SMCRI is managed by two business units of the National Research Foundation, a statutory entity established in terms of the National Research Foundation Act (Act no. 23 of 1998). The SAEON Elwandle Coastal Node is completely integrated into the SMCRI and the manager of the Node also manages the RI. SMCRI has in-house administrative support, but relies on SAEON and SAIAB for all the necessary support functions, e.g. business operations, HR, finance and SCM. In turn, the two business units rely on NRF corporate shared services such as HR, Legal, Finance, Audit and SCM to provide the necessary support in terms of policies, procedures and advice. 

The SMCRI Advisory Panel meets once a year and provides strategic guidance to the SAEON Elwandle Coastal Node on the overall strategic direction, management and performance of the SMCRI in accordance with the DSI funding contract (DST/CON0146/2017 and subsequent amendments). Communities of Practise Working Groups provide technical advice and guidance from stakeholders and to drive the technical development of the research platforms. Working Groups have been established for some of the 15 research infrastructure platforms making up SMCRI.