Mid-Range Facilities and Strategic Equipment strategies: how do they operate together?
Attributes
Mid range facility | Strategic equipment |
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Yearly opportunity for Statements of Need. Only one Statement of Need per facility type. |
Process is open to all and can submit at any time for equipment of the proposers' own choice |
Supported following Statements of Need process and then call for tenders |
Supported following submission through EPSRC sift panel and expert interview panel |
Provides service that no one university can support - either large equipment or dedicated expertise; focusing on the service aspect in support of a wide research community |
Underpins research which can be carried out at one university or at several - can be supported to provide a sharing element |
Required and expected to provide a service – no research is funded unless it is to underpin service - a Service level Agreement (SLA) is in place and is regularly monitored with penalties in place if not meeting targets |
Research enabled is the key focus - mechanisms for sharing (if applicable) will be monitored but not measured |
Seen as a “flagship” investment for EPSRC the management of which will be overseen by EPSRC - a lot of staff effort |
Seen as a key strategic investment for EPSRC that will be primarily managed by the universities |
Contract signed by senior member of Facility provider (usually but not required to be a University) |
Equipment Account (awarded via a grant) held by senior member of the Institution |
Expectation that usage will be determined by open (and sometimes competitive) mechanism across EPSRC remit. A clear access mechanism should be in place. |
Expectation that usage will be determined to best meet the strategy of the institution and the research area |
Should be leading the UK strategy in the technique and usage - scientific champion/engaging overseas etc. Should support and align with EPSRC’s strategy. |
Should be leading in the research that is being enabled by the equipment |
May include an element of equipment development |
Will not support equipment development proposals (which can be funded through research proposals) |
Communities are asked to provide a cost estimate in their Statement of Need. Will have an indicative budget limit in the tender document. |
No maximum limit. Total cost of item of equipment must be above the OJEU threshold |
Statements of Need will be tensioned against each other and against the existing Mid-range Facility portfolio on a yearly basis. Competing tenders will be assessed based on published specifications. |
Will be ranked against varied items of equipment, and resource requests to support equipment, from across EPSRC’s remit. |