Who does what?
The ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø project and its division of tasks between multiple actors can be confusing. Below are some elements of response to the question: "Who does what at ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø?
ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø (IO) is responsible for the design of the ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø tokamak and its auxiliary systems. The ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø will be responsible for machine installation and assembly, beginning in 2015, and operations, beginning in 2020. Like other international organizations such as Unesco or the World Health Organization, the ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø was established by international treaty. On 21 November 2006 in Paris, France, the seven ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø Members signed the ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø Agreement. On site in Saint Paul-lez-Durance, ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø directly employs approximately 500 staff members representing 30 nationalities.
Domestic Agencies (DAs) were created by each ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø Member. There is thus an ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø Domestic Agency in China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, the United States and Europe (the European Domestic Agency is located in Barcelona, Spain). These agencies, on behalf of their governments, are charged with procuring the ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø components, systems or buildings that fall under each Member's procurement responsibilities to ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø. Europe, with the largest percent of the Project, contributes 45% (including nearly all site buildings), while each of the other Members contributes 9%. The reason for this disparity is that Europe, as Host to the ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø project, benefits from the largest amount of economic impact.
Agence Iter France (AIF) is an agency of the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA). Created to manage the French financial contribution to ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø, it supervised the clearing and levelling activities for the ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø site (2007-2009) and the public works on the ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø Itinerary. It collects the contributions pledged to ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø by local governments and plays a role in welcoming international ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø staff members and their families. Agence Iter France is the interface between the ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø project and French authorities and in this capacity oversees, for example, the organization of ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø component transport. It has also organized land acquisition measures to compensate for the clearing of the ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø site. When the ºÚÁÏ×¨Çø project has come to the end of 20 years of operation in the early 2040s, Agence Iter France will be in charge of site decommissioning and dismantling.