Applications for access to the Octopus and Ultra facilities of the Central Laser Facility (CLF) in the Research Complex at Harwell are now open for the period of 1st January to 1st July 2025. ​​If successful, access will be fully fund​ed (facility overheads, UK travel, accommodation and food).

Proposal submission will close on Wednesday 17th July 2024 17:00 UK time, no submissions will be accepted after this time.

NOTE: ​Calls for proposals usually run for 6 weeks every 6 months starting in November for access in July-December the following year, and in May for access in January-June the following year.

Types of Access​

For this call, proposals are invited for the following modes of access:

• Direct (1-4 weeks one-off access)
  
• New Programme (usually 1-4 ​weeks access every 6 months for 2 to 5 years)
• Continuation of Approved Programmes (update on progress for the next 6 months)

Eligibility​

• The main applicant must be a UK academic (including postdoctoral researcher)
  
• ​The main applicant must hold a position that lasts for the duration of the scheduling period
• PhD students can be Co-I​nvestigator, but not the main applicant​

Guidelines

Please carefully read all the information in the call guidelineshere​​.

​It is recommended to contact an appropriate facility staff member ahead of time to help strengthen your application (e.g. obtaining proof of concept data, technical feasibility), see the web page​s for Octopus staff and techniques, and Ultra staff and techniques to find an appropriate contact for your proposal. ​

Submission

Please submit all applications to https://proposal.facilities.rl.ac.uk. If it is the first time you've used the online submission system, you may find it useful to read the documentationher​e.

​​For any queries about using the proposal system that are not answered by the documentation above, contact FacilitiesBusinessSystem@stfc.ac.uk.​

NOTE: It is recommended to start submission early, ​​as your progress can be saved. Submission includes completion of multiple pages of questions relating to your access, as well as the attachment of a scientific case.​​

Facility Access Panel

A list of the current Octopus and Ultra Facility Access Panel members can be found here.​

​​Alternati​​ve Access Routes

If you are not eligible, or need access before the next round. Please contact us to discuss alternative routes. 

The CLF are participants in an Horizon Europe project: Research Infrastructure Access in Nanoscience & Nanotechnology (RIANA). There will be a call to fund access to multi-facility projects (including CLF facilities) to study materials which have a functional component in the nanometer scale (<200 nm). The application details can be found here RIANA – Research Infrastructure Access in NAnoscience & nanotechnology (riana-project.eu). If you are interested in this call please contact Andy Ward (andy.ward@stfc.ac.uk) to discuss access options​.​

For industry, or academics collaborating with industry, there may be multiple other routes open to you. Here are schemes that may have updated calls:

• ​Analysis for Innovators (A4I) for a measurement or analysis problem where you are seeking a solution to improve your business’s productivity or competitiveness​
  
• BBSRC-STFC facility access funding for bioscience partnerships for UK business and academic partnerships, supporting access to STFC expertise and world class facilities to solve industrially relevant bioscience challenges​
  
• Industry Impact Fund (I2F) ​to support UK industry through access to STFC facilities and scientific expertise
• Commercial and industrial beamtime access​ at contract rates for industry​​