, it gives guidance to the LabEx in relation to the strategy of each institution. It decides on the opportunity to extend FOCUS to other partners.

Meeting : Once a year.