At the end of 2012, the Global Design Effort (GDE) will release its Technical Design Report. At the same time, the Research Directorate (RD) and the ILC community will produce detailed baseline designs for two detectors.

What then?

A conceptual supporting model of a multinational-laboratory

This is the question being addressed by the International Linear Collider Steering Committee (ILCSC), the body charged by the International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA) with overseeing the design of the ILC and its detectors.

As part of that task, the ILCSC is considering models for the future management, governance and siting of the ILC. A subcommittee, composed of Joachim Mnich (DESY), Pier Oddone (Fermilab) and Atsuto Suzuki (KEK), has prepared an interim white paper entitled "Comprehensive Project Design Guidance for the International Linear Collider (CPDG)." The paper puts forth their very preliminary thoughts on these issues.

The present draft has not been endorsed by ILCSC; it is being released by its authors at this early stage to promote debate and discussion. The document and previous comments are available at http://cpdg.kek.jp (cpdg is the username and password).

The document, after a brief introduction, will be structured in three parts, addressing:

1. top-level management and site selection processes (to be prepared by members of the ILCSC, with advice and assistance from the GDE and the RD),
2. accelerator construction and management (to be prepared primarily by members of the GDE), and
3. detector construction and management (to be prepared primarily by members of the RD and the ILC detector communities).

The subcommittee proposes to submit its white paper to the ILCSC roughly in sync with the Technical Design Report and the detailed baseline designs.

The subcommittee welcomes your comments on its work. The site can accept your comments via a web form as well as by email; all comments received before 17 December 2010 will be considered as the paper is revised.

The GDE itself is studying governance models for large international projects. Their preliminary conclusions and recommendations are also available for comment (ICHEP_Paris_writeup.pdf). This report provides valuable information that will be folded into the CPDG paper.

During the next two years, the ILCSC, GDE and RD will formulate a set of guiding principles for the ILC project design and execution, and distill them into a single coherent document. We need that document to be as strong as it can possibly be, reflecting the views of the international high-energy physics community.

With successful completion of the design process in sight, it is time to prepare the next steps towards realising this important project. Please join in and contribute to the discussion. We need the best ideas that our community is able to produce.

-- Jonathan Bagger, Chair, the International Linear Collider Steering Committee