SAIF Advisory Council Charter

1. Purpose

The Advisory Council is a working expert network that strengthens the quality, credibility, and rigor of SAIF’s research, applied projects, capability-building, and responsible adoption work. It is designed to bring the right expertise to the right question rather than operate as a ceremonial body or a standing management committee.

2. Institutional role and authority

• The Council advises; it does not manage SAIF’s day-to-day programs, staff, finances, contracts, or operations.
• Advisory input informs SAIF decisions but does not substitute for the responsibility of SAIF’s governing and executive bodies.
• Council membership does not authorize an advisor to bind SAIF, speak for SAIF, make commitments on its behalf, or present a personal position as an institutional decision unless separately authorized in writing.

3. Chair

The Advisory Council is chaired by Dr. Hassan Sawaf, Founding Scientific Director and Chair of SAIF’s Advisory Council. The Chair works with the SAIF team to maintain the relevance and quality of advisory participation, match expertise to appropriate briefs, and bring Council perspective into institutional discussions where useful.

4. Core advisory functions

• review proposed research and applied projects;
• advise on methodology, data, evaluation, technical feasibility, and research quality;
• help identify appropriate publication, conference, repository, and dissemination pathways;
• provide specialist technical, scientific, institutional, or sector expertise;
• mentor or advise researchers and project teams where appropriate;
• help assess pathways from credible research toward useful applied work;
• advise on capability-building, responsible adoption, governance, standards-oriented work, and other areas relevant to SAIF’s mission.

5. Project-based operating model

SAIF uses a project-based advisory model. Advisors are not expected to participate in every SAIF project, and participation is not distributed evenly across the Council.

When a project or question would benefit from advisory input, SAIF prepares a concise brief, identifies the advisor or small group best matched to it, and defines the requested contribution. Input may take the form of written review, focused discussion, technical comments, mentorship, introductions, or another defined contribution.

6. Standard project brief

• the problem or question;
• the proposed approach and current state;
• expected output;
• the team involved;
• resources and constraints;
• timeline;
• known risks or sensitivities;
• the specific question or contribution requested from the advisor.

7. Membership and participation

Council membership is selective and expertise-driven. SAIF may consider self-nominations, third-party nominations, and direct invitations. An expression of interest or nomination does not constitute appointment or guarantee future membership.

SAIF may also invite a specialist to contribute to a specific project without appointing that person to the Advisory Council. Participation level, duration, and renewal are determined by fit, need, availability, and mutual agreement rather than a fixed universal minimum.

8. Confidentiality and conflicts of interest

Advisors may receive non-public research, technical, institutional, commercial, or personal information in order to provide useful advice. Such information must be treated according to SAIF policy and any project-specific confidentiality terms.

Advisors must disclose material conflicts of interest relevant to a brief before contributing. SAIF and the advisor should determine whether the conflict can be managed, requires recusal, or makes participation inappropriate.

9. Intellectual contribution, attribution, and IP

Advisory participation alone does not transfer an advisor’s pre-existing intellectual property to SAIF, and access to a SAIF project does not transfer SAIF or researcher IP to the advisor.

Advisors should receive appropriate acknowledgment for substantive contributions. Scholarly authorship or inventorship is based on the contribution actually made and the applicable scholarly or legal standard, not Council title alone.

Where advisory work is expected to create substantial new intellectual property, code, research material, or other deliverables, the relevant rights should be agreed in writing before that work begins.

10. Compensation and expenses

Council membership does not by itself imply compensation. A specific advisory assignment may be voluntary, paid, or expense-supported depending on the project, funding, expected effort, and mutual agreement. Any compensation or reimbursement should be agreed before the relevant assignment and documented through the appropriate SAIF process.

11. External representation and public contribution

An advisor may be invited to co-author, speak, review, mentor, attend an event, or otherwise contribute publicly. Any use of SAIF’s name, institutional position, or confidential project information must follow the applicable authorization and communications process.

12. Administration, records, and exit

The SAIF team supports Council administration, including preparing briefs, coordinating advisor matching with the Chair, maintaining relevant records, and tracking agreed actions. Advisors may step back from the Council or from a particular assignment. SAIF may also end or pause participation where fit, availability, conflict, conduct, confidentiality, or institutional needs require it.

13. Relationship to other SAIF policies and review

This Charter works together with SAIF’s Policies and Code of Conduct and any project-specific written terms. Where a specific assignment requires additional confidentiality, IP, compensation, publication, data, or representation terms, those terms should be agreed for that assignment.

SAIF may update this Charter as the Council matures. The version accepted by a self-nominee or advisor is recorded. Material changes to an active assignment should be communicated and, where necessary, reflected in the assignment terms.