Guide for proposers
Introduction
The European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility is a user facility offering services and support for projects in the field of theoretical spectroscopy. Interested scientists from academia and private industry are invited to submit their project proposals to the ETSF. Proposers don't have to be Europeans or to work in the European Union to submit proposals. Proposals from any country are welcome.
Two different types of projects can be submitted.
-
A research project addresses a specific scientific problem. ETSF scientists will work in close collaboration with the proposer, employing computational resources and scientific software provided by the ETSF.
-
A training project provides dedicated training on topics in theoretical spectroscopy (theory, methodology, software, etc.), delivered to individuals or groups, at the user's site, an ETSF node, or at another suitable place.
The decision about the acceptance of a research proposal is made through an independent evaluation process, and of a training proposal through assessment by the Internal training panel constituted of ETSF‘s beamline coordinators. Accepted proposals will receive resources in the form of dedicated research or training, and in some cases, reimbursement for travel and subsistence. The ETSF will not provide direct funding for User-conducted research.
The details of the call, the contents of the proposal and the evaluation process will be outlined in the following sections.
Call announcement
The call itself is open all year round. Users may submit proposals at any time.
Evaluation of research proposals takes place biannually, in the Spring and Autumn. Details of the research proposal evaluations are published on the ETSF webpage at http://www.etsf.eu, including the dates before which a research proposal must be submitted in order to be included in an evaluation, typically around March and October.
Evaluation of training proposals begins within two weeks of receipt.
Submission process and proposal structure
All proposals must be submitted on-line. Completing the submission of a proposal will require the following information:
- the contact details of the main proposer;
- resource information (preferably provided together with an ETSF scientist).
- the names and affiliations of any co-workers;
- the scientific proposal as a PDF file (templates available from http://www.etsf.eu/services/call_proposals#Templates)
Create user account
In order to submit a proposal a user account must be created on the ETSF website. A user name and an email-address have to be provided. After submitting this information an email containing the password will be send to the provided address allowing users to enter their account. Here, at “Edit personal information” proposers are asked to provide their contact details and affiliation.
Clicking on the picture below will direct you to the create an account page.
At “My Proposals” (bottom left menu) proposers can edit personal details and modify them, create a new proposal or edit an already existing one and modify it.
The proposal is divided in three parts which will be explained in the following.
Basic information
In this part, basic details about the project are described, varying slightly if the project is training rather than research. Besides its title and the professional background of the proposer, information about co-funding is required. If the proposer wishes to contribute with her/his own resources, the type of co-funding (money, researcher time, etc.) and the amount in euro should be described.
Furthermore the ETSF needs some information about the resources which the proposed project will employ in order to estimate the character, the feasibility and the duration of a project. It is highly recommended that this part is discussed with an ETSF scientist beforehand. If you are not already in contact with an ETSF scientist, please contact one of the ETSF beamline coordinators. Their email addresses are available at the Beamlines page.
Information required when submitting on-line:
- the ETSF beamline(s) which are relevant to the project;
- the name of the ETSF scientist with whom you have primarily discussed your project;
- for a research project: the estimated duration and any required CPU hours (options are: 1-4 months, 5-8 months or 9-12 months; 0 hours, 1 000 hours, 10 000 hours or 100 000 hours);
- for a training project: the type of training (by visiting an ETSF node, dedicated training at your institution or participation in a school) and the estimated duration (days, weeks or months).
Information on Co-workers
In this part, the proposer should provide the names and affiliations of any co-workers. This information is required for correspondence and for statistical purposes.
A co-worker is someone who works together with the proposer on the topic of the proposed project and who is interested in the project's results as well. ETSF scientists are not considered as co-workers.
Uploading the PDF file
In this part the planned research or training is described. Templates are available at http://www.etsf.eu/services/call_proposals. The template is divided into several sections. The description below refers to the template for research; the template for training is somewhat different.
The first part, "Scientific background", should consist of a brief introduction to the proposed project and a description of the proposer's experience in the field, citing one or two recent publications. It should then describe the scientific problem to be addressed by the project and the underlying questions, explaining its importance.
The second section, "Objectives", should state the specific objectives of the proposed project and why they are worth pursuing. If possible, the objectives should be structured sequentially.
The third section, "Description", should clarify the specific scientific contributions to the project: both requested from the ETSF and provided by the proposer. The methods and software that are envisaged to be employed within the project should be specified here. It is highly recommended that this section should be written having discussed the proposed project with an ETSF scientist.
If the project is to take place in a commercial context, that is, the proposer intends to use the results of the calculations for commercial purposes, a description the project's relevance to the final product should be provided in an additional section entitled "Impact".
Any references used should be listed in the usual way at the end of the proposal.
The completed scientific proposal must not exceed 2 A4 pages (font size 12), including references, when converted for submission into a "PDF" file and uploaded on-line.
The proposal can be changed at any time. This includes uploading a new pdf for the scientific part. The proposal considered in the evaluation process corresponds to the version which is found at the ETSF webpage at the time of the deadline for submission.
Review and confirm information
The last step gives the proposer a chance to review all information and edit any part of the proposal in case changes are necessary.
The "human verification" tool is used to avoid automated spam submissions. Finally, when all the information is correct, click on "confirm" to submit. A success message is displayed to notify the proposer that the proposal has been stored successfully.
Evaluation criteria and process
Research projects are evaluated by two panels: the internal panel consisting of ETSF Steering Committee members and the external panel consisting of independent experts in the field. The criteria for the acceptance of a proposal are:
- scientific excellence;
- feasibility (hence, it is strongly recommended that any proposal is discussed with an ETSF scientist before submission; see above);
- (for commercial projects only) likely impact of the project in the final research result or product.
The external panel judges the scientific excellence of the proposals. On this basis it establishes a priority order. The internal panel judges the feasibility of the projects and, taking into account the available resources, makes the final decision, allocating research time accordingly, guided by the priority order provided by the external panel.
Training projects are evaluated by the Internal training panel constituted of ETSF‘s beamline coordinators.
The ETSF will endeavour to notify each proposer of the outcome of the evaluation between 8 to 12 weeks after the submission deadline by email. If the proposal is accepted, procedural details such as the assigned ETSF lead project scientist and the anticipated time line will be included in the acceptance letter. In principle the project can begin immediately after confirmation of acceptance.
The ETSF reserves the right to accept only parts of a proposed project.
Confidentiality
Until the submission deadline before an evaluation to begin, submitted proposals are accessible only to ETSF Steering Committee members. They are required to maintain confidential and secure all proprietary information belonging to the applicant. The SC members are required not to disclose such information to third parties, under any circumstances.
At the start of an evaluation, submitted proposals will be sent to the members of the External Evaluation Panel, who sign a declaration of confidentiality before beginning their work.
Contacting the ETSF
If, having read this guidance, you have questions or are having difficulty with submitting a proposal, please contact Nicola Thrupp (nicola [dot] thrupp [at] uclouvain [dot] be).
