Governance

The EMBL Council is composed of all member states of the Laboratory. Each member state is represented by up to two delegates, who may be accompanied by advisers. Council ensures that the financial requirements of the agreement establishing EMBL and of the agreements with host member states are complied with.

The Finance Committee assists the Council in the financial management and control of EMBL.

Council establishes a Scientific Advisory Committee that gives advice to Council, in particular with regard to proposals from the Director General on the realisation of the programme of the Laboratory. The Scientific Advisory Committee is composed of distinguished scientists appointed in their own right, not as representatives of member states.

Directorate

The Directorate has a mandate to enable high-level consultation on strategic EMBL-wide matters. It oversees and guides key initiatives for EMBL and advises and supports the Director General in decision-making on EMBL-wide matters.

Extended Directorate

The Extended Directorate advises and assists the Director General in important scientific, political, technical and administrative aspects of the leadership of EMBL. It is a forum where Extended Directorate members can raise operational, organisational or scientific topics from the different sites and units and areas which are of strategic importance to the organisation and where new EMBL initiatives or changes can be discussed in their early stages.

Scientific Strategy and Management Advisory Committee (SSMAC) 

The Scientific Strategy and Management Advisory Committee (SSMAC) is an advisory body for strategy development in the areas of research, scientific services (internal and external) and technology development – particularly in the context of developing the EMBL Programme and Indicative Scheme.

SSMAC has a role in evaluating and making recommendations on senior appointments and the promotion of staff, particularly scientific staff, in recognition of outstanding performance.

It gives input and feedback to the Directorate and Extend Directorate on a broad range of topics, considers new scientific trends relevant to the whole of EMBL and shares information from senior management to local colleagues. As a group of senior staff, SSMAC are knowledgeable about the entire laboratory and its procedures, and thus have a major influence on its functioning and development, including as an advisory body for the adoption and revision of Internal Policies.