About Us

The STFC Multidisciplinary Facility User (MFU) Advisory Panel provides advice and guidance related to STFC-supported national and international multidisciplinary facilities, including the CLF. It represents the academic and industrial facility user community across a range of discipline areas, including engineering and biological, physical, life and environmental sciences, and provides a holistic overview of activities across the disciplinary areas, acting independently from any specific STFC facility.

The panel provides a key link between:

•  facility users
•  STFC Science Board (Facilities and Laboratories)
•  STFC Facility Directors
•  STFC Programmes Directorate
•  STFC’s national facility-specific advisory boards

Further details of the STFC MFU Advisory Panel can be found here.

Members are selected on the basis of their relevant skills and knowledge, and to ensure an appropriate spread of expertise and organisational, geographical or sector representation and gender.

Access to the CLF’s facilities is determined by the its Facility Access Panels (FAPs):

•  High Power Laser FAP
•  Artemis FAP
•  Octopus and Ultra FAP

Each of these panels convenes once or twice a year to peer review all proposals submitted during calls for access: dates and further details of FAP meetings can be found here.

FAPs consist of 8 to 10 members, with at least two experts from the UK research community, up to four international experts and at least one non-facility research scientist. The remit of the FAPs is to:

•  recommend to the Director of the CLF a balanced science programme based
upon the criteria of scientific excellence, alignment with UKRI, STFC and CLF
strategies and timeliness (all within the bounds of technical feasibility and
safety implications) and, as appropriate, the potential economic impact
•  assess the appropriateness of the number of weeks requested for the
experiments proposed
• identify after each proposal round scientific trends and facility development
issues (including software development) which are of relevance to the CLF
instrument suite and to report those through the FAP chairperson.

The work of the FAPs is covered by the Code of Practice adopted by STFC to embrace the Seven Principles of Public Life. In particular, panel members should declare all conflicts of interest. Where relevant, members are expected to leave the room during consideration of these proposals, and also if proposals from their own departments are being considered. The FAP Chair is responsible for deciding on potential conflicts of interest where these are raised.

All papers relating to the proposal review are treated as confidential and are not discussed outside the meeting. Panel discussions and the results of the peer review are also kept confidential.

The CLF FAPs peer-review all submitted proposals and agree an overall grade for each one. Proposals are scored out of 7. A score of 5 and above is classed as Excellent and is awarded to proposals where the work is at the leading edge internationally, addresses all of the assessment criteria, meeting the majority of them to an exceptional level, and that is likely to have a significant impact on the field. The CLF is, however, oversubscribed, with many more proposals received and weeks requested than can be accepted and allocated.

The CLF undergoes periodic reviews every five to 10 years. These reviews aim to identify and recommend future improvements to ensure that CLF facilities continue to be of world-leading quality. They are conducted by specifically-convened, external Panels who review key documentation and interview users and staff to provide an independent peer perspective.

Following the last review in 2023, the Panel commended the CLF for providing an outstanding capability for the UK research community, highlighting clear excellence in delivering and supporting world-leading research that is underpinned by exceptional technical capabilities. Moreover, the entrepreneurial culture of the CLF was cited as a key strength.