At the core of CONNECT-NM’s governance structure is the decisional body of the partnership, namely the General Assembly (GeA), in which all Beneficiaries are represented with one member.

Building on this, the body responsible for executing the decisions of the General Assembly, as well as the proposal of procedures and solutions and the overall correct functioning of the partnership, is the Executive Board (ExB), composed of all work package leaders, both from transversal work packages and research lines, as well as the Coordinator. In addition, each work package leader, with the assistance of advisors and collaborators, manages the key tasks within their corresponding work package, ensuring timely implementation and adherence to protocols and procedures, as well as tracking progress and providing revisions.  Moreover, the Management Support Office (MSO) acts as a transversal body, providing assistance for the daily functioning of the partnership.

CONNECT-NM is also made-up of two main advisory bodies, the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and the Innovation and Exploitation Group (IEG). The SAB, comprised of internationally recognised experts in the scientific and technical field of materials for nuclear energy, will monitor the projects of CONNECT-NM, while also providing input to the governance bodies concerning operational and strategic issues affecting the scientific and technical orientation of the Partnership. Additionally, the IEG’s primary responsibility will be to offer advice and/or services aimed at enhancing the exploitation potential of projects funded by CONNECT-NM, as well as to report back to the Executive Board and the General Assembly of CONNECT-NM concerning strategic orientations in order to boost innovation. The involvement of two advisory groups is a specificity of this partnership, in which the creation of the IEG stems from strong industrial involvement and interest in the partnership’s activities.

Moreover, the Evaluation Committee (EvaCo) plays a critical role in the CONNECT-NM projects by managing the proposal evaluation process. Their primary focus is to facilitate a fair and transparent evaluation process, ensuring robust decision-making without requiring expertise in all specific areas. Its members are independent and impartial experts, collectively covering the entire spectrum of potential project activities (five research lines and four material classes, for a total of nine members). They are not involved in CONNECT-NM or related projects and may originate from countries outside Europe or be individuals not active in nuclear materials research. While EvaCo members do not directly review proposals, they ensure that each proposal is evaluated by at least three independent reviewers. They oversee the scoring, produce rankings (both by research line and globally), and resolve discrepancies or doubts through discussions with reviewers and proposers.

As part of the efforts toward external stakeholders, in the framework of Work Package 3, two additional advisory boards are foreseen. One with representatives of European regulatory bodies (Board of Regulators, BoR) and another with representatives from European technical safety organisations (Board of TSOs, BoTSO). Biannual meetings (hybrid, virtual or in person) of the BoR and the BoTSO will be organised to produce a concise document of recommendations for the partnership’s ongoing and further unfolding activities. Furthermore, final recommendations will be developed, enabling the change of paradigm in nuclear materials research and in the practice of TSOs beyond CONNECT-NM.