Privileges of Members & Associate Members and Benefits for Them
SESAME is 'owned' by its Members which have full control over its strategic development and exploitation, and major financial matters. Day-to-day management is the responsibility of the Director & Directorate, appointed by, and answerable to, the SESAME Council, on which all the Members are represented.
Through their attendance at most of the closed sessions of the Council and the meetings of the Finance Committee, as well as the opinions and statements they may put forward at these meetings, the Associate Members contribute to the governance and development of the Organization.
Because SESAME groups the efforts of a number of countries, it offers an extraordinarily cost-effective way of obtaining excellent wide-ranging research opportunities.
Scientists from the Members and Associate Members of SESAME have full access, free-of-charge, to the facilities in the laboratory, including existing beamlines and instruments as outlined in the SESAME User Policy. They are able to propose to design and conduct experiments according to their specific interests/needs, without being limited to what is offered under routine operational conditions at synchrotron radiation user facilities.
Through international cooperation enabled by SESAME, scientists, engineers and technicians from Members of the Organization are brought to world-level standards and are able to become full partners in the world scientific community. This is also the case of scientists, engineers and technicians from those Associate Members which are not from countries that are at the forefront of science.
SESAME contributes to promoting research and technologies in its Members, and, in the long run, this will have far-reaching beneficial effects on the development of national capacities. It may do the same in those Associate Members needing this. Participation in SESAME also contributes to improving the standards of teaching and research at national universities and making industries more competitive.
Scientists and engineers from Members and interested Associate Members may profit from SESAME’s extensive training opportunities in fields that are at the frontiers of science, and young scientists have greater opportunities for hands-on training through beam time allocations generously made available for SESAME in synchrotron light sources elsewhere.
Applicants from the Members and Associate Members are given priority when international staff are hired at SESAME.
A number of components will need to be purchased as further beamlines are built, other facilities are added and (in due course) SESAME is upgraded, as happens periodically at all light sources. Here again, preference is given to national companies from the Members and Associate Members. Such contracts are not only interesting from a financial point of view, but in many cases are important tools for technology transfer.
Obligations of Members & Associate Members
The Members are to cover the annual operational costs of SESAME.
They contribute to the governance of SESAME through participation in the Council and the Finance Committee.
The Associate Members contribute to the operational costs at a reduced rate.
For further details see SESAME: What it is, What it brings to its Members, What the obligations of its Members are.