Governance

Governance

The Association’s governing bodies are:
  • The Assembly, composed of all members;
  • The President and Vice President of the Association;
  • The Coordination and Management Committee;
  • The Scientific and Steering Committee;
  • The Supervisory Board.

The Assembly has, among other responsibilities:

  • To approve the Association’s general policy and the main strategic guidelines for the development of its activities, based on proposals from the Coordination and Management Committee;
  • To decide on membership applications submitted by the Coordination and Management Committee;
  • To elect and remove members of other association bodies;
  • To approve the budget;
  • To approve agreements and arrangements with third parties.
The Coordination and Management Committee oversees the ordinary and extraordinary management of Cyber 4.0 to achieve the Association’s objectives and is responsible, among other things, for:
  • Electing the president and vice president from among its members;
  • Preparing the action plan for approval by the Assembly and, in line with it, identify Projects;
  • Monitoring the progress of research, development, training and innovation activities and projects;
  • Coordinating with other associations or similar entities to define common lines of action;
  • Acting as an interlocutor with policy makers, representing the interests of the relevant industrial sectors;
  • Managing the operational and financial management of the Association.

The President is the legal representative of Cyber 4.0, convenes and chairs both the Assembly and the Coordination and Management Committee.

The Scientific and Steering Committee (SSC) has an advisory role and is composed of members’ representatives, highly qualified external experts in cyber security, and a representative for DIHs with which collaborative agreements have been entered into. The SSC has, among others, the tasks of:

  • Defining and updating the strategic agenda for Cyber 4.0’s research, guidance, and training activities;
  • Making proposals for the development of initiatives supporting the Association’s mission;
  • Assessing the results achieved in relation to the individual initiatives carried out by Cyber 4.0.

The operational structure is organised along two dimensions by application areas (cyber, automotive, space, e-health) and cross-cutting lines of activity (guidance, training, innovation projects – R&D) to guarantee sufficient technical expertise and provide the specialized know-how to cover all Cyber 4.0 thematic and operational areas.

The Control Body periodically verifies the formal and substantive regularity of the accounts, certifies the regularity of the budget and final accounts.

To implement its program, Cyber 4.0 relies on an operational structure with full-time staff and the collaboration of experts who are seconded by its members to carry out individual activities.

The Center equipped itself in 2022 with an operational structure reporting directly to the Director of Operations, organized into 5 functional areas:

  • Research and Innovation, which aims to: follow up and support the project management of innovation initiatives that are funded by Cyber 4.0 (Research Calls); direct the implementation and deployment of Cyber 4.0 demonstration and operational laboratories, including Demo Lab T4; support the implementation of special projects and the conduct of working groups that require substantial input of expertise on the Center’s areas of action; and contribute on content aspects to Cyber 4.0’s participation in funded initiatives, both nationally and in the EU.
  • Training and Orientation, which aims to: implement the training and awareness program in charge of the Center, develop and maintain the catalog of related initiatives, and ensure coordination with members for the delivery of consequent activities; coordinate orientation initiatives, including digital assessment and cyber assessment activities, and test before invest initiatives, ensuring adequate involvement of companies and PAs; contribute to analyses on the cyber posture of companies and public administrations.
  • Communication, which aims to coordinate all communication and visibility initiatives, internal to the Association and to external stakeholders, including: the organization of Cyber 4.0 events and seminars; the participation of Cyber 4.0 in communication events organized by third parties; relations with the press and other communication agencies interested in the work of the Center; the management of social channels and related communities; and the management of the Center’s website and newsletter.
  • Administration and Finance, which aims to: ensure the proper economic and financial management of the Center, both in terms of reporting to the Ministry of activities that benefit from co-financing, and in terms of managing the active and passive cycle in the processes of purchasing and selling services by Cyber 4.0; it also has the task of ensuring the proper and smooth management of the Center’s internal administrative processes, including those related to human resources (attendance, salaries, vacations, missions, etc.).
  • Business Development, which aims to: develop Cyber 4.0’s services and enable their delivery to third parties, including taking care of the aspects of managing potential clients, involving members in related operational activities and related contracting; keeping the Center’s catalog of market services up to date; and facilitating Cyber 4.0’s participation in nationally and EU-funded activities (from identifying the opportunity, to participating in the call, to managing relationships with other proponents).