ch councils uk - infrafrontier · 2016-04-05 · councils.the roadmap and the processes used to...

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�The seven Research Councils are the UK’s biggest public funders of cutting edge research.We support research, training and knowledge transfer in everything from architecture tozoology and support world-class large-scale research facilities.We also promote publicengagement in the research we fund.We work in partnership with other research investorsincluding government departments and agencies, charities, industry and the EuropeanCommission.

Our collaborations extend across disciplines, organisational boundaries and the world.We worktogether through Research Councils UK, the strategic partnership of the Research Councils.The Research Councils are independent public bodies funded principally through the UKGovernment’s Science and Research Budget, which is administered by the Department forInnovation, Universities and Skills.

� ARTS AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH COUNCIL (AHRC)www.ahrc.ac.uk

� BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL (BBSRC)www.bbsrc.ac.uk

� ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (ESRC)www.esrc.ac.uk

� ENGINEERING AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL (EPSRC)www.epsrc.ac.uk

� MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (MRC)www.mrc.ac.uk

� NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL (NERC)www.nerc.ac.uk

� SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES COUNCIL (STFC)www.stfc.ac.uk

The Science and Technology Facilities Council was formed on 1 April 2007 from the merger of the ParticlePhysics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) and the Council for the Central Laboratory of theResearch Councils (CCLRC).

The UK Research Councils

Foreword

It is my pleasure to present here the 2008 ResearchCouncils UK Large Facilities Roadmap.The Roadmapprovides a comprehensive picture of the major researchinfrastructures planned and under construction by theResearch Councils, and the facilities that they and theirresearch communities have identified as emergingopportunities for the future.The picture that thedocument presents is of a vibrant research basesupported by a broad array of facilities serving a widerange of researchers, with in all cases the goal ofmaintaining and developing world class researchcapabilities for the UK.The Roadmap includes facilities forthe physical and for the life sciences, for engineering,astronomy, environmental research, medicine, and thesocial sciences.These facilities include the familiar largephysical installations, but increasingly they also take theform of novel distributed, networked resources thatexploit advances in information and communicationstechnology to underpin new collaborative modes ofresearch.The Roadmap contains facilities in the UK andoverseas; national and international projects; newinitiatives; and upgrades and renewals of existingcapabilities.The Roadmap also provides an update onthose facilities funded through the Large Facilities CapitalFund (LFCF) since 2005.

The roadmap has benefited from a broad range of inputs.This started with the ongoing process of engagement

between the Research Councils and academic andindustrial researchers to highlight needs and opportunities,and also took advantage of contacts with our Europeanand international partners, through the European StrategyForum on Research Infrasructures, forums and strategygroups related to particular subject areas and disciplines,and a wide range of formal and informal contacts. A draftversion of this Roadmap was then made available for apublic consultation and revised on the basis of thecomments received.We anticipate making regular updatesto the Roadmap in future.

I hope that this document serves as a useful depiction ofthe UK’s emerging research facility landscape.Whilefunding for many of the facilities described here is not yetsecured, the Roadmap should serve as a good indicationof the Research Councils’ thinking and their expecteddirection for the future. I hope it proves useful to ourinternational partners, to our research communities and togovernment.

Professor Ian DiamondChair, Research Councils UK Executive Group

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"The Halley Research Station, Antarctica. See page 30."

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Introduction

Contents

The Government’s vision is that the UK should be themost attractive location in the world for science andinnovation, being a key knowledge hub in the globaleconomy, with a reputation not only for outstandingscientific and technical discovery, but also a world leader atturning that knowledge into new products and services.

Fundamental to achieving this vision is the UK’s R&Dcapacity - state of the art facilities and laboratories andexcellent skilled people.

The Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004-2014 sets out the Government’s continuingcommitment to ensure that UK researchers have accessto world leading scientific facilities, either in the UK orabroad. Increasingly science is an international endeavourboth in terms of its scale and the need to address globalresearch challenges, and consequently national researchfacilities are increasingly being replaced by more advancedand technologically complex international facilities.

In this context, it is important that the UK has a clearstrategic view of how best to maintain access to worldclass facilities.The RCUK Large Facilities Roadmap provides a comprehensive picture of planned and futurefacilities, and provides details of potential large facility andequipment projects that the Research Councils would liketo see available to researchers over the next 10-15 years.

As well as articulating the broad scope of the UK’spotential requirements, the RCUK Large FacilitiesRoadmap is used by the Research Councils and theDepartment for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS)to help decide which large scale facilities or infrastructurethey should invest in.The Roadmap also provides a basisfor discussions with international partners about futureinvestments.

Chapter 1 - Context1.1 A Vision for World-Class Research page 31.2 Challenges for the UK Science and

Technology Base page 3

Chapter 2 - Background2.1 The Purpose of the Roadmap page 52.2 The Large Facilities Capital Fund page 52.3 International Relationships page 6

Chapter 3 - Facility Descriptions page 8Current Facilities Page 9Renewals and Upgrades Page 21Emerging Facilities 2

Glossary of acronyms Page 75

Annexes Page 77

Index of Facilities by discipline Page 81

Chapter 1 - Context

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The UK is, and is committed to remaining, a leading nationin the fields of research and innovation. As stated in theGovernment’s ten year Science and Innovation InvestmentFramework, the UK, with only 1% of the world’spopulation, carries out more than 10% of the world’sresearch and publishes more than 13% of the world’s top-cited scientific papers. It is second only to the UnitedStates in many metrics. In an increasingly global andcompetitive world, this strength in research and innovationis the foundation on which our future economicprosperity rests.

To maintain and build on this impressive achievementrequires that UK researchers have access to a full range ofworld-class research facilities and infrastructure. Forexample, the increasing importance of understanding andmanipulating the properties of materials at the atomic and

molecular scale requiresaccess to a broad suite ofimaging facilities such asneutron sources,synchrotron light sourcesand free electron lasers toprobe and control atomicstructures and processes.These capabilities,embodied in facilities likethe UK’s new Diamond

Light Source, enableinnovation across diverse andimportant areas ranging fromenergy storage technologiesto drug development.

The growth of digital andcommunication technologiesand networking has alsocreated emergingopportunities to establishnew kinds of facility –interconnected networks ofinformation, resources and ofresearchers.These createnew research opportunities both through their ability tocollect, bring together and find patterns and information inlarge amounts of data, and by bringing together people,resource and expertise to achieve new ways ofcollaborative work.

Many of the facilities listed in this Roadmap offermultidisciplinary research opportunities or exploittechnological strengths that cut across the ResearchCouncils.The Roadmap and the processes used todevelop it are a positive indication of the commitment ofthe Research Councils to work together to provide UKresearchers with world-class tools.

1.1 A Vision for World-Class Research

The current set of RCUK priority themes serves asexcellent examples of the societal and economicchallenges which guide the need for the facilities in thisRoadmap.

Energy – The challenge is to develop novel, sustainableand lower-impact methods of energy generation, storageand distribution to address the outstanding internationalissues of climate change and security of energy supply.Thiswill require new materials, new processes and newtechnologies.

Living With Environmental Change – We need toincrease resilience to, and reduce the costs of,environmental change, addressing the associated pressureson natural resources, ecosystem services, economicgrowth and social progress.

Global Uncertainties: security for all in achanging world – As the focus on issues of security,conflict and uncertainty on the world stage has increased

markedly in recent years, so has the need for a researchagenda that can address the inter-related global context ofcrime, terrorism, environmental stress and global poverty.We need to understand the causes, methods of detectionand possible interventions to prevent harm.

Ageing: life longhealth andwellbeing – As thepopulation evolves wewill need to continueto target the majordeterminants of healthand wellbeing over thewhole lifetime, aimingto cure disease,improve public healthand individual quality oflife, and reducedependency in laterlife.

1.2 Challenges for the UK Science and Technology Base

Digital economy – Highly networked and ubiquitousaccess to data and computing power continues torevolutionise society. Early adoption of such tools,supported by research capacity and skilled people, willposition the country to reap the economic and socialbenefits of those changes.

NanoScience through Engineering to Application– Nanotechnologies can revolutionise society, offering thepotential of transformative changes in electronic materials,optics, computing and in the application of physical andchemical understanding (in combination with biology) togenerate innovative self-assembled systems.

Our ability to address these and other important issuesrests on:

• The ability to attract, train and mobilise a skilledresearch workforce

• An excellent research base in fundamental science andtechnology

• Access to world-class research facilities

As well as providing solutions in areas of clear societal andeconomic impact, our facilities play a key role indeveloping our understanding of the universe, the earth,of materials and of life.While the immediate applicabilityof this kind of scientific knowledge may not always beclear, the joy of understanding plays a key role in attractingyoung people into scientific and research careers; in thelong term it provides the essential foundation forcontinued technological and economic development.Examples of the kinds of questions that are addressed bythe facilities in this Roadmap range from the fundamentalto the applied:

• Why is there a universe?

• Was there ever life on Mars?

• How are the chemical elements created?

• How do cells work?

• How can we design better treatments for cancer?

• Can we create new materials to store energy?

• How do the oceans regulate the Earth’s climate?

• What demand will an ageing population place onhealth systems, on social care, on pensions andpublic/private savings and on the varying nature ofconsumer’s expenditure?

• What is the impact of genetic endowment and earlychildhood experience on, for example, later physicaland mental health, wellbeing, educational achievementand wealth?

The Research Councils provide a significant contributionto the UK’s scientific and research facilities portfolio. EachCouncil develops a vision and strategy for the research inits area, funds that research, and (working with the otherCouncils) develops a plan for provision of the facilities thatwill be needed.

The goal of thisRoadmap is toprovide an overviewof these researchfacilities.

Facilities have beenselected for inclusionin this Roadmap onthe basis of theirstrategic importanceto the ResearchCouncils, and theirrequirement forsignificant capitalinvestment.

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Investing in leading edge facilities or providing funding toenable access to world class facilities is normally theresponsibility of the university or research body whereindividual researchers are employed. However, astechnology has developed, new facilities are increasinglycomplex and more expensive than those they arereplacing. Research, too, is being pursued to a greaterdegree on an international basis, reflecting the nature ofglobal challenges such as climate change and the scale ofmajor endeavours in areas such as particle physics. Manyareas which have up until now been dominated bynational facilities are in future likely to be replaced by nextgeneration international facilities.

Increasingly, therefore, there are a range of facilities that falloutside the funding remit or capability of any individualorganisation.The types of facility that fall into this class aretypically those that are large and very expensive; have longuseful lifetimes, e.g. 10-20 years; have multiple users bothnationally and internationally; are interdisciplinary; offerunique capabilities within the UK, or more widely; and arepotentially jointly funded or suitable subjects forinternational collaboration.

The UK needs to take a strategic view as to the best wayto maintain access for researchers to these large facilitiesand to manage the investment of public funds.To helpaddress this need,The Research Councils publish aRoadmap of large facilities.The first version of the LargeFacilities Roadmap was published in June 2001 andupdated in 2005.

This Roadmap includes national and international projects,within the UK and elsewhere.

It should be stressed that the Roadmap does not containevery conceivable facility in which UK scientists might wishto be involved; rather it concentrates on those identifiedby the Research Councils as being of the highest strategicimportance and require significant investment for theCouncil concerned.The process by which proposals forlarge facilities are prioritised by individual Councils variesaccording to the nature of the science and of the facilitybut will typically involve the following:

• A consideration of the strategic need for the facility inthe context of the Council’s mission and strategic plan,and usually involving the high-level strategic advisorystructure within the Council.

• Input from the scientific and other stakeholdercommunities (including other Councils) on the needfor and use of the facility and the expected quality andapplication of the research output. In the case ofrenewal of existing facilities this is likely to draw heavilyon reviews undertaken of past and current activity.

• Advice from technical experts on aspects such asdesign, location, management and operations andcapital and operational costs.

• The wider international context and particularly thepotential for partnership with others.

Following the recommendations of the report by theNational Audit Office, Big Science: Public Investment inLarge Scientific Facilities, this Roadmap has been subject toconsultation with interested stakeholders.

Chapter 2 - Background

2.1 The Purpose of the Roadmap

In the UK funding for large facilities and infrastructure isavailable from Government Departments, RegionalDevelopment Agencies, Devolved Administrations,charities, the private sector, the European Commission,and other international bodies. A particular source offunding is the Large Facilities Capital Fund (LFCF),administered by DIUS.

The Large Facilities Capital Fund, typically £100million per annum, was established to support ResearchCouncils’ investments in large research facilities with capitalfunding that could not be sensibly accommodated fromwithin Research Council budgets.The LFCF provides afunding contribution to the capital costs of:

• The construction of new facilities either nationally orinternationally;

• The expansion or enhancement of existing facilities;

• The upgrading or replacement of existing facilities.

To qualify for LFCF funding facilities must be included inthe RCUK Large Facilities Roadmap and satisfy one ormore of the following criteria:

• Have capital costs over £25 million;

• Have capital costs representing more than 10 per centof an individual Research Council’s annual budget;

• Serve the research communities of more than oneResearch Council.

2.2 The Large Facilities Capital Fund

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Excellent science can only be delivered when workingwith, and benchmarked against, the best scientists in theworld. In many circumstances, the UK’s interests will bebest served by participating in a facility overseas, forexample, through international subscriptions or bilateralarrangements with the host country. In this context, theUK needs to take a view on when and how to participatein major new international facilities, considering thepotential for the UK to provide global direction and todisseminate UK excellence, as well as enhancing theinternational collaborative activities of UK researchers.

Provision of research facilities can be undertaken in threemain ways:

• As a national (UK) facility;

• Jointly with European partners, either in the UK orelsewhere;

• Jointly with other global partners (such as the UnitedStates), either in the UK or elsewhere.

This Roadmap contains examples of all options.Thedescription of each facility, given in Chapter 3, makes clearthe nature of international collaboration (if any) that isinvolved.

The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures(ESFRI) has played a major role in developing a roadmapof research facilities of interest to European states. Asubstantial fraction of the ESFRI Roadmap facilities are ofinterest to UK researchers and therefore appear in thisRCUK Large Facilities Roadmap, either as potential futurefacilities that might be constructed in the UK withinternational collaboration, or as overseas facilities towhich access for UK researchers is desirable and UK

2.3 International Relationships

Inclusion of a facility in the Roadmap does not guaranteefunding from either Research Councils and/or DIUS viathe Large Facilities Capital Fund. Inevitably there are morepotential large facilities than available funding. For thisreason, Research Councils both individually and collectivelyare required to undertake a prioritisation exercise.Thestages of the prioritisation are:

• Selection of facilities for inclusion in the LargeFacilities Roadmap – Individual Research Councils,taking into consideration the views of theircommunities, decide which facilities should be includedin the Large Facilities Roadmap.

• Short-listing of facilities eligible for LFCF – Aninitial sift of all the potential facilities that are eligiblefor LFCF is undertaken individually by ResearchCouncils.The final short-list is agreed collectively by theResearch Councils.

• Prioritisation of facilities for LFCF – TheResearch Councils undertake a prioritisation exercise,using an agreed set of criteria, to identify a package offacilities that should be recommended for funding fromthe LFCF.The assessment criteria are given in Annex 1.The final prioritised list is agreed by the RCUKExecutive Group.

Following submission of the final prioritised list of projects,ministers then consider which projects should receive ‘ear-marked’ funding.

Research Councils will thus be providing advice to DIUSon prioritisation of the use of the finite LFCF budget.This

process will be managed by the Research Councils andtaken together with consultation responses to thisRoadmap, as well as any views expressed to DIUS fromrepresentative industry and scientific bodies andindividuals, will form the basis of advice to DIUS Ministersfor their allocation of the LFCF budget.

Following the prioritisation exercise, there is a generalprocess that is followed before funding is formallycommitted and released by DIUS.The funding approvalprocess involves:

• Allocation of resource through the LFCF

• Preparation of the Science Case

• Preparation of the Business Case - Gateway 1Review

• Procurement Strategy - Gateway Review 2

• Consideration by DIUS of the Business Caseand submission to Ministers for approval ofthe commitment of funds

Annex 2 describes the funding approval process and theOffice of Government Commerce’s (OGC) GatewayProcess in more detail.

The indicative funds available for the 2007 Large FacilitiesCapital Fund Prioritisation Exercise 2007 is given in Annex 3.

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contributions therefore may be appropriate. However, it isimportant to note that in many cases the ResearchCouncils’ involvement is dependent on the outcomes ofpreparatory phase studies, and that in these cases thefacilities have been included in the Roadmap for

completeness and to acknowledge possible ResearchCouncil involvement.

For ease of reference, the ESFRI facilities contained withinthis Roadmap are summarised in the table below:

Council of European Social Science Data Archives Page 24

European Social Survey Page 27

European Polar Research Ice Breaker (Aurora Borealis) Page 54

COmmunity heavy-PAyload Long endurance instrumentedaircraft for tropospheric research and geosciences (COPAL)

Page 44

Euro-Argo Page 47

European Multidisciplinary Seafloor Observation Page 53

Instrumented Autonomous Global Observing System- European Research Infrastructure

Page 63

Integrated Carbon Observation System Page 64

Life Watch Page 66

High Power Laser Energy Research Project Page 60

European Synchrotron Radiation Facility Page 28

European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Page 55

Extreme Light Infrastructure Page 56

Institut Laue-Langevin Page 11

Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources ResearchInfrastructure

Page 43

European Advanced Translational Research Infrastructurein Medicine

Page 49

European Centre for Systems Biology Page 50

European Life-Science Infrastructure for BiologicalInformation

Page 52

Infrafrontier Page 61

Infrastructure for Clinical Trials and Bio-therapy Page 62

Integrated Structural Biology Infrastructure Page 65

European Extremely Large Telescope Page 51

Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) Page 57

Square Kilometre Array Page 73

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ESFRI Facilities Detailed in this Large Facilities Roadmap

Astronomy, Astrophysics,Nuclear and Particle Physics

Biomedical and Life Sciences

Materials Science

Energy

Environmental Sciences

Social Science and the Humanities

This chapter describes the facilities that are included in thisRoadmap.The facilities selected by individual ResearchCouncils for inclusion reflect those that are of highstrategic importance, and require significant capitalinvestment for that Council. Further information on otherfacilities supported by the Research Councils can be foundon Research Council websites.

The Chapter is in three sections:

• Current facilities.This includes facilities that arealready operational or, for international facilities, wherethere is a UK subscription in place.

• Renewals and upgrades. This section includesdetails of planned or potential renewal of existingcapability and upgrades to current facilities.

• Emerging facilities.The projects in this section areeither entirely new facilities or those that were judgedstill to be in an advanced planning or concept stage.

Within each section, the facilities have been listedalphabetically.

Chapter 3 – Facility Descriptions

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Current

Census of Population Programme

BackgroundSince 1801, every 10 years the nation has set aside oneday for the census - a count of all people and households.It is the most complete source of information about theUK population that we have.The Economic and SocialResearch Council (ESRC) Census Programme providesdata and support services to allow users in UK Higherand Further Education institutions to access the 1971,1981, 1991 and 2001 UK censuses. It is the single mostimportant collection of modern UK census data, withholdings and data support which extend well beyond thatavailable from the three separate national censusorganisations.There are currently over 25,000 registeredusers.

The programme services have been funded from 2006-11by ESRC with additional support from the Joint InformationSystems Committee (JISC) and encompass data acquisitionand specialist data support units. An online registrationservice ensures easy access for academic users to a fullrange of census data products, including area statistics,geographical boundaries, interaction data and samples ofanonymised records from censuses 1971-2001.The Officefor National Statistics (ONS) Longitudinal Study (LS) andthe new Scottish Longitudinal Study are also part of theprogramme but covered by different access arrangements.

Existing capabilityThe current round of the programme which commencedon 1 August 2006 includes a new Census Portal and around of research and a series of Census DevelopmentProjects aimed at bringing forward innovative solutions inthe areas of census dissemination, census data linkage andunderstanding the impacts of contemporary societalchange on the census itself. It is anticipated that theseprojects will not only enhance the current service but willalso help to inform decision making both by ESRC and thecensus organisations concerning the next census in 2011.

The census datasets are complex but cover a broad rangeof demographic, economic and household data whichform an enormously rich resource central to a wide rangeof applied social science research, including for example:ageing, ethnicity and religion, social exclusion andneighbourhood policy, migration and regionaldevelopment, transportation planning, epidemiology andhealth care management. For many users, the value of thedata is increased by successive censuses with the potentialto analyse change through time.

The census longitudinal studies provide, in the case of heONS LS, linked records for a 2% sample of individualsover four decades.This dataset (held in a secure settingwith research access supported for approved projects)provides an enormously rich research base covering thepast economic, social and geographical circumstances of

individuals in relation to life events.The ONS LS and thenew Scottish Longitudinal Study cross-link censusresponses with vital events data (birth, deaths, andmarriages) and cancer registrations.

The census datasets are distinctive in their combination ofvery high population coverage, detailed socioeconomicinformation and detailed geography. For example, theSample of Anonymised Records (SARS) has been anoutstanding achievement for social science research. Usershave exploited the large sample size and relatively detailedgeography to look at social differences between sub-populations (especially ethnic groups) and betweengeographical areas.There have also been a number ofspecific policy related users of the SARS in such areas aslabour force forecasts, predicting the probability of long-term illness and household projections.

The Programme provides the major channel ofconsultation between the academic community and theUK census organisations with regard to all aspects ofplanning and specification of outputs for the 2011censuses, which is already underway.

Funding & partnershipsThe Census programme relies on ESRC working inpartnership with the three separate national censusorganisations. In addition, funding has been provided forthe Scottish Longitudinal Study from the General RegisterOffice for Scotland, Scottish Funding Council, the ChiefScientist Office (Scotland) and the Scottish Office.

The next Census will take place in 2011 and ESRC willmake strategic decisions about the future of theProgramme during 2009.

Estimated cost £8.4 millionEstimated operational date 2006

Informationhttp://census.ac.uk/

BackgroundThe Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) is anational data service that came into operation in January2003. It is a critical part of the UK social science datainfrastructure, providing access and support for anextensive range of key economic and social data, bothquantitative and qualitative, spanning many disciplines andthemes. It includes a number of specialist data servicesthat promote and encourage data usage in research,learning and teaching.

Existing capabilityThe specialist data services are:

• ESDS Government aims to promote and facilitateincreased and more effective use of governmentdatasets. Large-scale government surveys such as theGeneral Household Survey and the Labour ForceSurvey are key data resources for understandingpopulation structure and change for the UK and itscomponent countries.

• ESDS International provides access to, and supportfor, a range of international datasets - both macro andmicro sources.The macro databanks in ESDSInternational all contain socio-economic time seriesdata for a range of countries over a substantial period.Many are the current releases of the major statisticalpublications produced by intergovernmentalorganisations such as the World Bank, InternationalMonetary Fund or United Nations.Topics coveredinclude national accounts, industrial production,employment, trade, demography, human developmentand other indicators of national performance anddevelopment.

• ESDS Longitudinal promotes and facilitates increasedand more effective use of major longitudinal surveydatasets. Longitudinal surveys involve repeated surveysof the same individuals at different points in time.Theyhave become increasingly important in the socialsciences because they allow researchers to analysechange at the individual level.The service supports anumber of the UK’s internationally renownedlongitudinal studies, including the British HouseholdPanel Study and a number of the British birth cohortstudies.

• ESDS Qualidata provides access and support for arange of social science qualitative datasets.Theservice's focus is on acquiring digital data collectionsfrom purely qualitative and mixed methodscontemporary research and from UK-based 'classicstudies'.

The ESDS is of benefit to social science researchers as it isdedicated to supporting the secondary analysis of socialand economic datasets for research and teaching from the

Economic and Social Data Service

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Current

novice researcher to the experienced data analyst.This hasa positive impact on the social science researchcommunity as users benefit from the knowledge andexpertise of staff within these services.

The main impact comes from the research which iscarried out using the data resources made available by theservice. For example, some of the research supportedwhich has been supported by the surveys made availableby ESDS include:

• the resources, health and living conditions of olderpeople;

• ethnic differences in family and householdcomposition;

• changing patterns of consumptions, including drinkingand smoking;

• gender and ethnic differences in earnings fromemployment;

• social capital and its relationship to health,employment and earnings;

• comparisons across the countries of the UK andacross recent decades.

The ESDS is at the international forefront in developinginnovative data access and support systems and in drivingup standards for the preservation and cataloguing of socialscience data resources. It is a leading member of theCouncil for European Social Science Data Archives(CESSDA).

Funding & partnershipsThe ESDS came into operation in January 2003, fundedinitially for 5 years. ESRC have recently committed tofunding the service for a further five years from 2007 to2012 at a value of £12.3 million.

ESDS is jointly funded by the Joint Information SystemsCommittee (JISC), who contribute in the region of £2 million to the Service.

Estimated cost £14.3 millionOperational date January 2003, Renewal 2007

Informationhttp://www.esds.ac.uk/

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BackgroundThe Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) is an internationalresearch centre at the leading edge of neutron scienceand technology. Funded by 13 countries, it currentlyoperates the most intense neutron source in the world,together with a suite of 40 high-performance instruments.

Existing capabilityThe ILL makes its facilitiesavailable to about 2,000 visitingscientists from around the worldevery year. Over 750experiments, selected by ascientific review committee, areperformed at the ILL every year.

