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Technology

Management of AITC Projects

The RSAA Technical Section undertakes projects that are approved by the RSAA Technical Strategy Committee. The Technical Strategy Committee considers project proposals against a set of Core Project Filters. Those projects that are accepted then pass to the Technical Management Committee that monitors their progress through the Technical Section.

All projects undergo conceptual design and costing, detailed design, construction, assembly, test, and commissioning. These phases are managed and reviewed with varying degrees of formality, depending on the size of the project and the severity of its associated risks.

Project Initiation

New projects for the RSAA Technical Section are judged against a set of Core Project Filters that are designed to ensure that the activities of the Technical Section support the strategic objectives of the School.

The mission of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics is:

To advance the observational and theoretical frontiers of astronomy and its enabling technologies, provide national and international leadership, and train outstanding scientists.

The strategic goals of the School that flow from this mission are to:

• Maintain our high international research standing
• Increase national leadership, engagement, and visibility
• Foster excellence and breadth in our academic staff
• Increase access to the best PhD students worldwide
• Increase the quality and professionalism of our science training
• Maintain and grow our engineering capacity
• Support ANU telescopes with high scientific return
• Increase access to current frontline facilities worldwide
• Develop leadership roles in major facilities for 2007+
• Diversify our funding base to allow stability and flexibility

These considerations lead to a set of principles that define the nature of projects that will be undertaken by the Technical Section as core activities:

• Core projects should be consistent with and progress the RSAA strategic goals
• Core projects should address excellent science and/or strategic technologies
• Core projects should benefit RSAA staff, Australian astronomers, and the international astronomical community, in that order of priority
• All projects should ideally have a net positive financial outcome for RSAA
• The activities of the RSAA Technical Section must be sustainable

New project requests should be described on the Project Request Form here and submitted to the Technical Programs Manager via email to Liam.Waldron@anu.edu.au.

New project requests will be assessed by the Technical Strategy Committee against the following criteria:

Strategic Goals:

• Is the project consistent with the RSAA strategic goals (essential)?
• Does the project generate technological intellectual property required to enhance the RSAA's opportunities for future engagement in large scientific or instrumentation projects?
• Does the project train excellent technologists?
• Does the project enhance tranfer of technological intellectual property with other organizations?
• Does the project foster industrial collaborations?

Science and Technology

• Does the project address excellent science and/or strategic technology (essential)?

Benefit

• Does the project fulfill the scientific aspirations of the RSAA staff?
• Does the project contribute to the infrastructure of a facility to which Australia has access?
• Does the project enhance opportunities in major new scientific programs on world-class astronomical facilities?

Financial Outcome

• To what extent does the project return a net positive financial outcome for the RSAA through external funding and RIBG/IGS/RTS returns?

Sustainability

• Does the project have a RSAA project scientist (essential)?
• Does the RSAA have the staff with skills to complete the program, or are they available through new hires, staff training, or subcontracting on a timescale and cost compatible with the project (essential)?
• Can the RSAA obtain the infrastructure required to achieve the project outcomes within the required timescale from its own resources or through out-sourcing (essential):
  • Office space?
  • Design requirements?
  • Computing requirements?
  • Laboratory requirements?
  • Workshop facilities and space?
  • Assembly and test equipment?
• Is funding identified to meet the costs of the project (essential)?
• Are the risks of the project financially and technically acceptable (essential)?
• Is the risk posed by the financial and management practices of the customer acceptable?

The Project Assessment Form used by the Technical Strategy Committee can be found here.