Deans of Science Meeting 9 th December 2010

1. Deans of Science Meeting9th December 2010 Richard Wade Chief Operating Officer, STFC

2. Outline • STFC Introduction • CSR update • Facilities Funding • Grant mechanisms • Role of the National Labs • Science and Innovation Campuses

3. Science and Technology Facilities CouncilOne of Europe’s largest multi-disciplinaryscientific research organisations pp pp

4. Who are we? ISIS Neutron Source • STFC is one of seven UK national Research Councils • It is responsible for: • Large Science Facilities that are used across the research base • both National & International • Funding for research in Astronomy, Particle and Nuclear Physics & Space Science • Development of two National Science & Innovation Campuses at Daresbury & Harwell High Power Lasers Space Hardware

5. Understanding our UniverseSTFC’s Science Programme • Particle Physics • Revealing the structure and forces of nature • Large Hadron Collider (LHC), CERN • Ground based Astronomy • European Southern Observatory (ESO), Chile • Very Large Telescope (VLT) • Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) • European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) • Space based Astronomy • European Space Agency (ESA) • Bilaterals – NASA, JAXA, etc. • STFC Space Science Technology Department (SSTD) • Nuclear Physics • Facility for anti-proton and Ion research (FAIR), Germany • Nuclear Skills for - medicine (Isotopes and Radiation applications) • energy (Nuclear Power Plants) • environment (Nuclear Waste Disposal

6. STFC Facilities • Neutron Sources • Providing powerful insights into key areas of energy, biomedical research, climate, environment and security. • Institute Laue-Langevin (ILL), Grenoble • ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source • High Power Lasers • Providing applications on bioscience and nanotechnology • Central Laser Facility • Demonstrating laser driven fusion as a future source of sustainable, clean energy • HiPER • Light Sources • Providing new breakthroughs in medicine, environmental and materials science, engineering, electronics and cultural heritage • Diamond Light Source Limited (86%) • European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble

7. CSR Update

8. Research councils

9. Spending Review 2010 • On 20 October the government announced major reductions in spending over the next four years • Average 25% across all departments • Major reduction in capital • 33% cut in “administration” • Science Budget ring fenced and given flat cash • But this covers resource only, not capital • Ministers & Treasury appear to accept value of publicly funded science research to the taxpayer • Economic impact • PhD training

10. Spending Review 2010 Timeline • Allocations to Councils this week? • Draft Delivery Plans Tuesday 14th • Delivery Plans published Monday 20th Note that this is all provisional and subject to Ministerial sign-off

11. Delivery plan assumptions Must address the 33% reduction in administration costs under all scenarios Assuming that the STFC budget is partitioned into 3 areas; International subs, UK facilities, and core programme. Assuming international compensation for currency fluctuations and transfer of space programme to UKSA. STFC Council CSR Planning Group developed delivery plan, taking input from Science Board. Collective advice from Research Councils to BIS regarding facility funding (Diamond, ISIS, ESRF and ILL). International Subscriptions have all been subject to reductions (CERN, ESO, ILL, and ESRF) and all will be funded.

12. LargeFacilities Funding • RCUK have set up a project to develop a new funding model • This will cover the Diamond light source, the ISIS neutron spallation source and the Central Laser Facility • Will also take account of access requirements to the ESRF and ILL

13. Funders To manage funds to enable the best portfolio of science outcomes Managers To provide and support access to optimised facility as cost- effectively as possible Users To propose and deliver excellent science, given funding and access to facilities THE PROPOSED FUNDING MODEL

14. Facilities funding FOR CURRENT CSR • A Group was established by BIS to agree/determine the research councils facility funding requirements for this CSR • Group membership includes BBSRC, EPSRC, MRC,STFC and Wellcome Trust, chaired by STFC (Richard Wade) • Sub-Group collectively agreed STFC’s Delivery Plan for the facilities based on the other funding bodies requirements • Sub-Group output has been endorsed by RDUK-EG

15. Grant Funding Mechanisms Review(chaired by James Stirling) Mixture of Standard and Rolling grants will no longer be issued. All our researchers will be moved to a single 4 year consolidated grant mechanism; We will limit applications to one every 3 years, per university department per STFC subject grant panel; this will reduce the number of proposals to be handled from 600 every 3 years to between 100 and 200; We will simplify and standardise costs wherever possible to reduce administrative work

16. Some research Concentration Issues • Research concentration vs. maintaining national breadth (in support of undergraduate education) • STFC grant funding is already concentrated: 80% of STFC funding goes to only 16 institutions • University institutes/consortia to maintain critical mass in strategic but vulnerable science areas • Nuclear Physics and Particle Astrophysics? • Some kind of fellowships scheme to retain key talented researchers in UK?

17. Role of National Laboratories • Greater complementarity (especially in areas such as particle physics) between technology role of labs and science exploitation role of universities • Concentration of research equipment at national laboratory sites

18. Campus Development • Two UK National Science & Innovation Campuses • Built around major public sector investment in large science facilities • Co-located Academic, Industry & National Laboratory staff • International Critical Mass working within an Open Innovation environment • Hub & spokes model tapping in to national & international capability

19. Harwell Campus Medical Research Council Health Protection Agency World’s most powerful source of pulsed neutrons ESA Centre ISIC World’s most intense laser Space Science & Tech Department Diamond Light Source Harwell = Multidisciplinary Research = Innovation & Enterprise = Investment = Ambition!

20. Daresbury Campus Current Development Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus SuperSTEM Security Futures Lab Accelerator Test Facility Computational Science & Engineering Engineering Technology Centre Innovation Technology Access Centre Vanguard House (under construction) Cockcroft Institute Innovation Centre

22. discussion