The unique neutron-beam instrumentation and thescientific expertise at the ILL is available for commercialR&D in such areas as microstructure in materials,mechanical stress in metals, the behaviour of polymers andcolloids, the morphology of surfaces and films, traceelement analysis and in situ studies of chemical reactionsin industrial products.

New capabilityThe ILL produced a long term strategy document in theautumn of 2006 called Perspectives and Opportunities.This laid out a 10 year plan to keep the ILL at theforefront of science using neutrons for the next 20 years.The plans identify a major investment programme ininfrastructure and new instruments.The strategy identifiesniche areas where ILL can excel rather competing withother neutron sources.The investment will also build on amajor refit programme that has just been completed

Institut Laue-Langevin

Current

which was required by the French authorities to guardagainst natural disasters (earthquakes).

The four investment programmes are:

• The renewal of key reactor components;

• The provision of new moderators, instruments andtechniques;

• The creation of Partnerships for Science andTechnology;

• The joint development of the common site shared bythe ILL and the European Synchrotron RadiationFacility (ESRF) and the European Molecular BiologyLaboratory (EMBL).

Funding & partnershipsFour Associates (France – CEA and CNRS, Germany andthe UK) provide the majority of the funding.The UK pays33% of the Associates’ contribution, currently £12 millionper year, and for that it receives typically 24% of theallocated beamtime.

It is envisaged that a significant amount of the costs will bemet from partner contributions through subscriptions.Some €24 million has been already been committed tothe programme by the Associates between 2007 and2015. However, there is a view from the Scientific Councilthat the funding requested (€160 million) is insufficientand so a prioritisation process and recosting is currentlyexercise underway.

€30 million for part (iv) of the upgrade is being soughtfrom local French authorities.

The ILL is a major European facility and the upgradeprogramme is detailed on the ESRFI roadmap.

Estimated cost €160 million Estimated operational date 2017

Informationhttp://www.ill.eu

BackgroundThe Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN will startoperation for physics in 2008. It will be the world’s highestenergy particle accelerator and will for the first time reachthe energies where our existing models of fundamentalparticles and forces fail. Discoveries are guaranteed, andmay revolutionise our ideas of why the universe is as it is

Existing capabilityThe UK is contributing strongly to the detectors, to dataanalysis and to computing and is well represented in themanagement of the project.

New capabilitySignificant work to modernise the supportinginfrastructure, some of which dates from the 1950s, isnow necessary. Around 2010 we anticipate a decision on apotential increase in the LHC collision rate by a factor of10, which would allow the production of more massiveparticles and rarer phenomena.This upgrade wouldrequire substantial rework of the detectors, and the R&Dfor such detector upgrades needs to start very soon.Weare therefore starting work on a number of technologiesrelevant to LHC detector upgrades with the goal of theUK playing a leading part in such projects.This will makeuse of and enhance our underlying expertise in solid-statepixel detectors – which have applications in many otherareas (such as Diamond and XFEL).

Discovery oriented accelerators like LHC always benefitfrom upgrades to the luminosity (collision rate).This allowsthem to produce more massive particles and rarerphenomena.The LHC accelerator will also need a numberof new components for a luminosity upgrade, includingnew higher-field magnets in the collision regions.TheRutherford Appleton Laboratory is part of a Europe-widecollaboration to develop such magnets but the effort iscurrently modest.

Funding & partnershipsTo get the best from the LHC will require that CERN isadequately resourced and able to operate the facilityefficiently and reliably. UK funding for the R&D programmewill be through the CERN subscription and from STFC’sresources. STFC supports, and has made provision for, amodest increase (by about £3 million p.a.) in the CERNsubscription. A UK bid to the LFCF may be made for theconstruction phase.

The full exploitation of the LHC is the highest priority inthe STFC particle physics programme and EuropeanStrategy for Particle Physics.The global detectorcollaborations, comprising 20 member and about 20 non-member states, have begun a focused R&Dprogramme on the technologies required for an upgradein luminosity.

Large Hadron Collider

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Current

Estimated cost £50 million (UK costs)Estimated operational date 2015

Informationwww.cern.ch

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BackgroundThe mouse is the most commonly used model system tounderstand the molecular basis of health and disease inhumans.To meet the post-genomic challenge and advanceunderstanding of biology and human disease, there is aninternational effort to generate mouse mutations forevery gene in the mouse genome.To facilitate the UK rolein this area and exploit economies of scale, a nationalcentre for the development of mouse models of humandisease, the Mary Lyon Centre (MLC) was established in2004 at Harwell, Oxfordshire.

Existing capabilityThe Centre supports programmes at the MammalianGenetics Unit (MGU) at Harwell and in the wider UKscientific community. MLC provides a number of servicesincluding services to target genes in embryonic stem cells,generate transgenic mice via both pronuclear andblastocyst injections, import, archive and re-derive mousecolonies, induce mutations via chemical mutagenesis, andcomprehensively phenotype and supply mouse lines.

The MLC offers state of the art equipment and embracesnew technical developments. Services can be tailored toaccommodate customer requirements and include regularmonitoring of the health status of mice through topathology services, backcross mapping, inheritance testingand archiving.The National Mouse Microarray Facility atHarwell is also part of the integrated approaches alreadyavailable to the scientific community at large.

The MLC and MGU are world leaders in the applicationof ENU mutagenesis as a systematic approach to gene

Mary Lyon Centre

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function studies, mouse archiving, application of genomestudies to mouse genetics and gene interaction studies.The on-going research programmes at the MGU takeadvantage of a combination of facilities and expertiseavailable at the MLC that is unique internationally, andbuilds upon an excellent track record of achievements,particularly in the fields of imprinting, sex determination,mutagenesis and genetics of deafness. Many of theseadvances have had a profound influence worldwide.

The Centre also has an important role in training andcapacity development in mouse model systems andmouse pathology. Improvement of the availability of in vivoskills is a key priority for the pharmaceutical andbiotechnology industries in the UK.

Funding & partnershipsThe project has been funded by MRC but the expectationis that the Centre will operate on a cost-recovery basisfor external users, and that external usage will increase asthe benefits of a centralised facility become more widelyknown among the user community.

The MGU and MLC have been and continue to beinvolved in several international projects includingEUCOMM, EUMORPHIA, EMPReSS, EUMODIC and arepartners in the planned ESFRI Infrafrontier project.

Estimated cost £18 millionOperational date 2006

Informationhttp://www.mlc.har.mrc.ac.uk/

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BackgroundMesoscale facilities are of a scale where there is limitedavailability in the UK.This might be because of the relativecost of the equipment (e.g. SuperSTEM), where dedicatedequipment is not required for a research project (e.g.Engineering Instrument Pool), because of the expertiseneeded to operate them or interpret results (e.g. X-raycrystallographic service), or where it makes sense to shareinformation or software (e.g. chemistry national databases).

Current capabilityEPSRC supports a number of these mesoscale facilities foruse by engineering and physical science researchers acrossthe EPSRC remit.

The current facilities are:

• National Crystallography Service(Southampton/Daresbury)

• Chemistry Database Service (Daresbury)

• Mass Spectrometry Service (Swansea)

• Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (Manchester)

• Computational Chemistry Service (Southampton)

• Solid State NMR (Durham)

• National Centre for Electron Spectroscopy andSurface Analysis (NCESS)

• SuperSTEM (Daresbury)

• National III-V Centre (Sheffield)

• Ion Beam Facility (Surrey)

• Polymer Characterisation (RAPRA)

• Engineering Instrument Pool (RAL)

• Laser Loan Pool (RAL)

• Medium Energy Iron Scattering (Daresbury)

• Isaac Newton Institute (INI) (Cambridge)

Mesoscale Facility Service Provision

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Most services are free at the point of access with thebenefit of administrative efficiency. Some services aresupported on a ‘core plus’ model through tickets.Thismechanism gives service operators a degree of stability toenable long term planning and retention of key staff (thecore), while also providing a degree of tensioning as usershave to request tickets through research grant fundedprojects.

Most services provide some level of training for usersincluding both the use of equipment and interpretation ofdata.

UK industry also benefits directly from the enabledresearch programmes through links with the universityuser groups, as well as direct contact with the facilities,through knowledge transfer and marketing activities.

Funding & partnershipsIn most cases EPSRC is the sole funder of the service,thereby guaranteeing 100% of available time for its users.

Current cost £9.8 million per annumEstimated operational date In operation

Informationhttp://www.epsrc.ac.uk/ResearchFunding/FacilitiesAndServices/OtherEPSRCSupportedServices.htm

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BackgroundThe National Centre for e-Social Science (NCeSS) isfunded by ESRC to investigate how innovative andpowerful computer-based infrastructure and toolsdeveloped over the past five years under the UK e-Science programme can benefit the social science researchcommunity.This infrastructure is commonly known as the‘Grid’.

E-social science refers to the use of Grid infrastructureand tools within the social sciences.The role of NCeSS isto investigate specific applications of e-social science,develop tools to support them and to advise on thefuture strategic direction of e-social science and e-science.NCeSS also provides information, training, advice, supportand online resources to help the social science researchcommunity adopt e-social science.The centre is alsoresponsible for providing advice to ESRC on the futurestrategic direction of e-social science.

Existing capabilityThe centre consists of a co-ordinating hub at theUniversity of Manchester, seven research nodes and 12 small grant projects.The research programme includesapplications of e-science in both quantitative andqualitative social sciences, and studies of issues relevant topromoting the wider adoption of e-science.

The NCeSS has been established with the aim of ensuringthe social sciences are able to exploit the full capabilitiesof next generation of research infrastructure, known asthe ‘Grid’ or ‘e-infrastructure’. Exploitation of thisinfrastructure is essential in order to address some of theexciting opportunities and challenges currently facing thesocial sciences.

For example, improving the re-use of existing datacollections, simplifying the linking of confidential social,medical, transactional and administrative datasets, andmeeting the challenges of the ‘data deluge’ arising from aprofusion of new, ‘naturally occurring’ sources of bothquantitative and qualitative social data is essential if the UKis to retain its position as a centre of excellence in socialand economic research. Meeting this challenge will requirebetter tools for archiving, describing, locating and accessing

National Centre for e-Social Science

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data, cleaning it, maintaining its confidentiality andcombining datasets. e-social science can deliver such tools.Easy-to-use but powerful analysis tools – both quantitativeand qualitative – will be essential if researchers are toharness the mass of varied digital data that is becomingincreasingly available and analyse it in ways that provide abetter understanding of complex, large scale and dynamicsocial and economic processes in finer detail and withgreater precision. Researchers will need better tools tosupport the management and execution of the researchlifecycle, from literature review and hypothesis formation,through to the publication of new data and results. Againe-social science can deliver such tools.

As society changes at an ever rapid rate, so researchersare being asked increasing searching questions. Suchquestions are increasing multi - or interdisciplinary andinternational in their scope and reach.Thereforeaddressing these questions will require the creation ofresearch programmes that are more collaborative, multi-or inter-disciplinary in their methods, large scale, long termand cross national boundaries. E-social science can providethe infrastructure required to facilitate effectivecollaborative working both within individual projects andwithin the wider research community, including morepowerful ways to share data and research findings,interoperable tools and virtual research environments.

Funding & partnershipsThe Centre was established in 2004, with funding of £8.4 million to date. Following a review of the centre’sactivities in 2007/08 ESRC will renewing its funding for thecentre for a further 5 years.

The centre has also been successful in securing funding fora number of projects to develop e-infrastructure for thesocial sciences. Funding has come from EPSRC, JISC, EUand the e-science institute.

Estimated cost £10.5 millionEstimated operational date 2007/2008 renewal

Informationhttp://www.ncess.ac.uk/

BackgroundThe mission of the National Centre for Research Methods(NCRM) is to provide a strategic focal point for theidentification, development and delivery of an integratednational research and training programme aimed atpromoting a step change in the quality and range ofmethodological skills and techniques used by the UK socialscience community.

The NCRM’s research programme aims to stimulateimaginative new developments in methods and beresponsive to new needs and opportunities that arise. It isbased on three kinds of project:

• Node-based projects, focusing on innovativemethodological development within the context ofsubstantive research problems and applications, withan emphasis on transferability to other disciplines andresearch fields.

• Short-term projects, catalysing projects, stimulatingresearch and debate on new methodologicalchallenges; synthesising projects, reviewingdevelopments within specific methodological fields.

• Affiliated projects, other methodological innovativeresearch projects invited to affiliate to the Centre andparticipate in its activities.

The NCRM’s training and capacity building programme hastwo broad aims:

• upgrading the quality and range of the methodologicalskills base across the general social sciencecommunity;

• facilitating the diffusion of cutting-edge methodologicalexpertise to a new generation of social scientists.

The training programme includes face to face trainingopportunities as well as mentoring schemes, placements,on-line training materials, and expert seminars andworkshops.The centre also acts as a general resource forthe UK social science community, providing up-to-dateinformation and on-line resources of a wide range ofmethodological issues.

Existing capabilityThe NCRM consists of a co-ordinating hub at theUniversity of Southampton and a number of nodes basedat various UK universities.

The centre forms a key part of the ESRC's broaderstrategy aimed at enhancing the capacity of the UK socialscience community to deliver high quality quantitative andqualitative research, and promoting a step change in thequality and range of methodological skills and techniquesused by the UK social science community.

National Centre for Research Methods

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The key objectives of the NCRM are:

• To advance methodological understanding andpractice;

• To enhance the UK international profile in themethodological excellence and to ensure that the UKis at the forefront of international developments insocial research methodology;

• To play a strategic role in the promotion of highquality research methodology that involves inter-agency initiatives, including, but not limited to, thosefunded by ESRC;

• To co-ordinate and add value to the existinginvestments of ESRC that are concerned to enhancethe methodological sophistication and techniques andskills of current and future generations of socialresearchers.

Funding & partnershipsThe hub of the centre was established in 2004 for a five-year term and the nodes in 2005 for three year terms. Funding for the initial period (2004 to 2009) was£6.5 million.

Following a review of the centre’s activities, ESRC iscurrently in the process of renewing the hub contract fora further five year period and commissioning anotherround of centre nodes. £12 million has been allocated byESRC for the renewal of the centre.

Estimated cost £12 millionEstimated operational date 2008

Informationhttp://www.ncrm.ac.uk

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BackgroundThe oceans play a pivotal role in the functioning of theEarth system; for example the possible rapid collapse ofthe Atlantic Ocean’s thermohaline circulation would leadto severe and rapid climate change in north west Europe.Seagoing science is an essential element of Earth systemscience.

Existing capabilityAlthough remote sensing continues to be very importantfor improving our understanding of the oceans, thesetechniques are generally only able to provide quantitativedata from the first few centimetres of the ocean’s surface.They cannot be used to study the majority of the ocean’svolume, the sea floor and solid Earth beneath it. Othernew and improved technologies, such as remotelyoperated and autonomous underwater vehicles (e.g.AUTOSUB), deep ocean observatories and moorings,offer new ways to observe ocean processes and/or partsof the ocean.These technologies require access toresearch ships for their deployment, retrieval andmaintenance, and it is anticipated that their use willincrease the requirement for ship-time.

NERC has two dedicated research ships (the RRS JamesCook and the older RRS Discovery) for multidisciplinaryocean science cruises and continued investment in thesefacilities is required to ensure that the UK remains in thefirst division of seagoing science nations.The RRS JamesCook went into full service as a research ship in spring2007. It will operate worldwide from the tropics to theedge of the ice sheets, enabling leading edgemultidisciplinary research.The vessel will undertake bothcontinental margin and deep ocean projects.The ship's

Oceanographic Research Ship RRS James Cook

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design will enable it to work in higher sea-states thanNERC’s other dedicated research vessels. It is moremanoeuvrable, and has more scientific berths andadvanced technical facilities.

A replacement for RRS Discovery is a planned facility onthis Roadmap. Despite on-going improvements in themarine technologies that are used to sample the oceans,NERC will, for the foreseeable future, continue to requireaccess to two dedicated research ships and theinstrumentation that they contain.

Funding & partnershipsNERC is currently heavily involved with the bartering ofmarine facilities with its partners in the United States,Germany, France, the Netherlands and Norway.Thesebarter arrangements promote a more efficient and costeffective use of each country’s marine facilities by allowingthe scientific communities access to a wider range oftechnical facilities and geographical areas in a given yearthan would have otherwise been possible. Continuedaccess for the UK research community to barter facilitiesis contingent on there being on-going modernisation ofNERC’s research fleet and an enhancement of its facilities.

Funding for RRS James Cook came from the LargeFacilities Capital Fund and from NERC. It was delivered totime and budget and became operational early in 2007.

Cost £40 million Operational date 2007

Informationhttp://www.noc.soton.ac.uk/nmf/

BackgroundThe Research Complex at the Rutherford AppletonLaboratory (RAL) provides essential laboratory facilitiesfor both life and physical scientists to undertake new andcutting-edge scientific research using Diamond, ISIS, theCentral Laser Facility and other user facilities on the site.These national facilities (Diamond and ISIS) provide aunique staging ground for innovative multidisciplinaryresearch. Synergy between scientific disciplines and theResearch Complex will enable a vibrant scientific cultureof multi-facility working and generate an excellentenvironment for training.

Existing capabilityThe Research Complex will play a vital role in ensuringthat the infrastructure investment made on the RAL site,and the scientific opportunities they afford, are maximised.The UK Government’s vision for UK science, set out in itsGovernment Science & Innovation Investment Framework2004 – 2014, is to build on current strengths in research,and to ensure the UK has state-of-the-art facilities andlaboratories, and the skilled workforce, necessary to makethe UK the best location globally for research.The UK is aworld leader in structural biology and these facilities willenhance the UK’s standing in this field and help to increasenational capabilities in weaker areas such as physicalsciences and engineering.

If Diamond is to fulfil its anticipated potential as a UKflagship, attracting both national and internationalmultidisciplinary user communities and generating exciting

Research Complex at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

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research and developmentdiscoveries, it needs to becomplemented by essentialscientific facilities andinfrastructure support. Some ofthe areas of strategicimportance where more work isneeded, and where advancescould have enormous impactand high pay-off (e.g. for drugdesign), could be:

• structural studies onmembrane proteins

• biological imaging

• catalysis

• drug development anddelivery

• matter under extremeconditions

• chemical processing

• surface and nanoscience,

• energy research.

Users will increasingly want to do more complicatedexperiments. Many users’ programmes will be completelytransformed by access to high-grade facilities for samplepreparation and characterisation, both before and afteranalysis. For example, experience has shown that researchfacilities close to the source have allowed visiting andresident research teams to achieve remarkable advances,benefiting from close collaboration with the beamlinescientists and other technical experts at the facility.

Funding & partnershipsBBSRC, EPSRC, MRC, NERC and STFC are partners inthis project. MRC is leading the project on behalf of itspartner Councils.

Funding from the LFCF has been approved.


Informationhttp://www.diamond.ac.uk

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BackgroundUnderstanding the role of genetic disposition, lifestyle andenvironmental factors in common, multifactorial diseases iskey to developing new disease treatments, earlierdiagnosis and prevention of disease and improving humanhealth throughout society. However, understanding thecomplex interplay of these factors in common diseasesrequires research on large collections of well-documented,up-to-date epidemiological, clinical and biologicalinformation and accompanying material from largenumbers of patients and healthy persons, so-calledbiobanks.

UK Biobank will be a unique resource, recording lifestyleand environmental information, medical history, physicalmeasurements and biological samples from about 500,000people in the UK aged 40-69.Their health will be followedfor many years through medical and other health records.

Existing capabilityUK Biobank is a long-term project. Use by the widerresearch community is unlikely to begin in earnest until2015 but is expected to continue for a further 20-30years. As research takes place, the scientific value of thedataset is expected to increase as research findings are fedback into the dataset to enrich it.

UK Biobank will enable research that investigates a widerange of effects of the relationships between differentexposures and outcomes. It is anticipated that theresource will be used by a wide variety of researchersacross all aspects of health need, whether from academiaor industry in the UK or overseas.

In its developmental stages UK Biobank has alreadybecome a leader within the field of large scaleepidemiology studies and others will build on the

UK Biobank

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experiences of this resource.The resource has establishedground-breaking systems fordata collection andmanagement, and samplestorage and handling. AnInternational Review Panel saidthat the approach to ethicaloversight and governance was‘exemplary and would be heldup as a gold standard acrossthe world’.

The scientific benefits of UKBiobank will be derived frommore detailed scientificunderstanding of the processes to health and illhealth, theprogression of disease, the development of new publichealth prevention strategies and the development of newand better therapeutics and improved targeting of theiruse.

The central co-ordinating centre is based in Manchesterand works with 6 regional collaborating centres,representing universities across the UK. Recruitment isplanned to take place in a phased manner throughout theUK and aims to recruit a sample generalisable to thewhole population.

Funding & partnershipsThe development and recruitment phase of UK Biobank has been funded by MRC,Wellcome Trust, Department of Health, Scottish Executive and the North WestDevelopment Agency The total cost, to date, is £61 million.

Costs for the post-recruitment, follow-up phase (2010-2015) have not yet been allocated, but areestimated at approximately £12.4 million for 5 years.There are also plans for enhancement of the dataset,through intensive phenotyping with more detailedquestionnaires and measures, which will also requireadditional resource.

UK Biobank and many of the academics involved in itsdevelopment are involved in large international activitiesincluding P3G and ESFRI projects (e.g. BBMRI) as well asother large studies undertaken across the world.


Informationhttp://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/

BackgroundThe UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) is a majornew study of the UK population being commissioned byESRC.The study, consisting of some 40,000 households,will be the largest of its type in the world.

The study will provide valuable new evidence about thepeople of the UK, their lives, experiences, behaviours andbeliefs, and will enable an unprecedented understanding ofdiversity within the population. It will inform research onissues of importance to a wide scientific community ofinterest and will assist with understanding the long termeffects of social and economic change, as well as of policyinterventions designed to impact upon the generalwellbeing of the UK population.

Key features will include:

• an ethnic minority booster sample of over 3,000households;

• incorporation of the British Household Panel Survey(BHPS);

• interviews from all household members aged 10 andabove, 100,000 individuals in all;

• links to supplementary data, such as neighbourhoodinformation;

• the collection of health indicators and biomarkers;

• a platform for the collection of qualitative data;• an innovation panel for methodological research.

Existing capabilityThe UKHLS will provide valuable new evidence to informresearch on issues of importance to a wide scientificcommunity of interest and will assist in understanding thelong-term effects of social and economic change, as wellas providing a key evidence base for policy and practiceinterventions designed to impact upon the generalwellbeing of the UK population. Its academic as well aseconomic and societal impact potential is thereforesignificant.

The economic and societal impact of the UKHLS will begenerated through two channels:

• the direct use of this unrivalled evidence base by thepublic, private and voluntary sector. There is a hugepotential for major impacts on public policy-making.

• the indirect use of the evidence-base through theworld-class research on economic and societal issues,the findings of which will inform the development ofpublic policy.

UK Household Longitudinal Study

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The UKHLS dataset will revolutionise the capacity to studyour society, in such key areas as household anddemographic change, poverty, migration, labour marketdynamics, crime and ageing.The dataset will open upmajor new opportunities for more in depth and informedpolicy and national and regional analysis on such key topicsas the provision of public services, tax and pensions, crime,health and education.

The UKHLS will also open up exciting prospects foradvances at the interface between social science andbiomedical research. It will provide the opportunity toassess exposure and antecedent factors of health status,understanding disease mechanisms (e.g. gene-environmentinteraction, gene-to-function links), household andsocioeconomic effects and analysis of outcomes usingdirect assessments or data linkage.

Funding of the UKHLS will help to ensure that the UKcommands the most advanced social science datainfrastructure in the world, sustains its top twointernational ranking in social scientific research,strengthens its position as a global leader in such areas ase-social science, commands an unrivalled evidence base tomeet the national and regional and demands of the widerange of policy makers, and attracts world leadingresearchers to work in the UK.

Funding & partnershipsESRC has committed £15.5 million (£12.5 millioncommitted from the 2005 Large Facilities Capital Fund)over the period April 2007 - March 2012 to conduct thefirst two waves of data collections. Co-funding is also beingsought from a range of other Government Departmentsand funding bodies.


Informationhttp://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/ukhls/

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Renewals and Upgrades

BackgroundA modified BAe146 aircraft is operated by the Facility forAirborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM, part ofNERC’s National Centre for Atmospheric Science) as acollaboration between the Met Office and NERC. Itprovides an aircraft measurement platform for use by theUK atmospheric research community on campaignsthroughout the world.

FAAM is a shared facility to provide an atmosphericmeasurement capability from an instrumented aircraft forthe benefit of the NERC-funded and Met Office researchcommunity.The aircraft operates around the globe onmajor international projects, providing vital support to MetOffice and NERC community science programmes.Applications include: radiative transfer studies in clear andcloudy air ; tropospheric chemistry measurements; cloudphysics and dynamic studies; dynamics of mesoscaleweather systems; boundary layer and turbulence studies;remote sensing: verification of ground based instruments;satellite ground truth: radiometric measurements andwinds; and satellite instrument test-bed.

The broader impact of the facility is demonstrated by thetwo flights made to measure the extent and properties ofthe smoke from the Buncefield (Hemel Hempstead) OilTerminal fire on the two days following the explosion in2005.

Atmospheric Research Aircraft

New capabilityThe current lease ends in 2015 andthere is the possibility of an extensionfor up to a further 10 years. Shouldthere be no agreement on anextension, thus resulting in withdrawalof the current aircraft from service, asuitable airframe, conversion andsecuring a suite of core instruments willneed to be procured.

