WP6 is led by Dr Simon Berry of the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The other team members are Sherrie-Lee Samuel (Project Officer) and Simon Haynes (Project Administrator). The specific objectives are as follows:
To lead the activities of a Working Group investigating all aspects of the financial model required to ensure the construction, operation and, ultimately, the decommissioning of the SKA.
To determine and inform all partners of the timescales and constraints governing possible national funding opportunities for the construction and operation of the SKA.
To investigate the possibility of obtaining a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and other similar national and/or regional bodies to provide a smooth funding profile for the construction phase of the project.
To understand the implications of such a loan(s) on the long-term operational funding of the SKA.
This work-package has created a Working Group to examine all aspects of the financial model for the complete lifetime of the SKA project, extending from construction, through operation into eventual decommissioning. This is a key work-package, bringing together information and inputs from several other PrepSKA activity areas into a White Paper on the future funding model for the SKA.
WP6 will end on 31 March 2012.