Application form for NNUF funded user access scheme

Before completing this form, please ensure that:

  • you have read the page entitled NNUF funded user access scheme: overview and workflow
  • you have discussed the feasibility of your proposed research directly with the facility/facilities in question:
    • please use the feasibility checklist to structure your discussions with the facility/facilities.
    • please obtain an email from the facility/facilities in question, confirming the feasibility of conducting your proposed research. You will need to upload this as part of your application for the NNUF funded user access scheme.
    • Please ensure that the facility has seen and approved the final version of your application form before you submit it to NNUF.
  • you have consulted the page entitled Rules for submission of applications for NNUF funded user access scheme.

If you have any questions about how to complete the form, or would like any assistance during the application process, please don't hesitate to contact Julia Ramírez González, NNUF Project Manager (julia.ramirezgonzalez@materials.ox.ac.uk). N.B. Technical questions pertaining to experimental feasibility should be directed to the facility contact, as mentioned above.

We would recommend that you have all the information ready before you complete this form (you may wish to write your application in e.g. Word document format first, and copy sections across to this web-based application form one by one). This way, if the connection times out before you have finished the form, or there are any other technical difficulties, you will not have lost your work. Unfortunately the system will not save incomplete applications, for you to go back and finish later.

Please do not refresh the page while you are working on the form, as this will delete the information you have entered.

 

Before completing the application form please ensure that you, and any team members whose details you are entering into the form, have read the privacy notice:

 

(N.B. The privacy notice was updated for call 4 - if you are a repeat applicant, it is worth your looking at this latest version of the privacy notice).

 

 