Funding & partnershipsFAAM is a partnership between NERC and the MetOffice, which share the management and operating costs.

UK research aircraft contribute to internationalprogrammes around the globe, often alongside researchaircraft from other nations. In addition, there is barteringthrough the European Fleet for Atmospheric Research(EUFAR).


Informationhttp://www.faam.ac.uk/

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BackgroundThe British Election Study (BES) has been conducted atevery General Election since 1964, making it the secondoldest election study in the world and one of the longestrunning academic time series in the UK. Its main aim is tounderstand why people vote, and why they vote the waythey do.The BES covers political preferences and values,dispositions to engage in different forms of political activity,and individual and socio-demographic changes.

The purposes of the BES are:

• to study long-term trends in British voting behaviour

• to explain the election outcome

• to explain party choice

• to explain election turnout

• to examine the consequences of elections for theoperation of democracy more generally.

The last study took place in 2005 and retains all the keyquestions that are part of the long-run series since 1964,the long-standing questions of ideology, economicperceptions and issue positions that were introduced after1979, as well as questions added in 2001 to explainturnout and to explore attitudes towards elections,parties, and the democratic process.The 2005 BES alsoincluded innovative internet experiments aimed atdeveloping better survey measures and ways of assessingmedia effects.

Existing capabilityThe British Election Study is a well established andimportant research tool used by both the academic andnon-academic communities. BES data are used by a varietyof stakeholders: British and international academics,journalists and government bodies (such as the ElectoralCommission).They are also used extensively for teachingon courses in British politics, elections and parties, as wellas more general courses on quantitative methods.The addition of questions in the 2001 and 2005 studiesaimed at exploring the decline in turnout since 1992(especially among the young) has meant that the BES hasevolved from a ‘mere’ election project into a more wide-ranging study of political engagement in Britain.The BESnow permits an assessment of the ways in which Britishcitizens think about democracy and the way that suchperceptions relate to the democratic process.Theseconcerns are likely to become more important overcoming decades.

British Election Study

The 2005 BES found that large numbers of British votersare (still) very strongly influenced by their sense that it istheir civic duty to vote. However, the distribution of thissense of duty is very heavily skewed towards middle andold age.Therefore, the single most powerful way in whichturnout in British General elections could be increasedwould be to increase the sense of civic duty among theyoung, particularly the under 40s.

In 2006 ESRC commissioned an independent review ofthe 2001 and 2005 British Election Studies.The reviewfound that the BES has consistently generated high qualitydata, which is straightforward to use and available to usersin a very short time. It found that BES data make asignificant impact and are an important tool for both UK-focused and comparative research.The BES results in alarge number of high quality publications which are wellregarded by users.The report noted that intervieweesview the BES as contributing to some of the best electoralanalysis in the world.

The British Election Study has established an internationalreputation as an authoritative source of information whichis widely respected and consulted across the userspectrum, from politicians to the media. Newsnight, theGuardian and the Financial Times all used BES findingsregularly during the 2005 election.

Funding & partnershipsThe BES in 2005 was co-funded by the ElectoralCommission, who contributed £95,000.

The ESRC, through a variety of mechanisms has alsofunded studies into the devolved elections in Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland since 1997.

In 2008 the ESRC agreed funding of the next BritishElection Study which will take place between 2008 and2010.

Estimated cost £1.5 millionEstimated operational date 2008 - 2010

Informationhttp://www.essex.ac.uk/bes/

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BackgroundThe Centre for Longitudinal Studies(CLS) is an ESRC resource centre basedat the Institute of Education, Universityof London.The Centre houses three ofBritain’s Internationally renowned birthcohort studies, the 1958 National ChildDevelopment Study (NCDS), the 1970British Cohort Study (BCS70) and theMillennium Cohort Study (a cohort ofchildren born in 2000-01).The threecohort studies involve multiple surveysof large numbers of individuals frombirth and throughout their lives.They include informationon education and employment, family and parenting,physical and mental health, and social attitudes. Becausethey are longitudinal studies that follow the same groupsof people throughout their lives, they show how historiesof health, wealth, education, family and employment areinterwoven for individuals, vary between them and affectoutcomes and achievements in later life.Throughcomparing the different generations in the three cohorts,we can chart social change and start to untangle thereasons behind it.

Existing capabilityHaving all three cohorts in one Centre brings considerableeconomies of scale, and also enables the Centre to makeimportant contributions to debates regardingadvancements in survey methodology, data collection anddeposit, and ethics.

Findings from the studies housed at the Centre havecontributed to debates and inquiries in a number of policyareas over the last half-century including: education andequality of opportunity; poverty and social exclusion;gender differences in pay and employment; social classdifferences in health; changing family structures; and anti-social behaviour.

The studies were key sources of evidence for a number ofgovernment inquiries such as the Plowden Committee onPrimary Education (1967), the Warnock Committee onChildren with Special Educational Needs (1978), the FinerCommittee on One Parent Families (1966-74), theAcheson Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health(1998) and the Moser Committee on Adult Basic Skills(1997-99). A study of working mothers and early childdevelopment helped shift the argument for increasedmaternity leave. Another study on the impact of assets,such as savings and investments on future life chances,played a major part in the development of assets-basedwelfare policy, including the much debated 'Baby Bond'.

Centre for Longitudinal Studies

There are many cohort studies across the world and staffat the CLS have an interest in maintainingcomplementarity of information to enable cross nationalcomparisons.The CLS in particular has links with othercohorts that started around the Millennium and held aconference drawing these together in 2006. A CLS-ledinternational conference entitled ‘Life Before and After 50’is planned for 2010 to link up the NCDS with other largescale surveys containing information on this age period.

Funding & partnershipsESRC has funded sweeps of each of the cohort surveyswithin the CLS since its establishment as a researchcouncil. The current contract totals £11.7 million andcovers two sweeps of the Millennium Cohort (at 4 and 7years) and one sweep of each of the NCDS BCS70 (in2008). Costs for the Millennium Cohort up around 44%of the ESRC’s contract and NCDS/BCS70 combined arearound 19%.

The Millennium Cohort is co-funded by a consortiumGovernment Departments led by the ONS, and includingthe DoH, DFES, Scottish Executive,Welsh Assembly,Collectively, they aim to contribute an equivalent amountto the ESRC’s funds for each sweep of the survey fundingfor sweeps 3&4 combined totals £3.9 million. Institute ofEducation also aims to contribute £2.7 to the Centreduring its current ESRC contract.

Current funding for CLS currently ends in 2010.TheCentre will therefore be making an application to theCouncil during 2008/09 for renewal.

Estimated cost £17.5 millionEstimated operational date Renewal in 2010

Informationhttp://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/

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BackgroundThe Council of European Social Science Data Archives(CESSDA) is an umbrella organisation for social sciencedata archives across Europe. CESSDA promotes theacquisition, archiving and distribution of electronic data forsocial science teaching and research in Europe. Itencourages the exchange of data and fosters thedevelopment of new organisations in sympathy with itsaims. It associates and cooperates with other internationalorganisations sharing similar objectives.

Existing capabilityCESSDA has provided networked infrastructure servicesfor the social sciences for the past 30 years, and extendsacross 21 countries across Europe. Collectively, theorganisations serve over 30,000 social science researchers,providing access to over 50,000 data collections perannum. Its portal provides a gateway to many kinds ofresearch data and metadata, including sociological surveys,election studies, longitudinal studies, opinion polls, andcensus data. Among the materials are international andEuropean data such as the European Social Survey.

Future capabilityA proposal for a major for major upgrade to CESSDAResearch Infrastructure (RI) has been included on theESFRI Roadmap. In summary, an upgraded CESSDA RI willwork to:

• provide a one-stop shop for data location, access,analysis and delivery across the social science andhumanities community of Europe;

• increase the quality of data available by refinements inexisting software for data publishing, data linkage,comparison and harmonisation, and by including dataheld outside the present CESSDA network;

• create a more dynamic knowledge managementorientated Web, where knowledge-products are fedback into the metadata supporting the data, thuscreating bridges between text in scientific journals andthe underlying data;

• expand on present metadata by collecting anddisseminating community-produced metadata, andensure quality data and services through theimplementation of best practice resources.

The CESSDA RI is aimed at addressing the major taskidentified in the ESFRI Roadmap for the social sciencesand humanities.That is to ‘create pan-Europeaninfrastructural systems that are needed by the socialsciences … to utilise the vast amount of data andinformation that already exists or should be generated inEurope.Today the social sciences are hampered by thefragmentation of the scientific information space. Data,

Council for European Social Science Data Archives

information andknowledge arescattered in space anddivided by language,cultural, economic andlegal and institutionalbarriers’.

The CESSDA RIalready has a criticalimpact on the socialscience andhumanities researchcommunity since itprovides access tonumerous datacollections, enablingEuropean comparativeresearch andcontributing to thousands of theses and scientificpublications.The major upgrade will make the existing RImore comprehensive, efficient and integrated.The aim willbe to enable researchers, not only between disciplines butalso between countries to work together, developingleading-edge research methods and efficiently analysinglarge and complex datasets; in essence, making it possiblefor researchers to sit at their computer, locate, access,merge and analyse data from a number of differentsources, hence facilitating the potential for increased cross-disciplinary and cross-national research.

Funding & partnershipsThe upgrade costs are currently estimated at €30m(approximately £20.2 million), covering the upgrading ofcurrent technical RI (common standards, tools, instrumentsand services through the creation of middleware); capacitybuilding (a hub for strategic development, maintenanceand coordination); supporting less-developed and less-resourced organisations; and extending and deepening theCESSDA network to new and associated CESSDAmembers.

ESRC has provided financial support for the UK DataArchive, the national member of CESSDA representingthe UK, for almost 40 years. ESRC Council has recentlycommitted to provided funding of £9.4 million (€13.4million) to the UKDA in order to run the flagshipEconomic and Social Data Service (ESDS) for the periodOctober 2007 to September 2012.

Estimated cost €30 million Operational date 2008

Informationhttp://extweb3.nsd.uib.no/cessda/home.html

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BackgroundThe emphasis of the choice of the beamlines in Phases Iand II of Diamond was to produce 22 beamlines thatmeet the immediate needs of the user communities fromacademia and industry. Phase III of Diamond will producean additional 10 beamlines which will be constructedmuch more on the basis of scientific and technicalopportunity, and to complement those alreadyconstructed in Phases I and II. (Of the order 32 beamlineshas long been recognised as the requirement to meet thehighest quality demand from users in the Diamond energyrange).

The proposed beamlines will extend the user base to newcommunities in applied areas including archaeology,cultural heritage, food sciences, industrial processing,engineering materials, forensics and environmental andmedical science.They will be at the forefront oftechnology to facilitate new research programmes in ultrafast time resolution (down to picoseconds), inelasticscattering and high resolution imaging.These are areas ofgreat scientific opportunity where the UK community willbenefit from a growing activity.

New capabilityThe core aims of the Phase III programme are to:

• to maximise the return on the original investment,

• to exploit the full capability of the very high brightnessof Diamond and to develop new and advancedbeamlines,

• to enhance the reach of Diamond in the scientific andindustrial landscape of the UK.

The proposal includes both single purpose beamlines withcomplex instrumentation to create extreme andtechnically exacting sample conditions, and high through-put (and automated) beamlines where rapid turn-round isessential.

Diamond Light Source – Phase III


The high-throughput beamlines will allow more rapidanalysis of large batches of samples which will be ofparticular relevance to industries such as thepharmaceutical and materials science sectors.They willproduce rapid and reliable data using core techniques(small angle scattering and X-ray powder diffraction)developed to high performance.These beamlines will haveautomation and provide user friendly access to the non-specialist user.

The Phase III beamlines currently being proposed will haveexcellent synergies with other major UK facilities (such asISIS, CLF).

The Phase III plan provides for a detector andinstrumentation development programme and buildingworks to ensure that the potential of Diamond is fullyrealised.

Funding & partnershipsFunding will be sought through the current andsubsequent CSR, and from the Wellcome Trust inproportion to previous investment (86 per centGovernment, 14 per cent Wellcome Trust).

Diamond is currently beginning collaborations with manyother facilities, and has signed Memoranda ofUnderstanding and Collaboration Agreements with anumber of facilities in (for example) Japan, France(including Soleil and the ESRF), Germany, Italy and China.

Estimated cost £78.6 millionEstimated operational date 2015These figures exclude both inflation and VAT.

Informationhttp://www.diamond.ac.uk/

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BackgroundThe English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) is theonly study in the UK to provide the data necessary toexplore the unfolding dynamic relationships betweenhealth and functioning, social participation and networks,and economic position and wellbeing, as people plan for,move into and progress beyond retirement.The surveycovers:

• health, disability, healthy life expectancy;

• the relationship between economic position and bothphysical and cognitive health;

• the determinants of economic position in older age;

• the timing and circumstances of retirement and post-retirement labour market activity;

• the nature of social networks, support andparticipation;

• household and family structure and the transfer ofresources.

The multidisciplinary focus provides a more completepicture of the challenges facing ageing societies than couldbe provided by a study located within a single discipline.ELSA has an international focus that allows for theexamination of institutional and cultural influences. Itcollaborates with studies in the US (the Health andRetirement Survey), other European countries (SHARE),Mexico (the Mexican Health and Retirement Survey),China (CHARLS), Korea (KLoSA) and with plannedstudies in many other countries (for example, Japan, India).

Existing capabilityData are collected at regular intervals and by April 2009will comprise four interview sweeps (two years apart),three biomedical data collections (four years apart), a lifehistory interview and an initial health interview (which,together with one of the biomedical data collections, wascarried out before respondents entered the ELSA study).The first ELSA data collection involved just over 12,000individuals aged 50 or older, and the fourth sweep isexpected to include just over 10,000 individuals.

The data can be used to inform studies of:

• The nature and timing of retirement and postretirement labour market activity;

• The determinants of economic wellbeing at olderages;

• Cognitive functioning and its impact on decisionmaking among older people;

• Disability and the compression of morbidity;

• Economic, social and health inequalities in an ageingpopulation;

• Social participation and social productivity at older ages.

English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

By its nature anddesign, ELSA isset up toexamine theinterrelation ofthese six areas.As the studycontinues, thepotential value ofearlierinvestments inELSA will beginto be fullyrealised.

Future capabilityThe next four years of funding will give ELSA 10 years ofobservation for the majority of the ELSA respondents,covering a significant period of life prior and postretirement, and will, for example, be able to studyoutcomes at age 70-75 for respondents whose decisionsto work and when to retire were observed in earlierwaves of the study. Such longitudinal data can address thecausal factors underlying age-related transitions,particularly when considered alongside data from othercountries. As the sample period lengthens, cohortcomparisons could examine the impact of UK policyreform, or other changes to institutional, social oreconomic environments, such as the effect of changingpension arrangements on retirement plans or tounderstand the consequences of retirement on health,social participation or independence.

The data generated by the study will be a major resourcefor academic, policy and private sectors.They also havethe potential to open important new avenues formultidisciplinary research – for example, through the jointanalysis of genetic, biomedical, social and economic data.This kind of work will generate important new insightsinto the process of ageing.This scientific potential placesELSA, and UK research, at the leading edge ofinternational studies of ageing.

Funding & partnershipsELSA has been funded from September 2000 to April2010, jointly by UK Government Departmentscoordinated by the Office for National Statistics (aninvestment of £8.3 million over the ten years), and the USNational Institute of Aging ($15 million).The next fouryears of funding (2010 – 2014) is estimated to cost £13 million. Co-funding will be sought from UKGovernment Departments and from the US NationalInstitute of Aging.

Informationhttp://www.ifs.org.uk/elsa

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BackgroundThe European Social Survey (ESS) is an academicallydriven social survey designed to chart and explain theinteraction between Europe’s changing institutions and theattitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of its diversepopulations. Now moving to its fourth round, the surveycovers over 30 nations and employs the most rigorousmethodologies

It was set up in 2001 as a time series survey, which meansthat long-term changes in social values throughout Europecan be monitored. It has a central co-ordination team,which receives EC funding, and fieldwork across Europe isfunded by local agencies (ESRC in the UK).The fieldworktakes place every two years.

The UK fieldwork is led by a national co-ordinator andboth they and the fieldwork team are based in the UK.The central co-ordination team are also led by a UKacademic at City University, but are not fixed to aparticular location, although much of the work relating todata preparation takes place at the Norwegian SocialScience Data Service (NSD).

In 2005 the academic lead, Professor Roger Jowell, wonthe prestigious Descartes prize which goes to teams whohave achieved outstanding scientific results throughcollaborative research. Strengthening the funding in thelong term, as envisaged by the ESFRI proposal, wouldenable new and exciting methodological developments atthe cross-national level, for example, investigating differenttranslation techniques, experimenting with improvingresponse rates and harmonising variables on amultinational basis.

Existing capabilitySince 2001, the European Social Survey (ESS) has beenmapping the long-term attitudinal and behavioural changesin Europe’s social, political and moral climate. It is unique inthat it has been specifically designed to facilitatecomparative research between different countries overtime. It is the dataset offering the widest possible coverageof EU member states and serves as a vehicle formethodological development in the area of data collectionin cross-national surveys.

It allows governments, policy analysts, scholars andmembers of the public to interpret how people indifferent countries and at different times see themselves inthe world around them. Covering attitudes to religion,politics, moral issues and pressing policy concerns, the datareveal intriguing contrasts between over 30 countries.Because an understanding of public attitudes is critical toformulating public policy, especially in an era of falling

European Social Survey


political participation and electoral turnout, the ESS islikely to have a major impact over time on Europeangovernance.

The ESS is of tremendous value to UK social scientists, notleast as the official language of the ESS is English. It is animmeasurable advantage to comparative researchers inthe UK to have access to a high quality dataset thatenables their national trends in socio-political attitudes andvalues to be compared and contrasted with those in otherEuropean nations. As the data is freely available with highquality supporting documentation, the survey provides animportant resource for the training of new researchers incomparative methods. Researchers in the UK constitutethe second biggest user group of the ESS’s 14,600 users.The survey now covers 30 nations and employs rigorousmethodologies. It is therefore a leading example ofsuccessful international research collaboration – for bothfunders and academics.

Future capabilityTo date, the study has been funded at a relatively basiclevel and on a sweep by sweep basis. A proposal has beensubmitted to the EU via ESFRI for long-term infrastructurefunding. If successful, the more stable support that thisproposal would bring would enhance the capabilities andoutreach of the survey, partly because costs could bededicated to activities beyond basic fieldwork andpreparation of data (e.g. through enhancing disseminationactivities), and also because of the career progression thatsuch stability would enable.

Funding & partnershipsThe estimated cost of the entire ESS is €6 million (£4.04 million) per year. To date, the UK fieldwork hasbeen ESRC-funded and the biannual sweeps currently costapproximately £500k at today’s prices. ESRC is currentlyfunding the UK component of the 2008 round of thesurvey and has made in principle commitment to supportfuture waves of the survey. If the ESFRI proposal issuccessful, ESRC will consider enhancing its funding offuture sweeps to support an upgrade of the survey as awhole.

Estimated cost £700,000 (UK)Operational date 2009-2010

Informationhttp://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/

BackgroundThe European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)operates the most powerful high energy synchrotron lightsource in Europe and brings together a wide range ofdisciplines including physics, chemistry and materialsscience as well as biology, medicine, geophysics andarchaeology.There are many industrial applications, forexample in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, petrochemicals andmicroelectronics.

New capabilityThe upgrade programme is designed to maintain theESRF’s role as Europe’s leading provider of hard X-rays(up to 500 keV) from a very reliable source producinghighly stable focused beams (down to 20 nanometres)with very high intensity.The central theme to the upgradeprogramme is the construction of long beamlines toaddress new scientific challenges with highly specialisednano-focus beamlines, delivering even brighter hard X-raysbeams.

The key technological developments will be:

• the reconstruction of sixteen of the beamlines tohave a much improved performance;

• a programme of improvements to the acceleratorcomplex;

• instrument developments including optics, detectorsand sample environments;

• development of computing hardware and softwaresystems; and

• the construction of an extension to the experimentalhall to allow beamlines between 105m and 140m inlength for nano-focusing applications and newinfrastructure to be housed.

The upgrade will be exploited in a scientificprogramme focussed on 5 broad scientific areas:

• nano-science and nano-technology

• pump-probe experiments and time-resolveddiffraction

• science at extreme conditions

• structural and functional biology

• soft matter and X-ray imaging.

The renewed and enhanced ESRF will be able to face thescientific challenges of the 21st century and will have adirect impact upon the European Union priority themes

European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

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of health, energy, environment and climate change, newmaterials and nanotechnology.

The success of the scientific projects proposed is closelylinked to an ambitious detector and optics developmentprogrammes and all aspects of the sample environment.The UK has specific expertise in these areas and this is anideal opportunity for knowledge exchange between theESRF, UK facilities and the UK scientific community.There will be the opportunity to increase the UK’sindustrial involvement as STFC has the ability to promotetendering opportunities arising from the upgradeprogramme.This will have the potential to increase thebenefits to the UK.

Funding & partnershipsThe expectation is that the extra €185 million will bepaid for by the member countries in proportion to theirshareholding, although this financial commitment is yet tobe agreed. It is proposed that the €26 million from theUK will be funded by STFC through its CSR2007allocation or from the LFCF.

The other member’s contributions are estimated asFrance €51 million, Germany €47 million, Italy €28million, Belgium and Netherlands €11 million in total,Spain €7.5 million, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden €7.5 million in total and Switzerland €7.5 million.

Due to the extent of the membership of ESRF and thepossible contribution its scientific members, up to 18countries could be financially involved in the upgradeprogramme. ESRF will also be working other synchrotronsources across Europe (e.g. Diamond Light Source in theUK and Soleil in France) in partnership to on beam linedevelopments.


Informationhttp://www.esrf.eu/

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BackgroundThe Halley Research Station in Antarctica is owned byNERC and operated by the British Antarctic Survey(BAS). It provides a vital platform to conduct globallysignificant research primarily in atmospheric sciences butalso geology and glaciology.

It was here in 1985 that British scientists first measuredthe ozone depletion of the Antarctic stratosphere.Theirdiscovery that this critical protection from ultravioletradiation had been decreasing from 1975 to 1985 madeheadlines around the world and spurred the internationalagreement on banning chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Measurements are taken of the ice of Antarctica beneath,of the air in the troposphere above, of the ozone in thestratosphere above that, and of the plasma in thegeospace beyond them all.

Studies at Halley are crucial for a global perspective onozone reduction, atmospheric pollution, sea level rise, andclimate change. Halley, lying within the auroral zone, isideally situated for geospace research.

Existing capabilityStudies at Halley have been fundamental in alerting theworld to human impacts on the Earth system, and it isexpected that the value of the location will continue to bemaintained into the foreseeable future as the UKcommunity focuses on the general area of Earth systemscience.There is also a very strong international dimensionto the research programmes and many of the studies have

Halley Research Station,Antarctica

continued uninterrupted since the first base wasestablished, providing vital long-term data series. Halleyalso provides a presence in the British Antarctic Territory,required by the UK Government.

The Halley station is located on the Brunt Ice Shelf inAntarctica. Due to the movement of the ice shelf andsnow accumulation, the station has to be periodicallydismantled and a replacement built elsewhere, to avoidthe station drifting with the ice into the sea.The newstation will be the sixth built since the first was establishedin 1956.

A design competition was launched by the Royal Instituteof British Architects and BAS in June 2004. It was won byFaber Maunsell and Hugh Broughton Architects. It is astructure which is jacked up on legs to keep it above theaccumulation of snow and with skis on the bottom ofthese legs, which allows the building to be relocatedperiodically. Under the Antarctic Treaty, NERC has anobligation to remove the old station.

Funding & partnershipsFunding for the Halley Research Station has beenprovided by the Large Facilities Capital Fund and NERC.

Estimated cost £45-50 million Estimated operational date 2010

Informationhttp://www.antarctica.ac.uk/

BackgroundThe Compton site of the Institute for Animal Health (IAH-C) is internationally recognised as a Centre of Host-Pathogen Biology and has programmes focusing on theimmunology of poultry and cattle (the key host species),vaccinology, and a number of infectious diseases includingbovine tuberculosis, avian influenza, Salmonella, bovinerespiratory disease and coccidiosis. IAH-C is a BBSRC-sponsored Institute, with a remit to carry out research onbacterial, parasitic and viral infections of farm animals.

New capabilityThe laboratories, animal accommodation and otherfacilities at IAH-C are old and need replacement if theyare to continue to meet the standards required of a 21stcentury world-class research facility. Upgrade is essential toensure that the UK maintains its ability for research activityin the above areas for the next 50 years.

Without urgent action the facility will eventually fail tomeet the increasingly stringent Home Office, HSE andEnvironmental Agency statutory biosecurity requirements;nor will it meet the containment requirements for workingwith highly infectious agents.

The proposal is to re-provide animal and laboratoryaccommodation for the future needs of IAH-C, that meetmodern standards for research on infectious diseases andfor biocontainment. In addition, the new facilities willincorporate environmentally sustainable and efficientdesign solutions in the new buildings.

