LSST Project data-rights update (8/AUG/19)

Dear all,

One of the topics likely to feature in the upcoming Project and Community Workshop is the new operations model, under which International Contributors will secure data rights for named investigators through making in-kind contributions, rather than paying an “operations contribution” under the terms of an MoA. Our bottom line remains that we intend to secure (at least) the 100 Affiliate PI and 400 Junior Associate slots that we had under our MoA, and the LSST:UK leadership are discussing potential UK in-kind contributions (and funding for them) with the LSST Project and STFC. There is not much news to pass on to you yet, as there is still some uncertainty over what exactly could count as an in-kind contribution, as well as how these would be valued, etc.

I did, however, want to address one related concern that a couple of people have raised with me. These were people who doubted that they could currently make a contribution that might count for inclusion in the UK’s in-kind package, and they were concerned that that might imperil their continued holding of data rights. I want to reassure everyone that there is no move to change the criteria under which AP and JA slots are awarded to make such an explicit link between them and the UK’s eventual in-kind package. As our PI selection policy makes clear – see https://lsst-uk.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/HOME/pages/6946926/LSST+UK+Affiliate+PIs+and+Junior+Associates for details – AP or JA status can be earned in a variety of ways, which can certainly include contributions of a nature that are very unlikely to be countable in our in-kind package, and that will remain the case. The creation of the UK’s in-kind package and the allocation of the PI slots secured through it are decoupled, in the sense that inclusion in the former is not required for success in the latter.

I hope that provides reassurance to some people, and if anyone else has questions about continued data rights eligibility, please feel free to email me. There does remain a lot of uncertainty in all this, but some things are clear and I may be able to allay some fears that people have resulting from the change in operations model.

Bob