 
1 Start 2 Preview 3 Complete
SECTION A: PRELIMINARY INFORMATION
1. Personal details
Please note that all applications for the NNUF funded user access scheme will be evaluated “person-blind” by the management group (Prof Chris Grovenor, Prof Malcolm Joyce and Prof Francis Livens). Your personal details will be used by the NNUF Administrators to contact you regarding the outcome of your application etc. You are not required to upload a CV or bio.
1a. Principal Investigator
Will the PI be undertaking experimental work? *
1b. Team Members
Please list here the name and position of all the external users who would be undertaking the proposed experimental work (up to a maximum of 5 team members in total, including the PI). If you have more than one team member (in addition to the PI), you will be able to enter their details once you have populated the information for the first additional team member. (N.B. Do not list employees of the facility you are proposing to access in this section).
First team member (in addition to PI) - if any
Second team member (in addition to PI) - if any
Third team member (in addition to PI) - if any
Fourth team member (in addition to PI) - if any
N.B. We are interested in whether the proposed research is part of a major existing activity in your research group or a new area you are looking to develop, and also to check if you have already applied for access funding under, for instance, existing EPSRC grants.
Please upload email correspondence or equivalent between yourself and a member of staff at the NNUF facility partner (points of contact at each facility are given on the facility’s page on this website). Please ensure that you have used the feasibility checklist (hosted on the "Facility feasibility checklist" page of this website) to structure your discussions with the facility. (Please note that unfortunately the system does not accept email files for upload; please save supporting emails as a different file format, e.g. zip file or pdf, prior to upload). If the facility requires proposals to go through an internal quality-control process, please also upload evidence that this has been successfully completed.
For the last "regular" quarterly call of the NNUF access scheme (call 13), the facility access fees must be at least £30k. For the "Larger Projects Competition", the facility access fees must be £150-250k. Please include an email chain or similar between yourself and the facility, indicating that the facility has provided the facility access quote to you in writing.
More information
  • Files must be less than 2 MB.
  • Allowed file types: gif jpg jpeg png.
Please note
If applying to the HOT ROBOTICS FACILITY, please ensure: [1] that your email correspondence includes responses from the facility's technician (contact nnuf-hr@race.ukaea.uk, nnuf-hr@bristol.ac.uk, nnuf-hr@manchester.ac.uk or nnuf-hr@uknnl.com); [2] that you include the costs for use of the Hot Robotics Facility and/or equipment.
5. Estimate of expenses (travel; subsistence; sample transport costs; costs associated with equipment hire off-site e.g. transport of kit, insurance etc.; UK conference attendance)
Please upload an itemised estimate/quote of expenses that you would anticipate claiming from the NNUF user access scheme (N.B. This does not include facility access fees: if your application is successful, the NNUF management group will transfer these directly to the facility once your access has been completed). Please ensure that any costs estimated or claimed are in line with University of Oxford expense guidelines, and demonstrate this by itemising your estimate. If you are successful in your application, then once your access has been completed, you will need to send receipts for expenses to Christiana Hadlow, NNUF Project Assistant (christiana.hadlow@materials.ox.ac.uk), who will reimburse these funds to you. (Please note that unfortunately the system does not accept email or .txt files for upload; if you have a quote in email or .txt format, please save it as a different file format, e.g. zip file or pdf, prior to upload).
More information
  • Files must be less than 2 MB.
  • Allowed file types: gif jpg jpeg png bmp eps tif pict psd txt rtf html pdf doc docx odt ppt pptx odp xls xlsx ods xml avi mov mp3 ogg wav bz2 dmg gz jar rar sit tar zip.
SECTION B: EXPERIMENT INFORMATION
Please provide a description of the intended programme of work (in sufficient detail for the management group to be able to assess both feasibility and the impact of the intended outcomes). Include a technical narrative supporting the novelty, timeliness and impact of the work, and the outcomes of the discussions you will already have had with facility staff to scope out the practical details and feasibility of your proposed experiment.
A proposal may request NNUF funding for use of facilities at up to three partner institutions, for instance for sample preparation at one partner, irradiation at another and post-irradiation examination (PIE) at a third.
N.B. You can also request funding from NNUF to access to equipment at the host institution not funded by NNUF if it is necessary to carry out your experiment.
Please state where your specimen(s) will come from, whether you will be arranging for any sample(s) to be transported to the facility where your access will take place, or whether the sample(s) will need to be prepared on-site at this facility. Include the outcomes of any discussion you have had with facility staff.
Please list the number of days’ access required, based on discussions with the facility staff.
e.g. cost of sample transport, T&S for additional researchers attending a Diamond experiment in addition to the 3 funded by Diamond, etc. (You will already have uploaded estimates/quotes for these in Section A above, but please write a few words summarising your special requirements here, FAO the management group).
Please state your requested timeline. N.B. It is normally expected that the successful applicants will have completed their access within 6 months of the date of award, excepting cases where equipment failure delays access (or in the case of e.g. NNL, within 6 months of security clearance having been granted by the facility). Applications for work lasting longer than 6 months will be considered if a persuasive case is made by the applicant in the application form.
11. Please state whether you are applying for access to take place at a future date (for example to enable time for sample preparation) *
If you select "yes", you will be prompted to explain why, and to enter your “intended date” for access to start. It would be expected for your access to take place within 6 months of the “intended date” you select.
12. Are radioactive samples or materials involved in this project? *
If so, you must have discussed and agreed the activity levels with the facility (facility contacts are given on the facility's page on this website). You will also need to specify the number of active samples.
Please tick to confirm that you have discussed these radiation levels with the facility *
Specifically, please tick to confirm that you understand it is your responsibility, as a user, to comply with regulations surrounding radioactive sample transport. *
13. Does your application constitute a resubmission (i.e. are you resubmitting an application which was previously rejected)? *
If you select "yes", you will be prompted to provide details of the original submission and explain briefly how you have amended the proposal.
14. Have you/your team had previous access granted to the same facility/facilities under earlier rounds of the NNUF access scheme? *
If you select "yes", you will be prompted to provide details of outcomes/outputs from this access.
This information may be considered by the Management Group when evaluating your application for further use of the same facility/facilities.
Please explain which area(s) of nuclear research your proposal falls under, making reference to the UK’s research priorities. It is important that the NNUF Management Group can assess how your proposed work is relevant to the UK's nuclear mission.
Please confirm that your contact at the facility has seen and approved the FINAL VERSION of the application form you are about to submit *
Please confirm that both you and the team members on behalf of whom you are submitting this application have viewed the privacy notice. *