Institute for Animal Health, Compton

The main scientific benefit of the investment is themaintenance of vital UK research capability in theidentification and control of animal diseases whichthreaten UK food security and also (in the case of thosewhich can transfer to humans such as avian ‘flu) humanhealth.The combined effects of climate change and thecontinued increase in global trade and mobility are greatlyincreasing the threat and new challenges will continue toemerge.The economic and social consequences of failingto maintain capability to address known threats and a skilland facility base able to rapidly respond to unexpectedchallenges are incalculable.

Maintenance and operation of state-of-the-art facilities onthis area are necessary to inform the regulatory and policybase, and to work effectively with the facilities maintainedelsewhere in Europe and the rest of the world, whichtogether present the global defensive barrier to emergentanimal and zoonotic threats.

Funding & partnershipsThe research programme at IAH-C is funded principallyby BBSRC but there is also funding from others such asDEFRA and the EU.


Informationhttp://www.iah.bbsrc.ac.uk

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BackgroundThe Pirbright site of the Institute for Animal Health (IAH-P) (a BBSRC-sponsored Institute, with a remit tocarry out research on bacterial, parasitic and viralinfections of farm animals) is internationally recognised asa centre of research on farm animal diseases exotic tothe UK.

Maintenance and operation of state-of-the-art facilities arenecessary to work effectively with the facilities maintainedelsewhere in the world, to present the global defensivebarrier to emergent animal disease threats.

Existing capabilityIAH-P is the world reference laboratory for foot andmouth disease (FMD), peste des petits ruminants andrinderpest, and the regional reference laboratory fornumerous other diseases of cattle, sheep, horses and pigs.This involves major responsibilities to the OfficeInternational des Épizooties (OIE) and the Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) forthe diagnosis of diseases in an emergency.The diagnosticservices must available and fully operational 24 hours aday, 365 days a year.

New capabilityThe laboratories, animal accommodation and otherfacilities at IAH-P need replacing if they are to continue tomeet the standards required of a 21st century world-class

Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright

research facility.The proposal is to re-provide animal andlaboratory accommodation that meet modern standardsfor research on infectious diseases and forbiocontainment.

The new facilities are required to meet scientificchallenges in the years to come, e.g. an expansion of workin response to new disease-causing agents threatening theUK as a result of climate change (e.g. bluetongue virus). Inaddition, the new facilities will incorporate environmentallysustainable and efficient design solutions in the newbuildings.

Without urgent action the facility will eventually fail tomeet the increasingly stringent Home Office, HSE andEnvironmental Agency statutory biosecurity requirements;nor will it meet the containment requirements for workingwith highly infectious agents.

Funding & partnershipsThe research programme at IAH-P is funded principally byBBSRC but there is also funding from others such asDEFRA and the EU.


Informationhttp://www.iah.bbsrc.ac.uk

BackgroundNeutron scattering has made unique and fundamentalcontributions to the understanding of the structure anddynamics of materials.

The 2005 UK Neutron Review concluded that ‘The broadrange of applications for neutrons makes them an essentialtool in the discovery, understanding and applications ofscience in areas which are vital to the UK science andtechnology base.The UK has established a position ofinternational leadership in the development of neutron-based techniques and, through facilities at ISIS and ILL,provides a unique platform to enable major contributionsin areas crucial to society, such as in energy, health,transport and bioscience.’ ISIS Target Station 2 (TS2) willaddress these areas by providing extremely efficient andcost-effective delivery of beams of cold neutrons forexperiments in (among others) soft condensed matter,biomolecular sciences and advanced materials.

The 2005 UK Neutron Review also concluded that ‘UKscientists will continue to require access to the bestpossible neutron facilities for the foreseeable future’.Thefirst key action was to provide ‘enhanced investment in ILLand ISIS, jointly with international partners, which willsustain the international competitiveness of these world-leading facilities for the next ten to fifteen years’.

Existing capabilityISIS is currently the world’s most productive pulsedspallation neutron source and has contributed significantlyto many major breakthroughs in materials science, physicsand chemistry during the last 15 years or so.The researchcarried out at ISIS (TS1 and TS2) has a strong synergywith the Diamond Light Source, Central Laser Facility, theMaterials Innovation Institute and the HartreeComputational Science Centre, and will engage with theneeds of industry

New capabilityTS2 is the next step in the development of neutronscattering on pulsed sources, and will deliver world classperformance for studies requiring cold neutrons, a broadspectral range and high resolution. In the technologicallysignificant areas of advanced materials, soft condensedmatter and biomolecular science TS2 will provide facilitieswhich will have in many cases more than an order ofmagnitude improvement in performance over existingcapabilities at ISIS. It will maintain ISIS’s world lead inneutron scattering well into the next decade, andcontribute significantly to the key areas of research anddevelopment identified in the last UK Foresight exercise.

ISIS TS2 will become operational in October 2008 with an initial suite of seven instruments.This will completePhase 1 of the project. A second phase of five instruments

ISIS Target Station 2 - Phases 1, 2, 3

has earmarked funding from the Large Facilities CapitalFund and is at the advanced concept stage.This phase willbe completed by 2012.TS2 Phase 3 would see theconstruction of a further six instruments over the period2012-2016, bringing the total instrument complement to18, and completing the instrument suite

Funding & partnershipsThe TS2 Phase 1 project has UK funding for £105 millionfor the core project (building, extracted proton beam andtarget station) plus £27 million supplemented from the EUand international partners to give a total of £40 million forthe first seven instruments.

Funding for Phase 2, the provision of a further fiveinstruments, has already been earmarked in the LargeFacilities Capital Fund. Italy, which is already contributing tothe instrumentation of Phase 1, has signed a newagreement including contributions to a Phase 2instrument. Negotiations are underway with theNetherlands, who are also contributing to TS2 Phase 1, foran involvement in a Phase 2 instrument.The same is truefor Spain and Germany, with both countries contributingalready to Phase 1 and wishing to continue theirinvolvement in Phase 2. Sweden has contributed to theinstrumentation on the first target station and is nowconsidering contributions to TS2 Phase 2.

Estimated cost £29 million (Phase 2) £35 million (Phase 3)

Estimated operational date 2012 (Phase 2)2016 (Phase 3)

Informationhttp://www.isis.rl.ac.uk/

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BackgroundThe MRC-funded Laboratory for Molecular Biology (LMB)is widely recognised as one of the leading molecularbiology laboratories in the world with 13 Nobel prizesawarded to staff past and present and with 18 of itscurrent group leaders elected as Fellows of the RoyalSociety.

Current capabilityLMB is at the forefront of understanding biologicalprocesses at the molecular level and improving ourunderstanding of the molecular basis of such commondiseases as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.The discoveriesand inventions made at LMB benefit the health and wealthof the nation; scientists trained at LMB feed into the UKand world scientific communities and many go on toprovide the leadership for other institutes, universitydepartments and companies. LMB research has also led toseveral successful spin-out companies such as Celltech andCambridge Antibody Technology.

New capabilityThe current building is overcrowded by modern standardsand there is constant difficulty in finding room to follow upexciting new scientific opportunities and to house thelarge number of visiting scientists that are attracted to theLMB.The case for a new building is based on the promise

Laboratory for Molecular Biology

that LMB will continue to produce superb science andscientists for the UK and the world. New accommodationwith state-of-the-art facilities is needed to help recruit andretain scientists of the necessary calibre to maintain LMB’spremier position.

The continued location of LMB in the Cambridge area,with the University’s basic science departments andbiosciences start-up companies in and around the city,presents opportunities currently unparalleled in the UK fordevelopment of post-genomic biosciences.TheAddenbrooke's site in particular is rapidly becoming oneof the most vigorous research campuses in the UK,presenting numerous opportunities for interdisciplinaryscience and, of growing importance, for basic-to-clinicaland basic-to-industry translational research.

Funding & partnershipsLFCF has earmarked funds of £67 million. MRC hasallocated £118 million plus there will be an additionalcontribution from the University of Cambridge.


Informationhttp://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/

BackgroundBenefits of this project will be generated both for fusionscience and technology and for the large number ofdisciplines that they bring together, including plasmaphysics – both low temperature and astrophysical,materials and surface science. For example, studies of highheat fluxes impinging on materials, engineering (e.g. inmagnet technology, some MAST-U magnets could be thefirst to use a newly developed radiation resistant, hightemperature tolerant resin that is being evaluated atUKAEA, Culham), atomic physics, and general studies ofturbulence, instrumentation, data processing and imageanalysis.

Existing capabilityMAST (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak), pioneered atCulham, can produce the desired fusion conditions withmuch lower magnetic fields than existing JET-like tokamaksand is potentially the basis for fusion power stations thatdo not need superconducting magnets – an enormousadvantage in terms of cost and simplicity. Built withminimal equipment, MAST has confirmed the excitingpromise of its much smaller record breaking predecessorSTART.

New capabilityMajor improvements are now needed to realise MAST’sfull potential through an upgrade programme anddetermine:

• whether spherical tokamaks could be the optimumbasis for a Component Test Facility, which wouldproduce fusion power station conditions andstrengthen and accelerate fusion development, and

• the spherical tokamak's eventual suitability for apower plant. An upgraded MAST will also deepen

MAST (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak)

34


understanding of fusion physics generally, supportingthe exploitation of the international experiment ITER.

At least one example from MAST technology (highcurrent felt metal sliding joints) is currently being used bya private company in the isolation switch in asuperconducting magnet.The upgrade of MAST willproduce further technological innovations that may betaken up by industry, and/or be the basis of spin-outs(development of 16-20 GHz RF power sources for MASThas a potential overlap with work on tuneable sourcesbeing developed for military radar).Work at MAST incollaboration with university groups will lead to two wayknowledge transfer to other fields of research in plasmas,instrumentation and data analysis, and will contribute todevelopment of instruments for ITER (on which Culham iscollaborating with groups from UK universities and fromacross Europe).These benefits (and contributions to otherfields and to training) are additional to the main benefit ofspeeding up the development of a new clean source ofpower for all.

Funding & PartnershipsIt is possible that, (following in-depth scrutiny by an ad-hocgroup of experts assembled for this purpose), the upgradeof MAST will receive support from EURATOM.EURATOM will also contribute 20% (according to presentrules) to the operating costs. Groups from otherEURATOM members and beyond are likely to contributeto diagnostic systems at MAST-U and participate in MASTexperiments.

Estimated cost £35 millionEstimated operational date 2011-12

Informationhttp://www.fusion.org.uk/mast/

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BackgroundThe MRC-funded National Institute for Medical Research(NIMR) is recognised as one of the UK’s foremost basicresearch institutes with a strong track record and areputation from its interdisciplinary collaborations andoverall cohesiveness. In partnership with UniversityCollege London (UCL), Cancer Research UK (CRUK)and the Wellcome Trust, the renewal of NIMR on a sitenext to the British Library in St Pancras, presents theopportunity to create the most powerful biomedicalresearch environment in the UK, if not Europe. It willenable the Institute to deliver the vision that MRC has forit as a multidisciplinary biomedical research facility focusedon basic and translational research.

The NIMR/UCL/CRUK/Wellcome Trust partnershipprovides the multidisciplinarity and critical mass requiredby MRC’s vision to bring together NIMR’s strengths inbasic research with those of a world class university andfirst class charitable institutes, all co-located with excellentclinical facilities.The partnership will also provide access tothe widest range of disciplines at UCL including physics,chemistry and mathematics.

Close collaboration between MRC, MRC Technology,Cancer Research Technology and UCL Biomedica,together with extra research space to be dedicated totranslational collaborations with industry and investmentsin chemical biology and medicinal chemistry, will increaseexploitation of the exceptional promise offered by the

National Institute for Medical Research


partnership into commercial developments for the publicgood and economic benefit.

New capabilityThe renewal of NIMR will be part of the development ofa new biomedical research campus located in centralLondon. It will significantly enhance NIMR’s contribution tothe UK’s national research programme by expanding theInstitute’s programme for the translation of ideas,knowledge and techniques into clinical practice and intonew products and devices. It will also facilitate scientificinnovation through collaboration between researchstrengths at NIMR and those of UCL and CRUK in diversefields.

The new state-of-the-art facilities will maximise value formoney and be a fitting showcase for the high calibreresearch carried out by the Institute.They will also provideincreased opportunities for training basic and clinicalresearch workers and facilitate the retention andrecruitment of world-class research staff

Funding & partnershipsThe project will be funded in partnership between MRC,UCL, CRUK and the Wellcome Trust and is expected tobe of the order of £500 million. A contribution will besought from the LFCF.The estimated operational date is2014 at the earliest.

Estimated cost £500 millionEstimated operational date After 2014

BackgroundThe oceans play a pivotal role in the functioning of theEarth system, for example the possible rapid collapse ofthe Atlantic Ocean’s thermohaline circulation would leadto severe and rapid climate change in north west Europe.Seagoing science is an essential element of Earth systemscience.To maintain the UK’s strong internationalleadership in producing high quality research in this area,NERC must retain the capability to field internationallycompetitive scientific programmes at sea using state-of-the-art research ships.

Existing capabilityAlthough remote sensing continues to be very importantfor improving our understanding of the oceans, thesetechniques are generally only able to provide quantitativedata from the first few centimetres of the ocean’s surface– and thus cannot be used to study the majority of theocean’s volume, the sea floor and solid Earth beneath it.Other new and improved technologies, such as ROVs,autonomous underwater vehicles (e.g. AUTOSUB), deepocean observatories and moorings offer new ways toobserve ocean processes and/or parts of the ocean.Thesetechnologies require access to research ships for theirdeployment, retrieval and maintenance, and it is thoughtthat their use will increase the requirement for ship-time.

NERC has two dedicated research ships formultidisciplinary ocean science cruises and continuedinvestment in these facilities is required to ensure that theUK remains in the first division of seagoing science nations.Despite on-going improvements in the marinetechnologies that are used to sample the oceans, NERC

Oceanographic Research Ship (replacement for RRS Discovery)

will, for the foreseeable future, continue to require accessto two dedicated research ships and the instrumentationthat they contain.

New capabilityThe replacement for RRS Discovery (which is coming tothe end of its scientifically useful life) will be a dedicatedresearch ship for multidisciplinary ocean science cruises,complementing the RRS James Cook, which wascommissioned early in 2007.

Funding & PartnershipsNERC is currently heavily involved with the bartering ofmarine facilities with its partners in the United States,Germany, France, the Netherlands and Norway.Thesebarter arrangements promote a more efficient and costeffective use of each country’s marine facilities by allowingthe scientific communities access to a wider range oftechnical facilities and geographical areas in a given yearthan would have otherwise been possible. Continuedaccess for the UK research community to barter facilitiesis contingent on there being on-going modernisation ofNERC’s research fleet and an enhancement of its facilities.

Funding for 70% of the capital cost is earmarked from theLarge Facilities Capital Fund, and 30% will be provided byNERC.

Estimated cost £55 million Estimated operational date 2012

Informationhttp://www.noc.soton.ac.uk/

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BackgroundThe NERC strategy for 2007-2012, Next GenerationScience for Planet Earth, has identified the criticalimportance of increasing our knowledge of the role ofpolar regions in climate change.The Arctic and theAntarctic peninsula are two of the fastest warming regionsof the planet, and we need to understand the impact ofpolar ice melt and its effect on ocean circulations.Maintenance of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS)infrastructure is essential for this.

Existing capabilityTwo ice-strengthened Royal Research Ships support theBAS operations in Antarctica.The RRS Ernest Shackletonprovides logistic support to Antarctic operations, togetherwith a secondary science capability. It is crucial todelivering world-class research in Antarctica and tomeeting the Government’s policy for a regional UKpresence. Replacing the ship in 2014 will enable NERC toacquire a reliable vessel that is more cost effective, has alow environmental impact and meets the newinternational maritime requirements for safe operations inpolar waters. It is crucial to meeting the Government’spolicy for a regional British presence.

Polar Research Ship (replacement for RRS Ernest Shackleton)

New capabilityThe technical assessment is that in 2014, when the shipwill be 19 years old and the current lease expires, theupkeep will be uneconomic; poor reliability andobsolescent systems will also put at risk the safety ofoperations in Antarctic waters.The plan is to replace itwith a more cost-effective vessel that has a lowenvironmental impact and meets the new internationalmaritime requirements for safe operations in polar waters.

Funding & PartnershipsAntarctic infrastructure is funded by the Science Budget.NERC would expect to seek a contribution from theLFCF.There may be long-term cost-of-ownership savingsbecause, under the current ES arrangement, NERC paysboth the lease and depreciation on the balance sheet.

Antarctic infrastructure primarily meets national needs.NERC ships participate in international barterarrangements.



BackgroundThe NERC strategy for 2007-2012, Next GenerationScience for Planet Earth, has identified the criticalimportance of increasing our knowledge of the role ofpolar regions in climate change.The Arctic and theAntarctic peninsula are two of the fastest warming regionsof the planet, and we need to understand the impact ofpolar ice melt and its effect on ocean circulations.Maintenance of the British Antartic Survey’s (BAS’s)infrastructure is essential for this.

Existing capabilityTwo ice-strengthened Royal Research Ships support theBAS’s operations in Antarctica.The RRS James Clark Rosshas advanced facilities for the full range of oceanographicresearch; she also provides essential logistic support toAntarctic operations.The vessel is crucial to the deliveryof NERC’s world-class research in polar waters. Althoughshe has a much longer life than the other BAS vessel (RRSErnest Shackleton) because of her build specification, thetechnical assessment is that in 2020, when the RRS JamesCook will be 30 years old, the upkeep will beuneconomic. Poor reliability and obsolescent systems willalso put at risk the safety of operations in polar waters.

Polar Research Ship (replacement for RRS James Clark Ross)

New capabilityReplacing the RRS James Clark Ross will enable NERC toacquire a reliable vessel that is more cost effective, has alow environmental impact and meets the newinternational maritime requirements for safe operations inpolar waters. It is crucial to meeting the Government’spolicy for a regional British presence in Antarctica.

Funding & partnershipsAntarctic infrastructure is funded by the Science Budget.NERC would expect to seek a contribution from theLFCF.

Antarctic infrastructure primarily meets national needs.NERC ships participate in international barterarrangements.



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BackgroundThe NERC strategy for 2007-2012, Next generationscience for planet Earth, has identified the criticalimportance of increasing our knowledge of the role ofpolar regions in climate change.The Arctic and theAntarctic peninsula are two of the fastest warming regionsof the planet, and we need to understand the impact ofpolar ice melt and its effect on ocean circulations.Maintenance of British Antarctic Survey (BAS)infrastructure is essential for this.

Existing capabilityThe Rothera Research Station in Antarctica is owned byNERC and operated by the BAS, one of its institutes.Occupied since 1975, it accommodates up to 130 peopleand is situated on Adelaide Island to the west of theAntarctic Peninsula. It consists of extensive technical,scientific and domestic facilities, together with a crushedrock runway, aircraft hangar and wharf.

Rothera is pivotal to the delivery of NERC’s world-classresearch in Antarctica and to meeting the Government'spolicy for a regional UK presence. It is also the gateway forthe UK's Antarctic field and air operations.

New capabilityMany of the facilities, such as the laboratory and theoperations tower, have been upgraded or built since themid 1990s. However, an independent condition survey hasidentified the need to renew the older structures that arebeyond their economic life, such as the science andoperations, waste management and technical workshops,

Rothera Research Station,Antarctica

to provide safe, efficient and low energy facilities tosupport science. Renewal work will include removal of theold structures as this required under the Antarctic Treaty.

Modern facilities will enable NERC’s polar science toremain at the forefront of global research into theenvironment and climate change.The commitment tomaintaining modern facilities will also reinforce the UK’spolicy objectives for the British regional presence andinternational leadership in Antarctic affairs.

Funding & partnershipsAntarctic infrastructure is funded by the Science Budget.NERC would expect to seek a contribution from theLFCF.The cost of removing the replaced facilities atRothera (some £3 million overall) is funded fromprovisions in the NERC accounts.

Antarctic infrastructure primarily meets national needs.Rothera is used by other nations, such as Germany andthe USA, as a transit gateway to Antarctica – these nationsthen provide reciprocal support at their facilities, whichextends the reach and capability of UK science. Rothera isalso used for national and international collaborativeresearch.



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BackgroundComputational science and engineering concerned withpredictive scientific modelling and simulation activity is thethird leg of modern scientific enquiry alongsideexperiment and theory. Computer-based simulation is theway forward when experiment and theory studies alonecannot provide the required level of detail, information orinsight.

Research areas that use high end computing includeengineering, understanding complex chemistry andmaterials, nanoscience, fusion plasma science, systemsbiology, climate science, oceanography and earth sciences -support for these is provided in current national services.Particle physics and astronomy researchers also use highend computing resources.

Existing capabilityThe Research Councils provide high end computingresources which complement the desktop and mid-rangeprovision of universities. In order to stay competitive withinternational partners the strategy has been to carry out acompetitive procurement exercise every 3 to 4 years fora 6-year service, with technology upgrades occurringduring the lifetime of each service.There are three aspectsto the procurement: hardware, service provision andcomputational science and engineering support.EPSRC, as managing agent for high end computing onbehalf of the Research Councils, has now procured threeoverlapping services for the Research Councils - CSAR,HPCx, HECToR.

New capabilityThe expected benefits from the establishment of the nextgeneration high end computing national service are:

• World-class and world-leading scientific output.Researchers will be able to access intensivecomputing power for large calculations which areunable to be performed on local based clustercomputers;

• Greater scientific productivity;

• Training support for graduates and post doctoralresearchers;

• Increase in the UK’s computational science andengineering skill base;

• Increase in collaborations with industry;

• A strengthening of the UK’s international position forproducing world-class science.

Participating in a leading role in the European HEC activitywould address two of the goals in the RCUK internationalstrategy:

• giving UK researchers access to facilities; and

• allowing the UK to influence international research.

Service Provision for High End Computing

Funding & PartnershipsThe LFCF provides a contribution to the capital costs forHECToR. EPSRC, NERC and BBSRC are partners inHECToR and contribute the remaining proportion of thecapital costs and all the running costs for the service.

LFCF contribution (HECToR) £52 millionOperational date (HECToR) 2007 - 2013

Future HEC provision:A proposal is under development for the establishment ofa European infrastructure which could provide UKresearchers with access to a wider range for leading edgecomputational resources that can be currently providedon a national level.

Fourteen European countries are starting to worktogether to plan a European entity for high end computinginfrastructure – Partnership for Advanced Computing inEurope (PRACE). EPSRC is representing the UK in thepartnership.The EC has agreed to fund a 2 yearpreparatory phase project.

If the UK wishes to be a principal partner in the Europeanactivities, it needs to be able to contribute leading edgehardware alongside the other potential principal partnerse.g. France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands. A contribution tothe capital costs of the hardware will be requested fromthe LFCF.

Funding for further national facilities will need to bebalanced with the developments that take place within theEuropean context.

Estimated costs To be confirmedEstimated operational date 2010/11 - 2016/17

Informationhttp://www.epsrc.ac.uk/ResearchFunding/FacilitiesAndServices/HighPerformanceComputing/default.htm

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BackgroundThe UK Longitudinal Studies Centre (ULSC) is thenational resource centre for promoting longitudinalresearch and for the design, management and support oflongitudinal studies.

The ULSC aims to:

• promote the use of the rich portfolio of longitudinaldatasets in the UK;

• support users of those data through the provision ofadvice, information, training in longitudinal analysis andthe provision of resources to make data easier to use;

• improve longitudinal survey methods, carry outmethodological research and promote best practice inthe production of high quality data for users.

Existing capabilityThe ULSC has built up a wide portfolio of activities andservices covering all aspects of longitudinal surveyresearch.These activities include:

• collecting the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS);

• providing a Methodological Research Programme toimprove longitudinal survey and analysis methods, anddisseminating results;

• promoting the application of research methodsappropriate for the analysis of longitudinal survey andanalysis methods, and disseminating results;

• developing data and research resources to enableeasier access to longitudinal data, information andadvice.

The British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) began in1991 and is a multi-purpose study whose value resides inthe fact that:

• it follows the same representative sample ofindividuals (the Panel) over a period of years;

• it is household-based, interviewing every adultmember of sampled households;

• it contains sufficient cases for meaningful analysis ofcertain groups such as the elderly or lone parentfamilies.

By the time current funding comes to an end in 2009 atotal of 18 years of panel data will have been collected,making the BHPS one of the longest running panelsurveys in the world. From 2010 the BHPS sample will beincorporated into the new UK Household LongitudinalStudy.

UK Longitudinal Studies Centre


The main objective of the BHPS is to further ourunderstanding of social and economic change at theindividual and household level in the UK. It providesnationally representative longitudinal data across a rangeof substantive domains.These include:

• labour markers

• income, savings and wealth

• household and family organisation

• housing and composition

• health

• social and political values

• education and training.

The BHPS is recognised as a world class researchresource for the UK providing data that is used widely byUK researchers as well as growing numbers of overseasusers.The BHPS also provides data suitable forcomparative research with other panel surveys in Europeand the US.

Research using BHPS data has informed the thinking ofpolicy-makers in a number of areas, for example:

• initiatives aimed at the eradication of child poverty;

• on the importance of education in determining lateremployment opportunities;

• flexible working conditions for families and the needfor investment in high quality childcare;

• on the impact of introduction of the Working FamilyTax Credit and the minimum wage.

Funding & partnershipsThe ULSC was established by the ESRC as anindependent centre in 1999. Current funding for theperiod 2004-2009 totals £13.5 million.

