Rules for submission of applications for NNUF funded user access scheme

Content

1.    The study proposed must be original and shall not duplicate any work already funded by a current EPSRC or industrial award.
2.    The proposed work should aim to produce results of a quality suitable for publication.
3.    Any work undertaken under the NNUF access scheme must be for non-commercial research purposes.

Facilities

4.    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.

 

Funding

5.    The NNUF access scheme will normally only support activities at, and shipping between, NNUF facilities. Where an NNUF facility is hiring equipment out for the user to utilise at their home institution, the access scheme can also cover the costs associated with shipping and use of this equipment at the user’s home institution.

6.    The NNUF access scheme does not provide funding to support salaries or tuition/stipend costs.
7.    Applicants must be able to demonstrate existing funding for all necessary components of the proposed project not fundable by the NNUF access scheme.
8.    It is expected that most NNUF access scheme funded work will be completed within 6 months of the date of award (excepting cases where equipment failure delays access). Applications for work lasting longer than 6 months will be considered if a persuasive case is made by the applicant in the application form.

 

Applicant

9.    Proposals are welcomed from principal investigators affiliated with any UK Higher Education institution (or employees of other organizations eligible to apply for UKRI funding). 
10.    Applications from early career researchers and, in line with UKRI policy, applicants from underrepresented groups in the research community are encouraged, although investigators should have employment contracts for at least one year past the expected end date of the proposed work.  
11.    Proposals from principal investigators not from a UK institution will be accepted as long as one of these two criteria is satisfied:

(i) the proposal includes a collaborator who is from a UK university (or an employee of another UK-based organization that is eligible to apply for UKRI funding). This collaborator must have a significant role in the experiment or project.

(ii) The case is made in the application that the proposed experiment is part of establishing or expanding a substantial collaboration between the host institution and the external group. This can be evidenced by a clear commitment to joint publications arising and/or the access being the first stage in establishing a substantial new collaboration with benefits to the host institution.

12.    We reserve the right to query an application where a perceived conflict of interest is a cause of concern.

Application

13.    All proposals must be submitted on the form available from this website, and include: 

i.    The members of the team undertaking the proposed work

ii.    A technical narrative supporting the novelty, timeliness and impact of the work

iii.    A description of the intended programme of work (in sufficient detail to be able to assess both feasibility and intended outcomes)

iv.    Evidence that this programme has been discussed and validated by the NNUF facility partner(s).

Publications and other "outputs"

14.    Successful applicants must cite NNUF in any publications, reports, patents or other “outputs” which result from their research, and notify the NNUF Management Group (by emailing francesca.mcgowan@materials.ox.ac.uk) when any such “outputs” occur. Please respond in a timely manner to enquiries from the NNUF Management Group on these matters, as this information is required for our reporting to EPSRC and the UK government.

15.    All publications arising from research funded by this access scheme must be published open-access, as per UKRI's policy on access to research publications.