Funding for the ULSC currently ends in 2009.The Centrewill therefore be making an application to the Councilduring 2008/09 for renewal.


Informationhttp://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/ulsc/about/

BackgroundAdministrative data describe information that arises viathe operation of a transaction, registration or as a recordof service delivery.They relate specifically to theadministration of a system or process and are notprimarily generated as research resources.

While such data are not necessarily the preserve ofgovernment, all government departments and agencieskeep records of the variety of services they deliver andthe processes they register, often storing this informationas electronic records that relate to individuals and/ororganisations.These records have the potential to informsocial scientific research, either directly through analysis ofsuch data at the micro level or, via data linkage techniques,to enhance existing research resources.

Existing capabilityAdministrative records cover a wide variety of fields inboth the public sector and private sectors, includingdemographics, consumer behaviour, education, social careand community support, crime, transport, health, taxation,social security, housing and migration.Via personal ororganisational identifiers, data from different sources havethe potential to generate rich resources for researchpurposes.

Future CapacityThe vision of the future therefore is to make better use ofadministrative data for two purposes.The first is so thatdata collected for administrative purposes is better utilised.Most administrative data have the potential to extend andadd value to existing studies, to validate survey sourcesand to reduce the interview burden on census and surveyrespondents.This is particularly relevant given the technicaldevelopments over recent years which now make thehandling of complex datasets much more viable than sayfive years ago. Second, the possibility regards the scope forlinking large scale administrative datasets to address keypolicy issues of interest to central and local governments.

In additional there are potential cost savings arising fromthe better utilisation and integration of administrative datainto national data collection and provision. Survey dataoften replicates (to some extent) what has already beencollected from administrative sources. A pertinent pointregarding administrative data is that they are already beingcollected.Therefore utilising administrative data to replacesurvey data or avoiding duplication with the system could

Administrative Data Service

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result in potentially large cost savings, with little additionalcost beyond the extraction, cleaning and standardisation ofdata.To support the development of the National Strategyfor Data Resources for Research in the Social Sciences,ESRC plan to establish an Administrative Data Service(ADS).This service will have a number of functions. Firstand foremost, it will become a focal centre for knowledgeabout the availability of appropriate administrative data,their suitability for specific research purposes and theprocedures required to gain access to and use such data.Second, it will work in tandem with governmentdepartments and agencies, seeking to develop andimprove the use of administrative data resources forresearch purposes.

The ADS will not hold or store such data, but will act asan intermediary between researchers and theorganisation(s) providing access to administrative data forresearch purposes.

To achieve these aims, the service will:

• help researchers to gain access to and link withadministrative data resources;

• collect, develop and help disseminate informationabout the variety of administrative data resourcespotentially available for research in the social sciencesand related disciplines;

• work closely with the departments/agenciesresponsible for the guardianship of administrative dataresources, to explore the potential that such datahave to inform research in the social sciences andrelated disciplines;

• explore the scope for linkage between variousadministrative data sources and to other personalrecords (e.g. survey data, census information), therebyenhancing and extending existing resources.

Funding & partnershipsThe ADS is being established in consultation withmembers of the UK Data Forum. At present there is noexpectation of supplementary funding from otherorganisations.The ADS will work across a variety ofgovernment departments and agencies to promote accessto and appropriate use of administrative data sources.

Estimated cost £500,000 Estimated operational date 2008

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BackgroundThe rapid progress ofgenomic research in humanshas extended biomedical andhealth research from thestudy of rare monogenicdiseases to common,multifactorial diseases.However, elucidation ofcomplex disease aetiology ischallenging because diseasesare caused by a large numberof small, often additiveeffects, representing the sumof the consequences ofgenetic predisposition,lifestyle and the environment.Identifying and validating the

contribution these factors make to human disease willdepend critically on the study of large collections of well-documented, up-to-date epidemiological, clinical andbiological information and accompanying material fromlarge numbers of patients and healthy persons, so-calledbiobanks. Biobanks are widely considered as a keyresource in unravelling the association between diseasesubtypes and small, but systematic, variations in genotype,phenotype and lifestyle.

New capabilityThe Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources ResearchInfrastructure (BBMRI) project plans to build acoordinated, large-scale European infrastructure, withsignificant involvement from the UK, of biomedicallyrelevant, quality-assessed sample collections, to facilitatethe development of enhanced therapies to treat andprevent common and rare diseases, including cancer.

The network will cover :

• most human blood, sample and DNA banks;

• biomolecular resources, enabling technologies andhigh through put analysis platforms to decipher gene,protein and metabolite functions and theirinteractions;

• bioinformatics centres to ensure that databases ofsamples in the repositories are dynamically linked toexisting databases and to scientific literature;

• harmonized standards for sample collection, storage,preanalytics and analysis.

The synergy, gain of statistical power and economy ofscale achieved by interlinking, standardising andharmonising national resources will build on existingEuropean and particularly UK strengths in this area; andfurther increase the quality and efficiency of futureresearch studies.

Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure

The potential economicimpact of a Europeanresource is likely to bestrengthened health caremarkets throughincreased efficacy of drugdiscovery anddevelopment andimproved health carethrough the developmentof personalised medicine,both of which will secureEuropeancompetitiveness inresearch and industry.Significant involvementfrom the UK researchcommunity willadditionally increasenational competitivenessin this area

Funding & PartnershipsThe project is at an early stage and the full scientific caseand costing model have yet to be developed.

There is significant UK interest in the project including UKBiobank (see page 19) and the proposal for preparatoryphase FP7 funding is being led from the UK. MRC is aparticipant on the FP7 application.There is a potential forpartnership with the planned ESFRI projects ELIXIR (seepage 53) EATRIS (see page 50)


Informationhttp://www.biobanks.eu/

BackgroundNational management of research aircraft in Europe hasresulted in a diverse fleet of small to large size aircraft, allof which are limited to a practical endurance of five hours.For tropospheric research there is at present no heavy-payload and long-endurance aircraft in the European fleet.This situation precludes European scientists fromperforming research over oceanic, polar and remotecontinental areas, which are especially important forclimate studies.

New capabilityCOPAL (Community heavy-payload long enduranceinstrumented aircraft for tropospheric research andgeosciences) will be a heavy-payload aircraft for airborneresearch in environmental and geosciences. It will providethe European scientific community with a research aircraftplatform, capable of reaching any remote area in theworld. It will offer a unique opportunity to countries thatare not yet operating research aircraft to developexpertise in airborne measurements and participate ininternational multidisciplinary experiments.

COPAL will overcome the space and payload constraintsof existing research aircraft in Europe, making it feasible todistribute the development of instrumentation amongexternal laboratories. It will allow European scientists toperform research over oceanic, polar and remotecontinental areas that are especially crucial for climatestudies.

Two main aircraft alternatives are being considered andthe timetable depends on the choice.

COmmunity heavy-PAyload Long endurance instrumentedaircraft for tropospheric research and geosciences (COPAL)

The use of a C130 or an A400M aircraft would overcomepresent space and payload constraints making it feasible todistribute the development of instrumentation amongexternal laboratories. Such an option has many benefits interm of innovation. At the national level, operators of largeaircraft, mainly in the UK, Germany and France, capitaliseon their national academic community of experts inenvironmental research.With a heavy payload aircraft, sucha mobilisation of experts can be extended to theEuropean level, in particular from countries which are notoperating research aircraft, hence increasing significantlythe level of expertise.

Funding & PartnershipsThis project has been developed by the European Fleetfor Airborne Research (EUFAR).

Funding will be sought from participating Europeannations. Support is being sought under the EU’sFramework Programme 7 preparatory phase funding.

COPAL stands only if it designed as a pan-Europeanproject. NERC is a participant in the COPAL project,which is on the ESFRI Roadmap.

Estimated cost Between €50 million and€100 million.

Estimated operational date 2012

Informationhttp://www.eufar.net

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BackgroundDevelopment of the Harwell and Daresbury Science andInnovation Campuses as national hubs of interactionbetween the Research Councils, universities, theinternational R&D sector and high added value industrieslies at the heart of STFC’s strategy to create anenvironment and infrastructure which will deliver a stepchange in knowledge exchange, which is key to increasingthe economic impact of research.The campuses arecentred around world-leading research facilities such asISIS and Diamond, which provide capabilities and expertiseof benefit to both scientific and industrial sectors.

New capabilitySTFC has developed a technology strategy that identifiesfive areas of strong internal capability and relates each ofthem to areas of societal and economic relevance. In eachof the capability areas we have identified a new campus-based technology centre initiative to improve access toour expertise, strengthen the technology impact of ouractivities, and facilitate a step-change in their effectiveness.These five new advanced technology institutes, which willbe based at the Harwell and Daresbury campuses, will actas new focal points for collaboration with industry andacademic users and as gateways to STFC’s facilities andexpertise.

A new Imaging Centre will transform “facilities access” into“solutions access”. It will provide a gateway and consultingservices to deliver “one-stop” problem-solving capabilitiesto industry and HEI researchers, by bringing togetheraccess to STFC facilities together with access expertise incomputer simulation, detectors, data acquisition andanalysis, and providing a focal point for collaboration andinteraction.

The Hartree Institute at the Daresbury Science andInnovation Campus will be a new kind of computationalsciences institute for the UK. It will bring togetheracademic, government and industry communities andfocus on multi-disciplinary, multi-scale, efficient and

Daresbury and Harwell Science and Innovation Campuses

effective simulation.The goal isto provide a step-change inmodelling capabilities forstrategic themes in energy, lifesciences, the environment,materials, and fundamentalphysics.

The Joint Institute for MaterialsDesign will be co-located withthe ISIS neutron source, theCentral Laser Facility and theDiamond Light Source at theHarwell campus. It will exploitthese facilities to offer world leadership in the area ofmaterials discovery, characterisation and imaging, with keyareas of focus being materials for energy applications(storage, fuel cells, batteries, catalysis, solar energy, andlightweight structures) and for electronics. It will serve as afocus of knowledge exchange between industry, academiaand the scientific facilities of the campus.

The Detector Systems Centre will act as a conduit tobring together academic and industrial collaboratorstogether with STFC’s world-class detector capabilities andknowledge base. It will support fabrication, prototypingand characterisation of sensors both for researchapplications and industrially applicable markets (such assecurity and biomedical imaging), and will develop andcommercialise both sensors and integrated detectorsolutions.

Negotiations are also well advanced to locate a spacescience and technology centre on the Harwell campus.

Funding & partnershipsJoint venture companies for the campuses will beestablished in 2008, coupled with a major marketingcampaign to attract university groups and high addedvalue companies regionally, nationally and internationally aswell as investment from the international R&D sector.Wewill seek to form strategic partnerships with RDAs,building on our successful model of our partnership withthe NWDA in the development of the Daresburycampus. In addition to RCUK funding, we anticipatesignificant support from the EU and from industry. Capitalcosts are estimated below:

Estimated cost £125-250 millionEstimated operational dates for the four centres will bephased over the period 2010 to 2012, with the Hartreeand Detector Centres opening first.

Informationhttp://www.harwell.org.uk/http://www.scitech.ac.uk/ResFac/Gateway/GatewayCentres.aspx

BackgroundThe interaction of a high power laser with matter createstruly extreme conditions, otherwise only found off planet.Unsurprisingly, this leads to exotic phenomena forfundamental studies, with potentially ground breakingapplications in the wider world.These include electronacceleration to multi GeV energies that could lead to“synchrotrons on a table top”, proton acceleration to>100MeV energies that could lead to low cost precisiontreatments for deep seated cancers, through to extremepressures and temperatures that could form the basis of afusion energy power source as advocated by the recentESFRI endorsed initiative, HiPER.

The coupling of high power laser systems to other lightsources, such as LINACs, has been limited by the lowrepetition rate of current sources.This project wouldremove that limitation, enabling a host of new pump-probe experiments for a wide variety of material science,physics and chemistry applications.

Existing capabilityHigh energy, high power lasers are typically limited in shotrepetition rate by the technology used as a power source– flash lamps.These are a very inefficient (~0.1 per cent)means of converting raw electricity into the pump lightnecessary to drive these lasers.This has limited theapplications of high power lasers – in fusion energy,medical diagnostics and treatments, and in advancedparticle accelerators.

New capabilityDevelopment of high average power, high efficiency lasersystems is an emerging technology in many markets,currently hampered by the high cost of the components.Demonstration of progress in the scientific and envisagedcommercial applications by a national facility such asDIPOLE would provide the impetus for high volumedevelopment, and thus significant cost reduction to themarkets.

An opportunity now exists to use direct pumping bysolid-state laser diodes that have efficiencies orders ofmagnitude greater (70-80 per cent).This makes it possibleto build a high power laser facility with shot repetitionrates measured in Hertz rather than minutes or hours.This opens up a wealth of application areas (for academiaand industry) that have hitherto been excluded. DIPOLE

Diode Pumped Optical Laser for Experiments

is a project to construct the world's first user facility basedon this technology and thereby open up a whole newapproach to research using high power lasers.This wouldgive UK academics access to an unrivalled capabilityinternationally.The breadth of science would cover theentirety of the current high power laser programme. Itwould also extend to many options coupling withaccelerator sources (for example SAPPHIRE), and couldact as a prototype technology step for HiPER and ELI.This proposal is to construct for the first time a laser userfacility based on high efficiency, high repetition rate solidstate technology and thereby open up a radically newapproach to research using high power lasers.This wouldgive UK academics access to an unrivalled capabilityinternationally.

The approach is modular, with two principal phasesenvisaged.The first phase would provide an internationallyleading facility, while the second would open up whollynew areas and form the basis of a new generation ofcapabilities in many other projects and application areas.

The high repetition rate would move existing programmesfrom “individual shot experiments” into a new generationof statistical, advanced data gathering modes.

Funding & partnershipsThis is the first submission for consideration under theLFCF. There are four (small scale) diode projectsunderway – France, Germany, USA and Japan. DIPOLE willbuild from the experience on these projects to providethe UK with a “next-generation” capability.

The project is highly flexible, offering opportunities to tieclosely with accelerator developments such as Sapphire, orwith HiPER and/or ELI, or it could be a stand-alone userfacility.

The scale of the project is national, although close ties to anumber of international developments are anticipated.

Estimated cost £15 million (phase 1)£50-85 million (phase 2)

Estimated operational date 2012

Informationhttp://www.clf.rl.ac.uk/Projects/index.htm

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BackgroundThe Argo objective is to develop a global array of floats(spaced 300 km apart on average) throughout the ice-freeareas of the deep ocean. It is an international programmefor global in situ ocean observations, complementary toremote sensing observations from satellites. It has becomethe primary source of data on the ocean interior and is acost-effective alternative to research cruises and voluntaryships observations.The array is a unique source ofinformation on the role of the ocean in the climate system(global heat and moisture balance), it provides the datarequired by operational ocean monitoring systems and itis a unique source of data for scientific study of the Earthsystem.

It is estimated that 3,000 floats are required.They arebattery powered, with a design life of up to 5 years, ieabout 800 floats must be deployed each year to meet thetarget array.The data are transmitted in real time bysatellite to data centres for processing, management anddistribution.

New capabilityEuro-Argo is the European component of Argo and itsobjective is to provide a sustained European contributionto the international Argo programme. Euro-Argo willimprove significantly extended weather forecasts toseasonal range. Improved seasonal forecasting can havesignificant impact on society and the economy. Sustainablefisheries depend on better understanding and monitoringof the changing physical environment.The development ofocean services is bound to improve the safety andefficiency of marine operations and offshore activities.

The European contribution will consist in the deploymentof around 250 floats per year as well as the operation ofthe CORIOLIS Data Centre (one of the two Global DataAssembly Centres) to collect, validate and deliver the datato users.

Euro-Argo

Funding & PartnershipsFunding will be sought from participating Europeannations. Support is sought under the EU’s FrameworkProgramme 7 preparatory phase funding.

NERC and the Met Office are participants in the Euro-Argo project. Defra, MOD and NERC have providedfunding from research budgets for the UK Argoprogramme.


Informationhttp://www.ifremer.fr/euro-argo/

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BackgroundGravitation is the least understood of the fundamentalinteractions. Observation of gravitational waves over thefull spectrum requires two approaches: a network ofground-based interferometric detectors for short periodwaves and a detector in space for the long period waves.Current gravitational wave detectors have limitations insensitivity and bandwidth that limit the ability to fullycharacterise signals from all possible sources observablefrom the ground.

Future capabilityWhile the first and second generation observatories openup the field of gravitational wave astronomy, the thirdgeneration detectors are required to complement opticaland X-ray observatories in the study of fundamentalsystems and processes in the universe. A third generationdetector with 10 times better sensitivity would facilitatehigh precision tests of General Relativity, resolve the originof gamma ray bursts, observe binary mergers andmeasure to a few percent the masses, sky positions anddistances of binary black holes.The additional science possiblewith third generationdetectors will have a hugeimpact on key areas ofastrophysics, cosmology andfundamental physics.To realisesuch an observatory, significantprogress in non-classical light,advanced lasers emittinghundreds of Watts ofcontinuous power, novel signalenhancing techniques isrequired, developments thatwill have applications in otherscientific fields.

Funding & partnershipsThe UK participates inGEO600 (a joint UK-Germany

European 3rd Generation Gravitational WaveObservatory (Einstein Telescope)

project) and in Advanced LIGO, contributing world-leadingtechnology developed for GEO600 which, together withLIGO interferometers in the US, forms the first networkof interferometers.

Under the FP6 ILIAS programme groups in Italy, France,Germany, and the UK built and operate the currentEuropean observatories.These groups, in collaborationwith the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain, have begunstudy of the technologies for a 3rd generationobservatory. Current estimates for the cost ofconstruction of this facility are approximately £200 million.A design study for a third generation facility was submittedto the FP7 framework call with the aim to complete a 3 year conceptual design in 2011, followed by a moredetailed preparatory phase and construction beginning in2014. Potential underground sites may be in Italy, Germanyor the UK.

This facility has been identified as a priority in theAstroparticle Physics European Coordination (ApPEC)Roadmap.The potential UK contribution to theconstruction phase is estimated to be approximately £40 million. STFC provided the construction costs for theUK contribution to Advanced LIGO, providesinfrastructure support and R&D resources for the UKgroups exploiting the current European gravitational waveobservatory, GEO600, and this is planned to continue atan approximate level of £2 million a year. Funding for thecapital phase of the Einstein Telescope is a likely bid to the LFCF.

Estimated cost £200 millionEstimated operational date After 2014

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BackgroundDespite tremendous progress in the life sciences andincreasing investment by the pharmaceutical industry intoresearch and development, there is a widening gapbetween discovery and translation into medical productsand applications.To capitalise on the increasingly vastquantities of information about the cellular and molecularmechanisms of health and disease, these discoveries needto be translated into new diagnostic, therapeutic andpreventive clinical applications.The translational process,however, requires considerable know-how andinfrastructure for preclinical and early clinical studies, whichare not currently widely available in academia. Such a taskcan only be mastered in a dedicated translational R&Dinfrastructure that links and engages both clinical and basicscientists as well as strong industrial partners.TheEuropean Advanced Translational Research Infrastructurein Medicine (EATRIS) project will establish just such aEuropean translational R&D infrastructure.

New capabilityAs a first step, a small number (5-10) of European centresdedicated to translational research will be networked. Inlater steps, additional dedicated centres are expected tojoin the EATRIS partnership.

The centres will offer pan-European access, willencompass interdisciplinary expertise and will focus onthe following major areas (chosen because they cover

European Advanced Translational ResearchInfrastructure in Medicine

some of thelargest and mostimportantdisease areas inEurope): cancer,diseases of thecardiovascularsystem, braindisordersexamined byadvancedimaging,metabolicsyndrome andinfectiousdisordersstudied usinghigh security laboratories.They constitute model centres,which will develop joint programmes for translation,clinical validation, data management, quality assurance,monitoring/auditing and training, education and exchange.

Imperial College, London is the proposed location of thecardiovascular disease EATRIS centre.

As well as the potential for scientific advance, Europeaninfrastructure and expertise in translational medicinerelated to common human diseases has the potential tosignificantly strengthen the economic potential of healthcare markets in Europe.

UK-based centres within the EATRIS network and accessby UK researchers to other EATRIS centres will enhancethe UK’s competitiveness and attractiveness to industryand provide skills, expertise and research capacity thatcould be applied to other disease areas not currentlyincluded in the network.

Funding & partnershipsThe project is at an early stage and the fullscientific case and costing model have yetto be developed.

MRC is a participant in the preparatoryphase FP7 application for this project

There are planned partnerships with theESFRI projects – ECRIN, BBMRI andELIXIR.


Informationhttp://www.eatris.eu/

BackgroundAfter two decades of genomic research, many of themolecular components of human cells, including thoseimplicated in disease, have been deciphered or will be soin the foreseeable future. Despite this wealth of data, asystems-level understanding is still largely missing.Thegeneral focus of biomedical and much other biologicalresearch needs to change from primarily a ‘reductionist’analysis at the molecular level to a systems-analysis level,capturing the characteristic network dynamics behavior,and thus providing a much more comprehensiveunderstanding of biological processes.

Systems approaches will accelerate innovation frombiological knowledge across the science base, and will beof particular significance in drug discovery and thedevelopment of industrial biotechnology.

European Centre for Systems Biology

A key development from the systems base will besynthetic biology – the ability to introduce novel/artificialcomponents into living systems, e.g. to produce novelcompounds in “biofactories”.This will initially impact inbioprocessing applications but in the long term hasconsiderable medical and other potential.

This has specific implications for complex diseases, forwhich the underlying genetic basis is related tocombinatorial interactions of multiple genes and proteins,and for many other challenges in sustainable agricultureand industrial biotechnology.

New capability This paradigm shift in research cannot be achieved by afew isolated research teams but requires the establishmentof a European Center for Systems Biology (EUSYSBIO).This will provide critical mass and drive, in a similar way tothat in which EMBL drove European molecular biology inthe late 20th century and to integrate the emergingnational systems biology centres.

EUSYSBIO will complement ELIXIR by providing areservoir of skills at the interface between biologicalexperimentation and modeling, access to state of the artinstrumentation and computational tools, and anexpanding portfolio of exemplar programmes.

Funding & partnershipsEuropean activity will produce a critical mass capable ofmatching the USA in an area critical to the survival of thepharmaceutical and other major bioindustry sectors.Thedevelopment of capability at the European level,networking the emerging activity in various memberstates, enables us to harness skills which are in shortsupply in the UK – particularly the good quantitative andmodelling skills in Eastern Europe. EUSYSBIO will alsounderpin the development of standards and regulation atthe European level, reducing the risk of transborderbarriers to research and its exploitation.

There are systems biology centres in about nine EUmember states at present including the UK, and theseshould form the networked basis of the new facility.

Estimated cost €50-70million Estimated operational date 2012

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BackgroudThe present generation of 8 and 10 metre ground-basedtelescopes, complemented by the Hubble Space Telescope(HST) and other satellites, have generated a new view ofthe Universe and have produced a wealth of fascinatingquestions that only the vast collecting area and high spatialresolution of a more advanced telescope will be able toanswer.These questions cover all the areas acrossplanetary science, astronomy and cosmology that are thestated priorities in STFC’s strategy for astronomy.Theyrange from long-term modelling of weather patterns inSolar System planets, through direct imaging of Earth-likebodies around other stars, to understanding the completeformation histories of galaxies and probing all the wayacross the Universe and therefore back in time to imagethe first objects that ever formed.

Future capabilityA new generation of optical/infrared ground-basedtelescopes of between 30 and 60 metres in diameter arebeing planned globally.These Extremely Large Telescopes(ELTs) will be the successors to the current telescopes,and present a mammoth increase in capability.The UKexpects to participate in these developments via itsmembership of the European Southern Observatory(ESO), which is well advanced in the design for a 42metre, segmented mirror telescope, the E-ELT. Global sitetesting is underway but it is likely that the telescope willbe built on one of the world’s few premier sites in Chile,Argentina or the Canaries.

The design will combine state of the art mirrortechnologies, using novel materials and coatings, withleading edge adaptive optics and software controls. It willrequire a massive engineering development, utilising a widerange of technologies currently being developed acrossEurope.

Although ESO does not operate juste retour, it isexpected that the industrial return to the UK will at leastmatch our percentage membership of the organisationover the period of design and construction. UK companiesare already contracted to undertake design studies for thedome and are working with academic research centres todevelop instrumentation concepts, software, managementtools and advanced designs for adaptive optics.

It is expected that there will be an on-going need todevelop operating systems, instrumentation and telescopeimprovements through the operational phase of thefacility, and for which the UK will expect to play a leadingrole. As the world’s leading ground-based optical/infraredtelescope facility, the E-ELT is expected to be a focus for

European Extremely Large Telescope

many of the key research programmes across Europe andtherefore provide an unparalleled opportunity for researchtraining, science exploitation, international exchange andnovel technology development

Funding & PartnershipsThe project will be planned, constructed and funded viaESO which is an intergovernmental organisation ofEuropean astronomical countries, based in Germany butoperating telescopes in Chile.The UK is a roughly 20%partner in ESO with annual contributions, made via STFC,of £15 million. ESO has approved €57 million for DesignStudies, complementing around €28 million availablethrough national funding associated with an EC FP6Design Study Programme. It is expected that up to afurther €8 million will be awarded to ESO from FP7Preparatory Studies.The construction phase will requireadditional contributions from national partners in ESO. It iscurrently planned that the UK’s share of this constructionphase will be provided via the LFCF, commencing 2010.

ESO currently has 13 national partners (France, Germany,UK, Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, Spain,Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden and the Czech Republic).The US research community is planning two, 30-metretelescopes (the Thirty Metre Telescope and the GiantMagellan Telescope). ESO and the STFC are in regularcontact with the lead groups and with the US NationalScience Foundation with regard to a shared science vision,collaboration on site testing, key technologies and theopportunities for cooperative developments.


Informationhttp://www.eso.org/projects/e-elt/

BackgroundThere is a massive increase in the biological informationarising from deployment of high-throughput post-genomictechnologies.Turning this into an increase in innovativeoutput relies on putting infrastructure in place to enableintegration and interoperability of datasets generated indifferent places, at different times and on differentbiological systems with different techniques.

Creating such an infrastructure will increase the speed andsophistication with which current problems in chemical,molecular and sub-cellular biology can be addressed. It willalso vastly increase our capability to apply this knowledgein the systems and physiological context, largely throughenabling modelling and predictive approaches, e.g. tounderstand more clearly and to manipulate the complexinteractions which make up the function of a human,animal or plant cell or organ systems.This will havefundamental effects on how biology is done in future, butwill also transform areas as diverse as the search for andtesting of pharmaceutical agents, development of newmedical and environmental technologies, better food cropsand plant products for industry, accelerated developmentof biomanufacturing and novel bioenergy applications.These are key to the maintenance and development ofthe UK bioeconomy and the delivery of optimalhealthcare in the UK.

New capabilityThe mission of the European Life-Science Infrastructurefor Biological Information (ELIXIR) is to construct andoperate a sustainable infrastructure for biologicalinformation in Europe to support life science research andits translation to medicine and the environment, the bio-industries and society.This will enhance all research andindustry associated with living systems including health andmedicine, the environment, the bio-industries and society.

The facility builds on the existing EBI (EuropeanBioinformatics Institute - located at Hinxton, Cambridge),expanding the range of biological data being managed, andworking through a network of nodes, one in eachmember state of the EU, coordinated through a centralhub.

The hub will lead an extensive programme ofdevelopment and implementation of software tools fordata management and analysis, and the development andimplementation of data standards. It will include a keyactivity in coordinating the development of Europeancapability in systems biology.

A key aspect of ELIXIR is the upgrading of the computingfacilities available at the EBI Hinxton. EBI currently uses thecomputing facilities provided by the Wellcome Trust forthe Sanger Institute (with which EBI shares the site) and

European Life-Science Infrastructure for Biological Information

these need replacing by larger and more up-to-datecapability in order to deliver ELIXIR.

The benefits to the UK of hosting ELIXIR at the EBI, basedin the largest bioscience cluster in the UK, include theattraction of a large number of technically skilled staff fromacross Europe in key areas at the interface of biology,computing and data management. Many of these, togetherwith skilled UK staff trained at EBI, will remain in the UKenhancing industry (particularly in the pharmaceuticalindustry) and the research base.

Funding & partnershipsPrevious UK funding for capital developments at the EBIhave come from the UK Research Councils and theWellcome Trust (the Trust contributed most of the £10 million cost of the recent EBI building extension).Therecurrent costs for EBI are currently provided through theEMBL subscription.The costing model for ELIXIR has yetto be developed and there are various options relating tothe balance between the nodes and the hub, and thestatus of the nodes

The three relevant UK Research Councils (BBSRC, MRCand NERC) and the Wellcome Trust are all partners in theELIXIR preparatory phase FP7 application, which has beensubmitted by EMBL/EBI. BBSRC is leading on behalf ofthese UK organisations within the proposal, and will beleading the section of the workplan developing the fundingand governance model, as well as participating at somelevel in most other aspects of the project.

Estimated cost €100 million Estimated operational date 2012-13

Informationhttp://www.elixir-europe.org/

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BackgroundThe basic scientific objective of the EMSO (EuropeanMultidisciplinary Seafloor Observation) project is toundertake real-time long-term monitoring ofenvironmental processes in the geosphere, biosphere andhydrosphere of European seas. Long-term monitoring willallow the capture of episodic events such as earthquakes,submarine slides, tsunamis, benthic storms, biodiversitychanges, pollution and other events that cannot bedetected and monitored by conventional oceanographicsea-going campaigns. Cabled sea-floor observatories areneeded to collect long time series of simultaneous datarelative to seismology, geodesy, sea level, fluid and gasvents, physical oceanography, biodiversity imaging atdifferent scales. A network of observatories aroundEurope will lead to unprecedented scientific advances inknowledge of submarine geology, the ecosystem of theseas and the environment around Europe.

New capabilityEMSO deep sea-floor observatories will be deployed toallow continuous monitoring security of the ocean marginenvironment around Europe for environment and security.They will be organised in a unique management structureat European level (and part of a global endeavour in sea-floor observatories), for long term monitoring ofenvironmental processes related to ecosystem life anevolution, global changes and geohazards. EMSO will be akey component of GMES and GEOSS.

Implementation of EMSO will be based on connectingexisting and previously autonomous systems, and providingpower and long-term real-time data compatibility,integrating in the wider system of mobile and relocatableseafloor lander platforms.

The EMSO development is based on synergisticcollaboration between the academic community andindustry for the development of technology.This synergyallows each partner to increase its own know-how, toimprove marine technology and set strategies to becompetitive with countries such as USA and Japan.

European Multidisciplinary Seafloor Observation

Funding & partnershipsAn ESONET Network of Excellence has been establishedby national groups.

Funding will be sought from participating Europeannations. Support has been sought under the EU’sFramework Programme 7 preparatory phase funding.

NERC is a participant in the EMSO project.


Informationhttp://www.ifremer.fr/esonet/emso/

BackgroundAurora Borealis will provide the world’s first internationaldrilling and all-season research icebreaker. It will furtherthe international advantage that European research has inthe polar areas. It will provide Europe with a capacity tolaunch autonomous scientific investigations into the centralArctic Ocean at any time of the year, and will be usedaround the Antarctic continental shelf in support of theIntegrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP).

New capabilityAurora Borealis will be the most advanced polar researchvessel in the world with a multi-functional role of drilling indeep ocean basins and supporting climate/environmentalresearch and decision support for stakeholdergovernments for the next 35-40 years. It will open newhorizons for Europe in polar and marine research.

Aurora Borealis will be a powerful research icebreakervessel (196m long and with 31,000 tonnes displacement)with 50 mWatt azimuth propulsion systems and deepdrilling capability for use in extreme conditions in excessof 4,000m water depth. It will have high ice performanceto penetrate autonomously into the central Arctic ocean,with 2.5m of ice cover, during all seasons.

Flexibility to equip the vessel with laboratory and supplycontainers, and the variable arrangement of other modularinfrastructure, free deck-space and separate protected

European Polar Research Icebreaker (Aurora Borealis)

deck areas, will make it suitable for most marine researchdisciplines.

Construction will be technologically challenging and willresult in increased knowledge and experience for marinetechnologies and the ship-building industry.

Funding & PartnershipsThe European Research Icebreaker Consortium(ERICON) has been formed to manage the AuroraBorealis project. NERC is a member of the EuropeanConsortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD), whichis a participant in this project.

Funding has already been obtained from theBundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), theAlfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung(AWI), and an application for EC Framework Programme7 preparatory phase funding has been made.

Funding will be sought from participating Europeannations.

Estimated cost €360 million.Estimated operational date 2012

Informationhttp://www.eri-aurora-borealis.eu/

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BackgroundThe European X-ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL) projectstarted in June 2007 and involves the construction of anew European / international user facility for theproduction and scientific use of ultra-bright and ultra-shortpulses of spatially coherent hard X-rays.

There are competing projects in the USA (LCLS, LinacCoherent Light Source at Stanford) and in Japan (SCSS,Spring-8 Compact SASE Source at Spring-8).These arebased on the normal-conducting Linac technology, withthe consequence of a repetition rate not exceeding about100 Hz. Although characteristics of the individual X-raypulses are roughly comparable, the unique feature of XFELis the superior repetition rate and operational flexibilityrelated to the superconducting Linac choice.Thistranslates, in terms of user advantages, in a much reducedacquisition time, in the possibility of parallel exploitation offive different experimental stations, in a very broad varietyof possible time structures of bunch trains delivered toeach beamline and the possibility of upgrading themachine at a later date.The basic components of thesuperconducting Linac FEL technology have been provensuccessful at the FLASH free-electron laser facility for VUVand soft X-ray radiation, built and operated for users byDESY in Hamburg.

Economic impact will result from the provision of newdetectors, beamline optics and diagnostic equipment, byUK suppliers. UK participation will maintain UK scientistsat the forefront of accelerator science.

Existing capabilityThe facility comprises a superconducting linear accelerator(Linac), based on the TESLA technology, 1.7 km long,accelerating electrons up to an energy of 17.5 GeV; theaccelerator will distribute up to about 30 000 electronbunches per second (10 bunch trains with 600 µs

European X-ray Free-Electron Laser

duration, of up to about 3,000 bunches each) into amanifold of undulators (each feeding a separate photonbeamline), comprising: three undulators (SASE1, SASE2and SASE3) for the generation, via the SASE (Self-Amplification of Spontaneous Emission) process, oftransversely coherent X-ray pulses shorter than 100 fs,and with peak power exceeding 10 GW, in a wavelengthrange from 0.1 nm to 1.6 nm; and a further set of 2undulators (U1, U2) for the generation of hard X-rays, bythe spontaneous emission process.The full facility, whichwill be 3 km long, will include 10 experimental stationswith state of the art equipment for the scientificexploitation of the radiation by the users’ community.

New capabilityThe availability of such X-ray pulses will allow presentlyimpossible and potentially revolutionary experiments in avariety of disciplines such as condensed matter andmaterials physics, nanoscience, plasma physics, chemistryand structural biology. Examples include, the study ofstructural dynamics at the atomic level on the sub-pstimescale during chemical reactions, phase transitions, thesolution of macromolecular structures without the needfor crystallisation and access to presently inaccessibleregions of the phase diagram of warm dense matter.

Funding & partnerships£31.5 million is currently earmarked from the LFCF forthe full project.

Thirteen countries are interested in becoming members.


Informationhttp://www.xfel.eu/

BackgroundExtreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) is a pan-Europeanproject to achieve the highest possible laser intensities andthe shortest possible pulses. It has the potential to addressa wide range of applications of great benefit to society,ranging from medical imaging, fast electronics, options fornew oncology treatments, understanding the processesunderlying the ageing of nuclear reactor materials, and thedevelopment of methods for nuclear waste processing

ELI will drive technology development in a number ofindustrial areas with key spin-out opportunities, includinghigh repetition rate laser sources, advanced optics,detectors, sample handling techniques, etc.The commercialapplication of the beamlines is potentially very high, albeitat a very early stage of analysis.

ELI would secure European (and potentially UK)leadership in a field which is rapidly developing in Asia &USA

Existing capabilityThe UK is currently embarking on a 10 petawatt upgradeto Vulcan (currently the world’s most powerful laser, basedat the CLF, UK), which will offer a vibrant scienceprogramme and prepare the ground for this next step.Alongside this, the French have committed to build aprototype beamline (called ILE) to be built in Palaiseau, ata cost of about €25 million. ELI represents the next logicalstep after the development of these upcoming generationof national laser facilities.

New capabilityELI will provide wholly new types of sources for a widerange of science programmes and their application areas.Capable of producing extreme intensities of X-rays,electrons, protons, neutrons and optical beams, ELI willoperate in a similar mode to a synchrotron with dedicatedbeamlines and high repetition rate delivery. It will gobeyond current state-of-the-art by many orders of

Extreme Light Infrastructure

magnitude, delivering radiation on attosecond timescales,and accessing the ultra-relativistic regime for the first timewith an exawatt class laser.

ELI will be the first infrastructure dedicated to thefundamental study of interactions in a new andunsurpassed regime of laser intensity: the ultra-relativisticfield. At its centre will be an exawatt class laser up to1000 times more powerful than Vulcan.This facility willoperate in a “beamline” mode (cf. synchrotrons) offeringultrashort, ultra-intense pulses of gamma radiation, multi-GeV electrons, protons, ions, etc.These intrinsicallysynchronised particle and radiation ultra-short beams willoffer unique tools for studying matter through pump-probe experiments.The focused intensity will open upfundamental science programmes to study the propertiesof the quantum vacuum (for example to mimic photonpropagation in the very early Universe or test thequantum electrodynamical properties of a radiation gas),physics approaching the Schwinger limit and possibly eventhe physics that drives Hawking radiation.

Funding & partnershipsThis proposal is coordinated by LOA (France), with 13 European partners in the 3-year preparatory phase(2008-2011).

This phase has funding (in-kind or direct) from 13 nations,amounting to €78 million in relevant funding, includingexisting staff and experiments on existing facilities. A bidfor €7 million was submitted to the EC in May 2007 toprovide the appropriate level of coordinating action, withanticipation of this being achieved through the EC and thepartner countries.

The UK has had a long history of leadership in this area –from both a technology and science perspective.We havethe opportunity to continue this by appropriateengagement with ELI coupled to our associated nationallevel programmes.

The location of ELI is yet to be determined, with Francejust one of many possible locations, including the UK.Operation by 2014 is anticipated.

The costing is not well determined at this stage becausemajor technology down-selection decisions have yet to bemade.This will form part of the preparatory phase projectoutput, with the probably range of costs reflected in ourlocal estimates:

Estimated cost £200-500 millionEstimated operational date 2014

Informationhttp://www.extreme-light-infrastructure.eu/

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BackgroundThe international FAIRproject aims to providescientists in Europe andthe world with anoutstanding acceleratorand experimental facilityfor studying matter at thelevel of atoms, atomicnuclei, protons andneutrons as the buildingblocks of nuclei and thesubnuclear constituentscalled quarks and gluons.Although the main focuswill be on nuclear physics,it will also allow a range ofstudies in atomic physics,inertial confinement andastrophysics. In nuclearphysics it will address themain frontiers of thesubject, hadron physics, thephase diagram of nuclearmatter and the structure of exotic nuclei, potentiallyanswering such questions as:

• How were heavy elements formed in stars?

• What are the limits of nuclear existence?

• Can we manipulate nuclear decay rate by controllingthe atomic environment?

• Are there new forms of strongly interacting matter?

New capabilityThis unique facility will be able to produce intense highenergy, high brilliance beams of particles ranging from anti-protons to all chemical elements. FAIR will be theforemost facility in the world until at least 2020.Theinternational recognition of the UK nuclear physicscommunity is due to concentration of its resources in afew areas of research to achieve critical mass. UKparticipation in FAIR will give the UK community access tothe foremost facility in the world in the majority of areasof scientific priority and allow the UK to continue to play aleading role in the development of the field.

Funding & partnershipsThe total cost of FAIR is estimated at €1,187 million over5 years with 75% of the funding being provided by theGerman government, assuming that 25% will be providedby other partners. It is the expectation that while someresources (of the order of £10 million, subject to peerreview) would be provided from the baseline STFCbudget, involvement on the scale that maintains UKleadership would require a bid to the LFCF for additionalfunds over the construction phase.

Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR)

The UK is represented on all the initial bodies scoping thenature of the facility, both scientific and administrative.FAIR will be established as a limited liability companyunder German law, with a governing council on which thestakeholders are represented. An interim memorandum ofunderstanding for the preconstruction phase was signedby the UK, Germany, Poland, France, Russia, Italy, Spain,Finland, Sweden, Greece, China and Austria. India andRomania have agreed contributions to the constructionphase. It is the aim to start construction in early 2008.Thescience direction of the facility and the scope of the majorexperiments are being finalised and the UK has been fullyengaged in these discussions, with representation of themajor nuclear physics groups in the various collaborations,in order to influence decisions and set the science agendain a way that reflects UK interests. STFC is considering thelevel and priorities for UK involvement as part of itsstrategic review.

Estimated cost €850 millionEstimated operational date 2012/13

Informationhttp://www.gsi.de/fair/

BackgroundA next generation particle physics accelerator to followup discoveries at the LHC should be able to collide beamsof electrons and positrons or perhaps muons at energiesbetween 0.5 to 1 TeV. It should be tuneable to a preciseenergy and able to give very clean experimentalconditions and high precision. Such a machine cancomplement the LHC, soon to start operations at CERN,by providing a way of studying precisely and in depth anynew phenomena found at the LHC, which has greatdiscovery reach but lacks precision. For example, thenature of particles that may be responsible for cosmicdark matter can be precisely determined by LHC andsuch a machine working together.

UK university groups and STFC laboratories havedeveloped internationally recognised expertise inimportant areas for future colliders.

UK effort in particle accelerator technology has beenenhanced through the creation of two new acceleratorinstitutes, the Cockcroft Institute and the John AdamsInstitute.Work on future electron-positron colliders hasbeen directed towards the simulation and design of thebeam delivery system and in technologies such asalignment and feedback, which are broadly applicable.Thenew expertise we are building up in these areas will alsobenefit future projects such as free-electron andsynchrotron light sources for the life sciences. The UK’swork on high power proton accelerators and muon beamcooling with the MICE experiment positions us well tocontribute to a future muon collider.

Future High Energy Colliders

In the detector area, the UK has expertise in technologyareas required for future precision colliders, such as veryprecise detectors to be placed very close to the collisionpoint, and precise but large-scale energy measurementdevices (calorimeters). Both themes make use of andenhance our underlying expertise in solid-state pixeldetectors, which have applications in many other areas(such as Diamond and XFEL).

Funding & partnershipsA number of concepts for such a facility are beingpursued.The International Linear Collider group is carryingout a Global Design Effort, drawing together researchersform Europe, the Americas and Asia. A Reference DesignReport was published at the end of 2006 includingdetailed costing information for sites in Europe, Japan andin the US.The machine will be 30 - 40 km in total length.

Alternative concepts include the Compact Linear Colliderinvolving groups from CERN and elsewhere, and thepossibility of colliding beams of muons rather thanelectrons and positrons, which is technically challenging butoffers potential synergies with a neutrino physicsprogramme.

The earliest that any decision could be made to go aheadwith construction on one of these options is around2010-12, when physics results from the LHC becomeavailable.

The UK is engaged in global discussions on future collidersthrough the Funding Agencies for Large Colliders group(FALC).The international funding agencies from Germany,Spain, Canada, US, UK, Italy, Japan, Korea, India, China,France and CERN (representing the other Europeanmember states) have established this group to provide aforum where technical and financial issues are discussed.

Estimated cost Likely to be more than £5 billion

Estimated operational date Likely after 2020

InformationSee for examplehttp://www.linearcollider.org/http://clic-study.web.cern.ch/http://www.cap.bnl.gov/mumu/

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BackgroundAtmospheric science plays the central role in the scienceof climate change, from the understanding of changes toatmospheric composition to the local atmospheric hazardsresulting from climate change.The key scientific andtechnical challenges currently faced by the UKatmospheric science research community include climatechange science, weather processes, atmosphericcomposition (including air quality) and state-of-the-arttechnologies for observing and modelling the atmosphere.

Existing capabilityThe National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), aNERC institute, provides national ground-based andairborne atmospheric observing capability. A crucial aspectof atmospheric research involves making measurements totest predictions of model runs, and to investigate naturalphenomena.These measurements are usually made duringfield campaigns that have been funded through NERC andheld worldwide.

New capabilityThe sophistication of the science required forenvironmental prediction (both on “weather” and“climate” timescales) advances rapidly, as does the availabletechnology.

NCAS therefore needs to invest in infrastructure tomaintain its leading position and to adequately support

Ground-Based and Airborne Mobile Atmospheric Observatory

the NERC community.The plan is for a new, state-of-the-art mobile observing facility, making use of the latestremote sensing and in situ measurement technology, toaddress the atmospheric processes and climate challengesof the 21st century.

This project will ensure that the UK remains at theforefront of international atmospheric sciencemeasurement.

Funding & partnershipsFunding will be sought from Research Councils andcollaborative engagement with other national andEuropean funding agencies.

Most atmospheric field campaigns are collaborative withinternational groups and in addition European scientistspay for direct use of NCAS instrumentation. NCAS isdeveloping strategic alliances with other Europeancountries and the USA to share major observing facilities.

Estimated cost £6.3 millionEstimated operational date Within 5 years

Informationhttp://www.ncas.ac.uk/

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BackgroundHigh Power Laser Energy Research Project (HiPER) is aUK initiative for Europe to take a world leading position inthe demonstration of inertial fusion energy and thescience of extreme conditions.This approach to energyand science is made feasible by the advent of arevolutionary approach to laser-driven fusion known asfast ignition. HiPER will make use of laser technology in aunique configuration, allowing fusion fuel to becompressed and then ignited to induce a propagating burnwave yielding significant energy gain.

HiPER has been designed to marry together theestablishment of European leadership in the science ofextreme conditions with the key societal challenge facingmankind: a long-term supply of clean energy.

New capabilityThe science case offers a compelling argument for a step-change in laser capability for European academics. Itsproposed science programme covers the entire spectrumof this rapidly developing field, with a facility capability thatwill offer unprecedented, internationally unique tools forthe creation and quantitative diagnosis of high energy-density matter.The principal science areas range fromlaboratory astrophysics to fundamental atomic physics.Thescience includes the unexplained field of warm densematter, transient non-equilibrium nuclear physics, planetarygeophysics, relativistic particle beam creation andapplication, and turbulence. It also includes the physics ofmatter at extremes of temperature, density and pressure,or under extreme magnetic or electric fields, or in systemswhose behaviour is dominated by radiation or burnphysics.

The energy mission is aimed at establishing the case forthe exploitation of laser driven fusion. It is timed tocoincide with the upcoming demonstration of energyproduction from lasers (in around 2010-2012 in the USA).HiPER will illustrate the route to viable power generationby addressing the key R&D challenges, both scientificallyand technologically. Multiple energy solutions aredemanded by a risk-balanced strategy for energy supply,with fusion able to offer the “holy grail” of energy sources– limitless fuel with no carbon or unmanageableradioactive by-products, energy security, and a scale ableto meet the long term demand. Laser fusion is highlycomplementary to ITER, and is based on a provenscientific technique.

European industry is very well placed to capitalise onHiPER (in the construction, operation anddecommissioning phases). Indeed, this is a cornerstone ofone key aspect of the consortium negotiations to date.With regard to the future energy applications of HiPER,the potential economic impact cannot be overstated.The

High Power Laser Energy Research Project

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energy market is currently €3 trillion pa. HiPER wouldsecure European (and UK) leadership in a field which israpidly developing in Asia and the USA.

Funding & partnershipsThe HiPER project is a consortium of seven Europeancountries at the national level (Czech Republic, France,Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, with the UK taking thecoordinating role), two regional governments (Madrid andAquitaine), industry, plus scientists from four othercountries (Poland, Germany, Russia, USA) and internationallinks to Japan, South Korea, China and Canada. It has justcompleted a 2-year conceptual design. It will enter a 3-year preparatory phase project in 2008, withconstruction envisaged for the latter half of next decade.The facility will be the culmination of a strategic alliance oflaser capabilities across Europe, for which the next(intermediate) step, PETAL, is currently under constructionnear Bordeaux at a cost of about €80 million.Technicalwork associated with the 3-year preparatory phase hasfunding (in-kind or direct) from UK, France, CzechRepublic, Greece, Spain, Italy, Poland, Portugal, plus likelyinstitutional funding in-kind from Germany, South Korea,Canada, USA, Japan, China.This amounts to €53 million inrelevant funding, including existing staff and experiments onexisting facilities. A further €15 million of direct funding isrequired from the EC and the national partners to fulfilthe requirements of the preparatory phase from 2008.

HiPER has also signed agreements-in-principle with twoother preparatory phase projects (E-ELT and ELI), and hasarranged to make use of a series of bilateral agreementswith non-European nations to share technology and non-technical information of mutual interest.

Estimated cost €500 millionEstimated operational date 2017-2019

Informationhttp://www.hiper-laser.org/

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BackgroundThe mouse is the most commonly used model system tounderstand the molecular basis of health and disease inhumans. Programmes are underway to generate mousemutants for every gene in the mouse genome, creating ahuge resource of potential models for the study of humandisease. Current capacity to exploit this resource, however,is limited as existing facilities across Europe can only offerlimited capacity for the characterisation, dissemination andarchiving of mouse disease models.The current capacities,governance structures and funding strategies of existinginfrastructures will not be able to meet the upcomingurgent needs. Current capacity is sufficient for the analysisand dissemination of only a few hundred disease modelsper year

New capabilityA large scale, pan-European networked activity is requiredto organise phenotyping, archiving, and distribution of thetens of thousands mouse models likely to becomeavailable in the next decade. Infrafrontier has twocomponents:

• Phenomefrontier - which plans to provide a Europeanplatform offering access to comprehensivephenotyping, facilities, including the latest in vivoimaging technologies using non-invasive methods aswell as informatics tools to handle the phenotypedata, and

• Archivefrontier - which will archive and distributemouse models to the highest quality standards, with amajor upgrade of the existing European MouseMutant Archive (EMMA).

Both components build on previous European/FP6initiatives in mouse genomics; PRIME (to integrate andharmonise functional genomics research) and EMMA(distributed archive network).The MRC MammalianGenetics Unit/Mary Lyon Centre (see page 13) is a keypartner in the network proposal which includes plans toupgrade current facilities and construct new ones.One of the major challenges for the 21st century is thefunctional annotation of the human genome andunderstanding the link between genes and disease.The

Infrafrontier

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two parts of theproject will enableEuropeanlaboratories to makeeffective use of themouse models in theglobal effort to meetthis challenge.Infrafrontier willguarantee theaccessibility of mousemodels and will be essential to facilitate their exploitation.Such models are therefore of key importance to thepharmaceutical industry and in the development of novelbiological and cell based therapies in the biotechnologysector. Both the access to facilities and the development ofthe skills base in mouse models will be important inmaintaining the attractiveness of Europe as a base forresearch and development activities of internationalpharmaceutical and biotechnology companies

Funding & partnershipsThe project is at an early stage and the full scientific caseand costing model have yet to be developed.

The MRC Mammalian Genetics Unit, European MolecularBiology Laboratory and MRC are participants in theproposal for preparatory phase FP7 funding .

Partnership with the planned ESFRI project – ELIXIREstimated cost €320 million Estimated operational date 2017

Informationhttp://www.infrafrontier.eu/

SummaryThe development of therapeutic innovations requiresaccess to large populations of patients. Infrastructuressupporting patient enrolment in clinical trials, datamanagement, quality assurance, monitoring, ethics andregulatory affairs are required for quality and credibility ofdata and successful performance of clinical trials. Suchnetworks covering clinical research centres and clinical trialunits have been created at national level in some memberstates of the European Union, including the UK ClinicalResearch Network in the UK.

New capabilityTo ensure the competitiveness of European clinicalresearch, and avoid fragmentation of health and legislativesystems across countries, there needs to be an efficient,integrated, and professionalised infrastructure to supportclinical trials including patient recruitment and investigation,data management, good manufacturing practice ofbiotherapy products, quality assurance, monitoring, ethics,regulatory affairs and adverse event reporting.

The network will improve the quality and efficiency ofclinical research and take advantage of the Europeanpopulation and competencies, unlocking latent expertiseand patients scattered across the EU member states.

An integrated European clinical research network shouldalso enhance UK and European competitiveness forcommercially driven health research and has the potentialto strengthen healthcare markets


MRC is a partner in the preparatory phase FP7application, which the Department of Health is alsosupporting.

Partnership with other ESFRI projects - BBMRI andEATRIS (pages 44 and 50)

Estimated cost €36 million

Informationhttp://www.ecrin.org/

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63

BackgroundGlobal climate change represents arguably the mostserious environmental issue facing mankind today, withimplications for global political stability and the globaleconomy. Reliable predictions of the future climate usingclimate models are a central and fundamental requirementfor determining future mitigation strategies.

New capabilityIt is proposed to establish a sustainable distributedinfrastructure for global observations of atmosphericcomposition from a large fleet of in-service aircraft.Thiswill be achieved by installing autonomous instrumentpackages aboard, initially, 10-20 long-range aircraft ofinternationally operating airlines. InstrumentedAutonomous Global Observing System - EuropeanResearch Infrastructure (IAGOS-ERI) will provide highquality in situ observations of greenhouse gases andreactive gases, aerosol and cloud particles in thetropopause region, which is not adequately resolved byremote sensing from space but is one of the mostsensitive regions for climate change. At the same time,IAGOS-ERI will provide detailed vertical profiles in thetroposphere, which are of paramount importance forpredicting changes in local and regional air quality andtheir causes.

The particular value of routine measurements fromcommercial aircraft is that they provide fundamentallycalibrated long-term observations of critical chemicalspecies, aerosols and clouds in the upper troposphere andlower stratosphere, a region which is critical for climatechange and which is otherwise data-sparse.The use ofcommercial aircraft allows the collection of highly relevantobservations on a scale and in numbers impossible toachieve using research aircraft, and where othermeasurement methods (e.g. satellites) have technicallimitations.

Besides providing improved technology for sustainableoperation and improved global coverage, IAGOS willdevelop new instruments for regular high qualitymeasurements of CO2, NOx, stratospheric H2O, aerosol

Instrumented Autonomous Global ObservingSystem - European Research Infrastructure

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and cloud particles. Regular vertical profiles of CO2 willprovide a unique set of information for the validation ofregional and global carbon cycle models used for theverification of CO2 emissions and Kyoto monitoring.IAGOS-ERI will provide technological advances that areessential for atmospheric observations in currentlyobservation-sparse regions of the atmosphere.

Near real-time products will be disseminated through themeteorological Global Transmission System, accessed bynational weather services and ECMWF and transmitted toenvironmental agencies for their contribution to theGMES initiative. Near real-time IAGOS-ERI data will beused in automated validation procedures to assessweather forecasts in national meteorological centres andchemical weather forecasts in GMES centres.These datawill also be assimilated to initialise air quality modelforecasts managed by regional agencies. Downstreamservices of GMES, including environmental engineeringsocieties may also use such data.

Funding & partnershipsFunding will be sought from participating Europeannations. Support is being sought under the EU FrameworkProgramme 7 preparatory phase funding.

NERC is a participant in the IAGOS-ERI project.


Informationhttp://www.fz-juelich.de/icg/icg-2/iagos

BackgroundUnlike meteorological parameters thathave been routinely collected bymeteorological services for 50 yearsand for which global satelliteobservations have existed for 30 years,with secure commitments for thefuture, there is no co-ordinated systemto measure atmospheric greenhousegas concentrations in Europe. Onlyabout half of the anthropogenic CO2emissions accumulates in theatmosphere, while the remainder istaken up by land and oceans onaverage in similar proportions.However, these sinks vary strongly intime and space. Quantifying present-day carbon sources and sinks andunderstanding the underlying carbonmechanisms are prerequisites toinformed policy decisions.

Future capabilityICOS (Integrated Carbon ObservationSystem) will provide the infrastructurefor determining the greenhousebalance of Europe and of adjacent keyregions of Siberia and Africa insupport of climate change andbiodiversity research. It consists of aharmonised network of ecosystemlong-term observation sites and a network of atmosphericgreenhouse gas concentration sites.The networks will becoordinated through a set of central facilities, including anatmospheric and an ecosystem thematic centre, a centraldata centre and an analytical laboratory.

Better understanding of vulnerability and regionalfeedbacks between climate and biosphere is theprerequisite for predicting the response of the earthsystem to global change. Research priorities for thecoming years in the field of global and regional climate-biosphere feedbacks cannot be addressed without dense,consistent, long-term, integrated observations of tracegases and relevant environmental tracers and ecosystemparameters as those provided by ICOS.The ICOSobservational data and secondary data products form thebasis for improved understanding and adequate humanaction. ICOS will significantly enhance the observationalbasis and accessibility of observational data in benefit to

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the applied and basic scientific community ecosystems onland (forestry, agriculture, water resources) and in the seas(aquaculture, fisheries).

Funding & partnershipsPreparatory costs are €5 million, with total costs forimplementation and operation over 20 years being about €270 million.The decommissioning cost is €7 million.Thepreparatory phase is funded by the EU under FrameworkProgramme 7.

The UK provides one of the 16 research laboratoriesparticipating in the preparatory phase.

Estimated cost €275 millionEstimated operational date 2012

Informationhttp://www.icos-infrastructure.eu/

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SummaryOne of the grand challenges in biology is to combine themolecular structures of cell components into knowledgeof the way in which cells function.The major challenge forstructural biology in the next two decades will be theintegration of structural knowledge at different resolutionlevels into specific cellular contexts, moving from structuralbiology to integrative structural cell biology.This willunderpin biomedical sciences.The challenge requires acombination of structural biology techniques, providinginformation in different resolution ranges, and bridging thegaps between them. Furthermore, besides the staticpicture of a cell at different scales, there is a temporalcomponent that is crucial and understanding cell biologyrequires consideration of the dynamics of these differentprocesses.

New capabilityThe Integrated Structural Biology Infrastructure(INSTRUCT) project plans to link several EuropeanCentres with expertise in a particular structural biologyapproach (e.g. Italy - NMR; UK - crystallography) into anetwork to maximise interchange and application ofparallel technologies to specific problems. Existing centreswill be upgraded and new centres will be established. Eachcentre will maintain a set of core technologies includingprotein production, NMR, crystallography and variousforms of microscopy. All centres will need instrumentationto be updated, the acquisition of new advancedequipment and the consolidation of mechanisms forallowing external access.There is a continuous need fortechnology upgrades and advancements to follow up andpromote methodological developments in the field.

Europe has a large, innovative structural biologycommunity that is internationally renowned and hassuccessfully secured EU project funding in the past.The

Integrated Structural Biology Infrastructure

Emerging

Centres will be open to the European academic andindustrial community and will provide, on a project basis,access to production and experimental facilities.The planned infrastructure will provide world-classfacilities and make Europe competitive in structuralbiology.The requirements for highest precisioninstrumentation will challenge European industry toimprove their capabilities and the use of the facilities forindustrial research will strengthen Europe’s industrialcompetitiveness, in particular in biotechnology andpharmaceutical companies.


The proposal for preparatory phase FP7 funding is beingled from the UK. MRC is a participant on the FP7application and is leading the section of the work plan onthe financial framework.

Partnerships with other European synchrotron facilitiesinclude ESRF, DESY, PETRA, BESY, SLS, LUCIA, Soleil,Diamond, the Trieste and SCANDINAVIA sources, andother neutron sources including ILL, Julich and ISIS.

With the planned ESFRI project - ELIXIR (see page 53)


Informationhttp://www.instruct-fp7.eu/

BackgroundPlanet Earth is a complex system driven by multipleinteractions between human society and the naturalenvironment.We have come to realise that biodiversity –the variety of biological species that inhabit the earth, thegenes they contain and the ecosystems in which they live– is essential for maintaining the goods and services thatour planet provides.The current rapid loss of biodiversity,added to climate change and population growth, is a newglobal phenomenon that requires entirely new approachesand mitigation strategies together with a societal responsethat must deal with the full spectrum of human socio-economic activities as well as with the ecologicalcomplexity of the world.

The decisions that society has to make and the actionsthat are necessary require high quality scientificinformation, knowledge and expertise of a kind that ispresently at least scattered and inadequate, and mostlyunavailable.

Building a system that allows us to understand Europe’sbiodiversity and ecosystems – from the pristine deepocean to the human dominated agricultural land, roadsand cities – and from that knowledge and informationbuild the basis for adequate management, sustainabledevelopment and informed, rational decision-making, is thecore of the Life Watch project. Life Watch will serve tosupport the scientific research and compile, use andtransfer to policy-makers and the public the scientificinformation necessary and required for the understandingand rational management of our ecosystems on land(forestry, agriculture, water resources) and in the seas(aquaculture, fisheries).

New capabilityLife Watch will construct and bring into operation thefacilities, hardware, software and governance structures forresearch on the protection, management and sustainableuse of biodiversity. It will comprise facilities for datageneration and processing, a network of observatories,facilities for data integration and interoperability, virtuallaboratories offering a range of analytical and modellingtools, and a service centre providing special services forscientific and policy users, including training and researchopportunities for young scientists.

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The pan-European approach of the facility will lead tosubstantial synergies in biodiversity research.The newinfrastructure will integrate the full potential of taxonomicand ecosystem information with genomic data from othersources in an international (virtual) laboratoryenvironment.The wealth of large data sets from differentlevels of biodiversity opens up new and exciting researchopportunities. Comparative data mining in large-scale datasets allows for studying patterns and mechanisms acrossdifferent levels of biodiversity.The large-scale approachsupports understanding (and managing) the impacts ofclimate change on the distribution, adaptation andfunctions of biodiversity.

The facility will support the research necessary to meetthe policy objectives in EC Communication: SustainingEcosystem Services for Human Well-Being (2006) and willbe a major component of the European contribution toGEOSS.

Funding & PartnershipsFunding will be sought from participating Europeannations. Support is being sought under the EU’sFramework Programme 7 preparatory phase funding.

NERC is a participant in the Life Watch project.


Informationhttp://www.lifewatch.eu/

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BackgroundThe proposal for a National Academic Drug DevelopmentFacility is intended to provide state-of-the-art,comprehensive facilities to support the conduct of earlyclinical studies, and specifically clinical pharmacologicalstudies to accelerate the discovery and development ofnovel therapeutics. It would allow the academiccommunity to undertake pharmacodynamic,pharmacokinetic, genomic and biomarker research studiesassociated with the development of novel therapeuticinterventions.There may also be scope to includededicated medicinal chemistry facilities.

New capabilityThe proposed facility would provide leading edge facilities,technologies and expertise not currently existing inacademic departments to accelerate the discovery ofnovel pathways of disease, and therefore potential targetsfor therapeutic intervention (“druggable targets”); facilitatethe development of novel therapeutic interventions,especially in disease areas that are not well served byindustry (“orphan areas”); provide a focus for training in in vivo sciences (especially clinical pharmacology) andmedicinal chemistry; the discovery of biomarkers ofdisease aetiology and progression, surrogates of outcome,and of toxicological markers.

The facility will also provide cost-efficient use of highlyspecialised technologies and increased UK competitivenessin translational medical research, making it a moreattractive option for international pharmaceutical,biotechnology, and device/diagnostic industry investment.

The facility will enable faster discovery and developmentof therapeutic interventions and bring substantial addedvalue to existing investments in centres of excellence inexperimental medicine and translational research.

Funding & partnershipsThe project is at an early stage of development and theoptions of how best to deliver such a national facility,either as a single physical entity or as a consortium ofgeographically distinct centres (each with differing butcomplementary expertises and technologies) still need tobe considered.

National Academic Drug Development Facility

Emerging

The infrastructure for such a facility would require fundingfrom LFCF and MRC with potential for other ResearchCouncil involvement. Furthermore, there is the possibilitythat other significant funders of medical research may wishto contribute if it helped to deliver their strategic goals.The pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and devices/diagnosticssectors would be key stakeholders.

There is potential for partnership with other ESFRIprojects - BBMRI (see page 44), EATRIS (see page 50) andECRIN (see page 62).

BackgroundIn the last decade, it has become clear that neutrinos havenon-zero masses, and mix strongly with each other;moreover neutrinos and their antiparticles may not bedistinct entities.The masses are tiny, and probably do notarise, as other particle masses are postulated to do, fromthe Higgs boson. Indeed, neutrino masses may give us awindow on physics at extremely high energy scales. It isalso quite plausible that neutrino interactions of a typeknown as “CP violation” very early after the Big Bang maybe responsible for the very existence of a universe filledwith matter.

Future capabilityThe UK is pursuing a broad and incisive programme ofneutrino physics, including the MINOS,T2K andSuperNEMO experiments, but to fully explore thesephenomena will require a new type of accelerator – aNeutrino Factory based on a muon storage ring.TheBeams for European Neutrino Experiments working groupconcluded that this would offer the best physics reach ofany future neutrino facility.

To employ a muon storage ring as a Neutrino Factory itwould be necessary to store muons within microsecondsof production, followed by ionisation cooling of the muonbeam. One of the favoured accelerator technologies for aneutrino factory is a circular ring called an FFAG. TheFFAG also has a potential application as a medicalaccelerator where it could provide a robust and reliablesource of hadrons and ions for cancer therapy. Aprototype FFAG ring called EMMA is being constructed atDaresbury Laboratory and will explore both the neutrinofactory requirements and the medical applicability of thetechnique.

The existing high-power proton accelerator infrastructureat RAL makes the UK a credible site for a NeutrinoFactory, the only currently plausible scenario in which afrontier particle physics accelerator facility might be built inthe UK, bringing significant direct and indirect economicbenefits.

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Funding & partnershipsThe MICE experiment at RAL is the first attempt todemonstrate the feasibility of this technology. Aninternational collaboration of roughly 150 physicists from eight countries is working on this experiment. Phase I ofMICE (beamline and detectors) is nearing completion anda funding package for Phase II, which will add the coolingstages, is being supported by STFC. Our goal is to havecompleted the design study, and to have results from theMICE experiment at RAL by the end of the decade inorder to inform a potential construction decision on thattimescale.

In parallel, we are supporting an International DesignStudy of a Neutrino Factory as a global effort, withEuropean collaboration likely supported through theseventh EU framework programme, with the aim of RALbeing the host laboratory for the design study effort.

Estimated cost £2 billionEstimated operational date After 2015

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BackgroundA major challenge for science is to measure the structureand the dynamics of matter, the latter at the timescaleupon which it unfolds.The full imaging of structuraldynamics is not possible with conventional sourcesbecause the small scale dynamics of matter are usually toorapid to be captured.These ultra-fast structural dynamicswill be accessible to the new facility. It is anticipated thatthe New Light Source (NLS) will open exciting newopportunities in material science, chemical science, nano-science, life sciences (including pharmaceutical andbiomolecular applications) and in high energy densityscience.

The NLS is likely to lead to new fundamentalunderstandings and capabilities across a diverse range ofscience. Scientific disciplines over this diverse range (e.g.cell biology, material science, surface science, molecularsciences and quantum control) will be strongly impacted.Other aspects of the research that is enabled throughNLS will impact directly into important technologicalareas, for example the development of nanotechnology,drug discovery and energy and medical research. In thisway there will be a direct coupling to a number ofimportant industrial sectors.

NLS will be a science driven project, the broad scienceobjectives will be defined in the light of technicalpossibilities before the detailed facility specifications aredeveloped.The project will be a joint effort over a widerange of scientific disciplines including, e.g. materialscientists, life scientists, chemists, physicists, acceleratorscientists and laser scientists.

Future capabilityThe NLS project is a proposed UK-based free-electron-laser (FEL) light source facility intended to have uniqueand world leading capabilities, especially in regard to shortpulse duration and high intensity. It is anticipated that thefacility would integrate advanced conventional lasers and aFEL with an optimised time structure and a broad photonenergy range. By providing the means to directly measureultra-fast structural dynamics it will enable new scienceand technology.

The project is now entering into a consultation phase inorder to identify the key science drivers. Once these areestablished a detailed technical specification will begenerated that defines the photon energy range, theadditional conventional laser capability that the facilityrequires and the intensity and pulse duration specifications.Regardless of the final specifications, the science challengesthat the NLS aspires to address include the following:

• Measuring structural dynamics in matter of all kinds;

• Structural imaging of biomolecules not accessible toconventional methods;

New Light Source

Emerging

• Understandingwarm dense matter;

• Using light tocontrol, rather thansimply observe,complex matter ;

• Studying matter farfrom equilibriumand tracking phasechanges in real time;

• Measuringelectronic dynamicsin real time:attosecond science;

Funding & partnershipsSTFC has launched an initial phase of the NLS project, todeliver a vision for the key scientific goals, conceptualdesign, a costed proposal and an outline business case forthis photon source.

The case for the NLS will be developed over the periodApril 2008 to October 2009.The first phase of theproject, to be completed by October 2008, will be donethrough wide consultation with the scientific communityto identify the key science drivers and define the broadfacility specification.The science case based upon theconsultation will be delivered for STFC consideration inOctober 2008. Following review by STFC, the project willproceed to a conceptual design study in which thedetailed science aims and the technical details of thefacility to achieve these will be fully defined. It isanticipated to be submitted for further consideration inOctober 2009. In the second phase significant input ofstaff time from STFC, Diamond and a number of HEIs isrequired.

The present proposal is jointly supported by STFC andDiamond Light Source coupled to strong HEI involvement.

Due to the early stage of consultation we do not yet havea definitive technical design and so the cost remainsuncertain but will likely exceed £100 million. A moredefinite cost will be determined at the end of the firstconsultation phase (later in 2008).

Delivery is planned for 2015.

Informationhttp://www.newlightsource.org

BackgroundThe 2005 UK Neutron Review concluded that the broadrange of applications for neutrons makes them an essentialtool in the discovery, understanding and applications ofscience in areas which are vital to the UK science andtechnology base.

The Neutron Review also concluded that:

• UK scientists will continue to require access to thebest possible neutron facilities for the foreseeablefuture and, in particular, to a next generation facilitythat is competitive with other similar projectsunderway in the USA and Japan, within fifteen years;

• There should be enhanced investment in ILL and ISIS,jointly with international partners, that will sustain theinternational competitiveness of these world-leadingfacilities for the 10-15 years;

• the UK is a highly credible country that could host aEuropean next generation neutron source;

• the UK has the potential to build a megawatt-classspallation neutron source through the upgrade of ISIS,but should defer further planning for this option untilthe outcome of the wider discussions on Europeanplans is known;

• the UK should, with immediate effect, joininternational projects addressing key technologydevelopments associated with the next generation ofneutron sources.

New capabilityThe UK has made major scientific and technicalcontributions to the planning and development of nextgeneration neutron sources, including SNS, J-PARC and tovarious design studies for a next generation Europeanspallation neutron source, and will continue to do so sincewe have the highest concentration of relevant expertise in

Europe.The UK is cautious withrespect to the start ofconstruction of a next generationEuropean source, preferring tobuild on lessons learned from theoperation of the new US andJapanese sources.

The UK has established aposition of internationalleadership in the development ofneutron-based techniques and,through facilities at ISIS and ILL,provides a unique platform toenable major contributions inareas crucial to society, such as inenergy, health, transport andbioscience.

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The research carried out at a next generation neutronsource has a strong synergy with the Diamond LightSource, Central Laser Facility, the Materials InnovationInstitute and the Hartree Computational Science Centre,and will engage with the needs of industry.

Funding & partnershipsThere are three inter-linked projects in terms of bothcosts and schedule - ILL upgrade, ISIS MW upgrade andthe European Spallation Source (ESS) as defined in theESFRI Roadmap. An effective capital budget profile thatwould cover most potential options would ramp from aninitial £3 million in FY08/09 (allowing a rapid additionalinvestment in ILL and subsequent exploitation for adecade or more) to a plateau of £25-35 million per yearneeded to allow the realisation of the next generationneutron source. Depending on negotiations with otherEuropean countries, subsequent investment would beeither directed towards ESS, if the future of ILL were indoubt beyond 2020, or towards an ISIS MW upgrade plusa major investment into ILL infrastructure. In either casethere is a need for a design/development/prototypingphase before full construction commences.The plan aimsto maintain the capacity of UK accessible neutron facilitieswhile steadily increasing the capability.The initial financingphase is crucial since lack of investment in ILL could leadto a weakening of the user community during theconstruction phase of any new source and so reduce ourability to benefit from eventual exploitation.

The UK is one of three main partners in the ILL. Franceand Germany would be expected to match UK fundingfor ILL. Potential sources of funding for the ISIS MWupgrade (£500 million) are the UK (50 per cent ) andEuropean partners. Funding for the ESS (£1 billion) mightbe expected to follow a pro-rata GDP contributionexcept for the host country.

Estimated cost £25-35 million pa over 8 years

Estimated operational date 2015 MW ISIS2020 ESS

Informationhttp://www.neutrons.cclrc.ac.uk/

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BackgroundThe British Birth Cohort Studies are recognisedworldwide as unique and remarkable longitudinal researchresources.

Existing capabilitySince 1946, and at approximate 10-12 year intervals, eachnew cohort study has provided invaluable researchevidence on a wide range of topics including theantecedents and consequences of child poverty, smokingin pregnancy, crime and antisocial behaviour, the long termimpacts of education and training and lifestyle links to theearly onset of cardio-vascular and other diseases.

While each cohort has revealed much new evidence toinform health, educational, social and economic policy, thefull potential of these studies can now be realised byintercohort comparison. Collectively they have grown anddeveloped in importance as a set of studies which provideunprecedented opportunities for comparative investigationof the links between upbringing, family structure,education, employment, retirement and health.Theyprovide analysts with the opportunity to investigatephenomena using individual-level longitudinal analyseswithin a comparative framework – one of the mostpowerful analytical methods available in the absence ofrandomised controlled studies. In combination, the studiespresent an unprecedented opportunity to investigate theforces and patterns that have shaped and continue toshape the lives of three overlapping generations, themajority of whom are still living in the UK today.

Future capabilityHowever, for the last 60 years the birth cohort studieshave evolved separately.The proposal is to for a newfacility which will integrate, harmonise and extend them.Toachieve this goal, the key features of the researchlaboratory are:

• To house and maintain five existing major birthcohort studies, providing continued information fromapproximately 60,000 individuals covering a widerange of topics (health, educational development,family circumstances, social behaviour, employment,lifestyle activities, etc);

• To promote the integration of a wide range of socialand economic variables with biomedical samples (e.gblood, saliva) and health information.These data willbe linked to newly available administrative datasources (e.g. school, social security, tax and hospitalrecords);

• To launch a new birth cohort study;

• To undertake or coordinate new data collection forthe five studies from 2010 and 2012 (based oncurrent data collection cycles);

Research Facility for the Birth Cohort Studies

Emerging

• To promote intercohort comparison via the adoptionof common data collection methods and instruments,and by reprocessing of existing data;

• To set up and operate a Remote Secure AccessFacility for the analysis of sensitive data which cannotbe freely distributed to researchers.This includeslinkage to administrative records and biomedicaldetail.

The research facility will be path breaking. It will enableunprecedented understandings of how economic, socialand biological factors combine to explain humanbehaviour in important areas such as health, poverty, childdevelopment and healthy ageing. New interdisciplinarywork will be possible between economists,epidemiologists, geneticists, psychologists and sociologists.Research interest in the facility will be worldwide,especially in North America and other EU countries.

There is no other country in the world which has theopportunity that the UK now has to develop its birthcohort studies within an integrated framework.

Funding & partnershipsThe estimated cost of the British Birth Cohort Facility,including full economic costs over the next five years is£105 million.

However, there will be major opportunities to secureadditional co-funding from foundations, internationalsources and government departments, which currently co-sponsor some of the existing cohort studies.


BackgroundSensitive data are defined as those which are potentially‘disclosive’ (i.e. they could, in conjunction with other data,reveal the identity of an individual or an organisation) orare protected under legislation which limits theirdistribution to researchers.

Access arrangements to sensitive data are varied. Somedata collections are only available ‘on site’ - that is, in thepremises of the data collection agency - and in a strictlycontrolled environment. Others are available only specialconditions regarding they way they are stored, analysedand destroyed after use.Various procedures are currentlybeing trailed to facilitate better access for researchpurposes while safeguarding the confidential nature ofcertain datasets.These range from new data licensingarrangements to the development of secure virtual datalaboratories. As part of these developments ESRC plansto establish the Secure Data Service.

Existing capabilityESRC currently funds (or cofunds with others) thecollection of information from individuals and/ororganisations and makes such data available to theresearch community via the Economic and Social DataService (ESDS). Basic identifying information (names ofpeople/organisations, addresses, detailed spatial identifiers)is always removed from such data before to their depositwith the ESDS, in accordance with guarantees ofconfidentiality given to respondents.

Future capabilityTo support the development of the National Strategy forData Resources for Research in the Social Sciences, ESRCplans to establish Secure Data Service (SDS).This servicewill provide controlled access to sensitive and/or disclosivepersonal or organisational information which cannot bereleased for research purposes under End User Licence orSpecial Licence conditions.

Access to data placed within the Secure Data Service(SDS) will be managed and operated by the serviceprovider, according to rules and conditions established bythe individuals with responsibility for the guardianship ofthe data.These may vary from source to source, but willprovide for the following:

• a secure environment, within which sensitivemicrodata will be held;

• an information function, via which the researchcommunity will be made aware of the resources heldwithin the SDS and the procedures required to gainaccess;

• an application, authorisation and authenticationprocess through which researchers will makeapplication to access data held within the Secure DataService;

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• a remote access facility, via which authorised andauthenticated researchers will gain access to specificdata and software held in the secure environment;

• screening procedures to ensure that research outputsrequested by researchers are checked to ensure thatthe conditions specified by the data guardian(s)regarding release of research outputs are satisfied.

The establishment the Secure Data Service will help toensure that the full research potential of these resources isexploited. It will permit researchers to carry out detailedwork to link data and/or to create new analytical variablesor to undertake analytical procedures which requireaccess to detailed identifying information. Other examplesinclude the development of linked data where the linkedvariables are disclosive, and the provision of administrativedata from government departments/agencies where theprovider stipulates that such data cannot be held outside asecure environment

Several countries have or are planning the development ofsimilar services.Through ESRC membership of theInternational Data Forum, the service will take accountand learn from developments occurring internationally.

Funding & partnershipsESRC will seek outline proposals to establish the service.From these the ESRC will judge the most appropriatelevel of resources to allocate to the Service.

The Service is being established in consultation withmembers of the UK Data Forum. At present there is noexpectation of supplementary funding from otherorganisations.

Estimated cost £300,000Estimated operational date 2008

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BackgroundThe proposed Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will attackmany of the most important problems in cosmology andfundamental physics. Observations of pulsars will detectcosmic gravitational waves and test General Relativity inthe vicinity of black holes. It will study the distribution ofneutral hydrogen in a billion galaxies across cosmic history,thus making it possible to map the formation andevolution of galaxies, study the nature of dark energy andprobe the epoch when the first stars were born. Inaddition, it will also study the formation of planetarysystems and address the search for extraterrestrial life.Themajor increase in performance compared to existingtelescopes, and the flexibility inherent in the likelytelescope design suggests that the SKA will be atransformational science tool.

New capabilitySKA represents the future of world radio astronomy,complimentary to developments such as the ELT foroptical/infrared observations. It will scan and map theradio sky with >100-times better sensitivity than iscurrently possible and will attack many of the mostimportant problems in general relativity, cosmology andastrophysics.The SKA will be a distributed array ofcollecting “stations” - each of area about 10,000 m2 -spread out over 100s of km.The frequency coverage willextend from about 0.1 to about 20 GHz.

From the outset, the development of the SKA, within thetimescale and a reasonable budget, is predicated uponpartnering technology development with industry. A largepart of the facility will require mass replication ofcomponents and subsystems. R&D work in the UK isfocusing on detailing the required technologies and thenworking with UK industry to identify the optimalmanufacturing route. It is expected that this work shouldensure that the UK’s return is at least as strong as itspotential investment

In addition to the step-wise scientific impact, with resultingopportunities for UK scientists to build on our strongheritage of radio astronomy and astrophysics andcosmology research, the broader opportunities for publicinterest, building on the wide-ranging science aims, areconsiderable.The SKA will also provide a majoropportunity for the training of researchers.

Funding & partnershipsDue to the size and complexity of the project, the SKA isbeing planned from the outset as a global endeavour withtechnical, management and organisational input currentlycoming from scientists and administrators in over 15different countries. A choice of site, likely to be in theSouthern Hemisphere, is expected in 2008 or 2009.

Square Kilometre Array

Emerging

Support for the current research and development phaseof the SKA in the UK has been provided under the EUFP6 ‘SKA Design Study’ (SKADS) programme and throughmatched STFC funding. Following the inclusion of the SKAin the ESFRI Roadmap, STFC is now acting as coordinatorfor a bid (about €7.5 million) for continuing funding fromEU FP7 for the period 2008-2011. Funding to move intothe construction of SKA Phase 1 will require substantialinvestment from all participants, including consortia andagencies in Europe, North America, Australia and potentialpartners in Japan, China and India. Europe is expected totake a 40% share in the global project, and 25% of theEuropean share would be appropriate for the UKequivalent to about £70 million in the period 2010 to2020. STFC is currently funding the R&D activity at around £1.5 million per year, and this is expected to riseto around £2 million within the next few years. Assumingconstruction of the Phase B array by 2015, an additionalUK fund of £20 million might be required from the LFCFover 5 years.

Already global in conception, funding agencies andscientists are now working together to explore theappropriate legal, policy and technical framework requiredfor the SKA. Recently the SKA partners in South Africaand Australia have announced their intention to proceedwith SKA ‘Pathfinder’ telescopes, which along withEuropean endeavours such as LOFAR and similardevelopment programmes in the USA, together providepart of the technical basis on which the SKA design willdevelop.

Estimated cost €1.1 billion Estimated operational date 2014-2020

Informationhttp://www.skatelescope.org/

BackgroundMany nuclear reactions important in astrophysicalenvironments are extremely rare processes. Experimentalinvestigation is severely hampered by the backgroundinduced by cosmic rays. Measurements require extremelylow background environments, such as those undergroundwhere the hard rock shields cosmic radiation. Suchenvironments also open up interesting possibilities forinterdisciplinary science, involving such areas as geology,microbiology and security.The UK is positioned to play aleading role in several underground science projects.

SuperNEMO is a nextgeneration double betadecay project beingdeveloped by French,UK, Russian and USgroups. Based onexisting technologyfrom the NEMOprojects developedover the last 18 years,this will become themost important doublebeta decay experimentin the next 10 years.The EURECA(EuropeanUnderground Rare

Event Calorimeter Array) project is a UK-led initiative toconstruct a tonne-scale detector for cosmic dark matter.

In addition to these projects, STFC has receivedstatements of interest for underground experiments innuclear astrophysics, in climate studies and for thedevelopment characterisation of low-backgrounddetectors, which emphasises the versatility and usefulnessof underground experimental facilities.

The UK currently hosts a relatively modest undergroundfacility at Boulby which offers a unique low-backgroundenvironment because of the particular rock compositionin which it is placed.We are working with the mineowners to conduct a feasibility study of new excavation atthe mine as part of a deeper-level mining project, whichmight open up the possibility of larger caverns for futureexperimentation.

Future capabilityThe UK is positioned to play a leading role in severalprojects studying the nature and properties of neutrinos.Experiments studying neutrinos from the sun and cosmicrays have shown that neutrinos have a small, but non-negligible mass.The properties of the neutrino havebeen shown to deviate from the theoretical prediction.These results can be explained by neutrino oscillations

Underground Science Initiatives

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Emerging

where the neutrinos change type. Although there areexperiments both running and in construction that studyneutrino oscillation, these experiments are not able toidentify the fundamental type of neutrinos; to do this, andto measure the neutrino’s absolute mass, we must look forneutrinoless double beta decay. SuperNEMO will uniquelyaddress key outstanding questions in particle physics onthe nature and properties of neutrinos.

Only 4% of the universe is made of ordinary matter ; darkmatter comprises roughly a quarter of the rest. Aparticularly well-motivated solution to the dark matterproblem are weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs)produced in the early universe.To explore this theory,direct detection of WIMPs is necessary. EURECA is a UK,French, German, Russian and Spanish collaboration aimingto construct a tonne-scale direct dark matter detector,using a combination of targets and detector technologies.It builds on forerunner experiments, CRESST, EDELWEISSand Rosebud, effectively combining all European expertiseon cryogenic low-temperature calorimeter technologyinto a single collaboration. A positive detection byEURECA will have implications for our understanding ofthe Universe and supersymmetry.

Funding & partnershipsSuperNEMO and EURECA are European collaborations.Construction of SuperNEMO is anticipated at anapproximate cost of £30 million over 2 years beginning in2008 following a 2 year engineering design phase. UKparticipation in EURECA is estimated to be of the orderof £14 million over a two phase construction period of 7 years. STFC is providing the UK funding for the designphase of the former at a level of about £2 million. Fundingfor the R&D phase for EURECA will be consideredshortly.

Estimated cost £45 million (UK costs)Estimated operational date After 2010

Informationhttp://www.aspera-eu.org/

Glossary of acronyms

AWI Alfred Wegener Institut für Polar- und MeeresforschungBAS British Antarctic Survey BBMRI Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research InfrastructureBBSRC Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research CouncilBHPS British Household Panel Survey BMBF Bundesministerium für Bildung und ForschungCEA Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (the French Atomic Energy Commission)CERN Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (original – French). Now called Organisation

Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire (European Organization for Nuclear Research)CESSDA Council of European Social Science Data ArchivesCLS Centre for Longitudinal StudiesCNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (French National Center for Scientific Research)COPAL Community heavy-payload long endurance instrumented aircraft for tropospheric research and

geosciencesCRESST Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting ThermometersCRUK Cancer Research UK CSAR Computer Services for Academic ResearchDEFRA Department for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsDESY Deutsches Elektron-SynchrotronDIPOLE Diode Pumped Optical Laser for ExperimentsDIUS Department for Innovation, Universities and SkillsEATRIS European Advanced Translational research Infrastructure in MedicineEBI European Bioinformatics InstituteECORD European Consortium for Ocean Research DrillingECMWF European Centre for Medium-Range Weather ForecastsECRIN European Clinical Research Infrastructure NetworkEDELWEISS Experience pour DEtecter Les WimpsE-ELT European Extremely Large TelescopeELI Extreme Light InfrastructureELIXIR European Life-sciences Infrastructure for Biological InformationELSA English Longitudinal Study of Ageing ELT Extremely Large TelescopeEMBL European Molecular Biology LaboratoryEMMA Electron Machine for Many ApplicationEMPReSS European Mouse Phenotyping Resource of Standardised ScreensEMSO European Multidisciplinary Seafloor ObservationEPSRC Engineering and Physical Sciences Research CouncilERICON European Research Icebreaker ConsortiumERL Energy Recovery LinacERLP Energy Recovery Linac PrototypeESDS Economic and Social Data ServiceESFRI European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructures ESO European Southern ObservatoryESRC Economic and Social Research CouncilESRFI European Strategy Forum on Research InfrastructuresESS European Social SurveyEUFAR European Fleet for Atmospheric Research EUMODIC European Mouse Disease ClinicEUMORPHIA European Union Mouse Research for Public Health and Industrial ApplicationsEURECA European Underground Rare Event Calorimeter ArrayEURATOM European Atomic Energy Community EUROFEL European Free Electron LaserEUSYSBIO European Center for Systems BiologyFAIR Facility for Antiproton and Ion ResearchFAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsFEL Free Electron Laser

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FFAG Fixed Field Alternating Gradient FFAM Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements FMD Foot and Mouth DiseaseGEOSS Global Earth Observation System of SystemsGMES Global Monitoring for Environment and SecurityHECToR High End Computing Teraflop of Resource serviceHiPER High Power Laser Energy Research ProjectHST Hubble Space TelescopeIAGOS-ERI Instrumented Autonomous Global Observing System - European Research InfrastructureIAH Institute of Animal HealthILC International Linear ColliderINI Isaac Newton InstituteINSTRUCT Integrated Structural Biology InfrastructureIODP Integrated Ocean Drilling ProgramITER International Tokamak for Internal Confinement Fusion (former acronym dropped)LBNL Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryLFCF Large Facilities Capital FundLHC Large Hadron ColliderLIGO Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave ObservatoryLinac linear acceleratorLMB Laboratory for Molecular Biology (MRC)LUCIA Line for Ultimate Characterisation by Imaging and AbsorptionMAST Mega Amp Spherical TokamakMEIS Medium Energy Ion ScatteringMGU Mammalian Genetics UnitMICE Muon Ionisation Cooling ExperimentMINOS Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation SearchMLC Mary Lyon CentreMRC Medical Research CouncilNCAS National Centre for Atmospheric Science NCDS National Child Development StudyNCeSS National Centre for e-Social ScienceNCESS National Centre for Electron Spectroscopy and Surface AnalysisNCRM National Centre for Research MethodsNEMO Neutrino Ettore Majorana ObservatoryNERC Natural Environment Research CouncilNIMR National Institute of Medical Research RenewalNSD Norwegian Social Science Data ServiceOIE Office International des ÉpizootiesONS LS Office for National Statistics Longitudinal StudyPAMELA Particle Accelerator for Medical ApplicationPRACE Partnership for Advanced Computing in EuropeRCUK Research Councils UKRRS Royal Research Ship SARS Sample of Anonymised Records SDS Secure Data Service SKA Square Kilometre ArraySLS Swiss Light SourceSTFC Science & Technology Facilities CouncilSuperNEMO Next generation NEMO projectT2K (from) Tokai To KamiokaUKCRN UK Clinical Research Network UKHLS UK Household Longtitudinal StudyULSC UK Longitudinal Studies Centre WIMP Weakly Interacting Massive ParticlesXFEL X-ray Free-Electron Laser

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Annex 1 – Large Facilities Capital FundPrioritisation Criteria

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The importance (or depth) of the scientific knowledge that would result from the project including what thepotential for real breakthroughs in its area are.

The timeliness (or urgency) of the scientific goals.

The negative impact of not funding the facility.

The breadth of the scientific base that would benefit from the facility.

The current position of the UK in this area.

How the facility will enhance, sustain or exploit the UK’s existing position.

Output 1 - A Healthy Research Base (Scientific Impact)This criterion includes:

The opportunities that are opened up for knowledge or technology transfer and innovation.

The scope for education, training and investment in the skill base.

The impact on public understanding and outreach.

The match with Government public policy priorities.

How the facility will exploit the UK’s unique capabilities and/or skills base.

Output 2 – Better Exploitation (Economic and Societal Impact)This criterion includes:

The funding arrangements that are proposed and how the opportunities for international partnership beenexploited.

The value for money and how the benefits are commensurate with the cost.

The level of technical risk in the project and is this risk is being managed.

Delivery and Cost EffectivenessThis criterion includes:

Following the Ministerial approval of earmarked funds, thesponsoring Research Council is required to follow theOffice of Government Commerce’s (OGC’s) Gatewayprocess.

OGC’s Gateway ProcessDIUS and the UK Research Councils use this process tohelp procure large scale scientific facilities. All newprocurement projects in civil Central Government –including Non Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) - aresubject to the Gateway process, which examines a projectat critical stages in its lifecycle to provide assurance than itcan progress successfully to the next stage.The processhas a series of Gateway Reviews, as follows:

1. To confirm the business justification;

2. To confirm the procurement method and sources ofsupply;

3. To confirm the investment decision - before letting anycontracts;

4. To confirm “readiness for service”;

5. To confirm “in service benefits”.

Each project has a Senior Responsible Owner (SRO), aProject Manager (PM), and possibly a Project Owner(PO). One of these assesses the overall level of risk of theproject (high, medium or low) using a standard ProjectProfile Model. For the highest risk projects the Gatewayreviews are led by a leader appointed by the OGC, and allmembers of the team are independent of the procuringDepartment. For medium risk projects, OGC appoint anindependent team leader and the remainder of the teamare independent departmental staff. For low risk projects,departments can appoint their own team leader and teammembers, who are independent of the project.Thereviews give each a project a red, amber or green status,depending upon the readiness of the project at that point.Each project will have a lead Research Council.The ChiefExecutive, as Accounting Officer, will either take on therole of SRO for that project themselves, or will delegate itto one of their senior staff.The SRO will appoint a PM –who might be a staff member of the Research Council orone of its institutes, or located in a university orelsewhere.

Details of the Gateway process can be found on OGC'swebsite: http://www.ogc.gov.uk

Preparation of the Science CaseBefore funding is formally committed and possiblyreleased, DIUS requires the proposed facility to produce aScience Case.The PM must ensure that an independentassessment of the scientific value of the project has been

made. In practice this will be some form of peer review,which needs to cover the following criteria:

• Importance (depth) of science knowledge to bedelivered by project;

• Breadth of science knowledge that will benefit frominvestment;

• Match with international positioning of UK science;

• Strength of opportunity for training (links to numberof users);

• Contribution to/from UK technology/industry base;

• Opportunity for spin/off and exploitation.

In addition, the science case should cover the timing (forthe facility to be in service, and therefore for key decisionsto be made), other possible options, total budgetaryestimate and any costs of feasibility studies requiredbefore proceeding to the next stage which is theproduction of the Business Case.The Science Case shouldalso indicate whether sources of funding are in place, orwhether the project would require funding from othersources. Other funding sources include other GovernmentDepartments, other countries, UK universities andindustry. It also includes the LFCF, a capital fund held andmanaged by DIUS to help fund large facilities.

For the largest projects, and any which may want to drawsome funding from the LFCF, the SRO will present theScience Case to the RCUK Executive Group forendorsement.The Executive Group acts as the top levelreview and advisory board for all projects, for the LargeFacilities Roadmap and for the LFCF. Assuming that theyare satisfied the science case is robust the RCUKExecutive Group will authorise the project to move on toGateway Review 1, the Business Case. If funding is soughtfor a project from the LFCF, the Executive Group will alsoprovide early advice on the relative priority of the projectin comparison to other possible calls on the Fund.

Preparation of the Business Case – GatewayReview 1Gateway Review 1 will confirm the justification androbustness of the business case. In particular it needs toinclude:

• A more detailed requirement that reflects userrequirements – possibly an outline specification;

• Confirmation of technical feasibility of the project;

• Identification of success criteria against which optionsfor delivery of capability from the investment can bejudged;

• Analysis of main options (e.g. UK only, collaborationetc) and cost effectiveness & risk;

Annex 2 – OGC Gateway Process and how it isused in Large Science Facilities

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• Analysis of “opportunity cost” of undertaking thisproject versus other

• competing for funds in same time-scale;

• Assessment of affordability;

The SRO will present the results of Gateway 1 to theRCUK Executive Group. The business case should confirmthat funding for the project is in place. However, forprojects which are seeking some funding from the LFCF,the RCUK Executive Group will only recommend to DIUSthat such funding is made available once they have seenthe results of the Gateway 1 Review. If the project isrecommended for approval by the RCUK ExecutiveGroup, that approval will need to be confirmed by DIUSfollowing a satisfactory Gateway 2 review. Approval byDIUS Ministers is required in all cases, and if the project isabove the DIUS’ delegated powers, or requires fundingfrom beyond the current three-year Spending Reviewperiod, approval is also required from HM Treasury.

Procurement Strategy – Gateway Review 2The Gateway Review 2 will assess the procurementstrategy. By the time of this review the strategic outlineBusiness Case should be sufficiently well developed toassure the review team that subject to the subsequentapproval and commitment of the earmarked funding byDIUS ministers, the project is viable and has high potentialfor success and is ready to invite proposals or tendersfrom the market.This review is undertaken before sendingout Invitations to Tender (ITTs) and before any majorcapital expenditure has been undertaken.Theprocurement strategy will need to:

• Confirm that project is under control (on plan, tobudget so far)

• Confirm that project as planned will deliver expectedbenefits, or success criteria

• Review value for money of procurement strategyproposed

• Confirm that costs are within current budget line

• Confirm that issues of whole lifecycle funding havebeen addressed (e.g. where do future running costscome from and commitment in principle)

• Identify risks and confirm that appropriate riskmanagement plans in place.

• Ensure that specifications (ITTs if appropriate) reflectproject output requirements

• Ensure that adequate and realistic project plan andmanagement structure in place for the remainder ofthe project

In general the Gateway 2 Review, and further GatewayReviews, would go to the SRO and/or a Project Boardrather than to the RCUK Executive Group, except forthose projects where the procurement strategy has majorimplications across the Research Councils (e.g. where thelocation of an international facility might have an impacton other possible facilities). From this point on, the RCUKExecutive Group will want to assess progress on allcurrent projects every six-months, on a “by exception”basis.

Progress through the remaining Gateway Reviews will berelated to the procurement strategy. For projects beingcompleted under the direct control of one of theResearch Councils, the Gateway process should befollowed fairly closely.Where, for example, the project ismultinational and has developed its own project reviewprocedures, the SRO may use these to assure themselvesthat an equivalent level of project control information isbeing provided. Research Councils will in all casesincorporate the Gateway process into their own normalstrategic, financial, and administrative procedures.

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The level of commitment and facilities currently drawing from the Large Facilities Capital Fund is given are outlinedbelow:

Annex 3 – Committed funds for the LargeFacilities Capital Fund

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Committed Projects £'000

Name Lead Council Total LFCF

Contribution

IAH Pirbright BBSRC 31,000

UK Household Longitudinal Survey ESRC 12,500

HECTOR EPSRC 52,000

Research Complex MRC 26,400

Halley VI NERC 20,100

Diamond Phase 2 STFC 82,400

Diamond VAT STFC 25,000

MICE STFC 7,500

Index of Facilities by discipline

Astronomy,Astrophysics, Nuclear andParticle Physics

Future High Energy Colliders 58European 3rd Generation Gravitational WaveObservatory (Einstein Telescope) 48Next Generation Neutron Sources 70Underground Science Initiatives 74Large Hadron Collider 12European Extreamely large Telescope 51Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) 57Power Lazer Energy Research Project (HiPER) 60Neutrino Factory 68Square Kilometre Array 73

Biomedical and Life Sciences

Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure 43European Advanced Translational Research Infrastructure in Medicine 49European Centre for Systems Biology 50European Life-Science Infrastructure for BiologicalInformation (ELIXIR) 52Infrafrontier 61Infrastructures for Clinical Trials and Biotherapy Facilities 62Institute for Animal Health -Compton 30Institute for Animal Health - Pirbright 31Integrated Structural Biology Infrastructure 65Mary Lyon Centre 13Laboratory for Molecular Biology 33National Academic Drug Development Facility 67Research Complex at the Rutherford AppletonLaboratory 18UK Biobank 19National Institute for Medical Research 35

Computer and Data Treatment

National Service Provision for High End Computing 40

Energy

High Power Laser Energy Research Project 60Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) 34

Environmental Sciences

Atmospheric Research Aircraft 21Community Heavy-Payload Long EnduranceInstrumented Aircraft for TroposphericResearch and Geosciences (COPAL) 44Euro-Argo 47

European Multidisciplinary Seafloor Observation 53European Polar Research Icebreaker (Aurora Borealis) 54Ground-based and airborne mobile atmosphericobservatory 59Halley Research Station Antarctica 29Instrumented Autonomous Global Observing System - European Research Infrastructure(IAGOS_ERI) 63Integrated Carbon Observation System 64Life Watch 66Oceanographic Research Ship (replacementfor RRS Discovery) 36Oceanographic Research Ship RRS James Cook 17Rothera Research Station, Antartica 39Royal Research Ship (replacement for Ernest Shackleton) 37Royal Research Ship (replacement for James Clark Ross) 38

Materials Science

Daresbury and Harwell Science and Innovation Campuses 45Diamond Light Source – phase III 25Diode Pumped Optical Laser for Experiements (DIPOLE) 46European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) 28European X-Ray Free Electron Laser (X-FEL) 55Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) 56Institute Laue-Langevin (ILL) 11Isis 32Mesoscale Facility Service Provision 14New Light Source 69

Social Science and the Humanities

Administrative Data Service 42British Election Study (BES) 22Census of Population Programme 9Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) 23Council for European Social Science Data Archives (CESSDA) 24Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) 10European Social Survey (ESS) 27National Centre for E-Social Science (NCeSS) 15National Centre for Research Methods (NCRIM) 16Research Facility for the Birth Cohort Studies 71Secure Data Service (SDS) 72English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) 26UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) 20UK Longitudinal Study Centre (ULSC) 41

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Research Councils UKPolaris House, North Star AvenueSwindon,Wiltshire SN2 1ETUnited Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 1793 444420 Fax: +44 (0) 1793 444409

www.rcuk.ac.uk [email protected]

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