Standard Research Proposal

GUIDELINES for preparing
a Beamtime Application for a STANDARD PROPOSAL

 NEXT DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION

1ST SEPTEMBER 2012 (inclusive)

** IMPORTANT INFORMATION **

If you intend to submit a new Application for Beam Time, please note that you are required:

* to use the NEW TEMPLATE of the "Experimental Method Form" for a Standard Research Proposal;

* to make sure that the EXPERIMENTAL REPORTS registered as "relevant reports" in your new Application for Beam Time have been EFFECTIVELY submitted and registered in our data base. Please submit, as far as possible, experimental reports (if necessary preliminary reports) on your most recent experiments, even those carried out during the last 6 months preceding the proposal submission deadline, and register them in your new proposal(s) as "relevant reports".

Be aware that:
Applications for Beam Time for Standard Proposals submitted with the old template of the Experimental Method Form and/or supported by previous experiment(s) for which the report(s) - relevant report(s) - has/have not been submitted via the User Portal will not be awarded beam time by the Review Committees.

An Application for Beam time has two parts:

• the electronic "Standard Beamtime Application Form "
  
• the Experimental Method form. 

General instructions

• Proposals must be written in English.
• All sections of the form must be filled in.  Particular attention should be given to the safety aspects, and the name and characteristics of the substance(s) completed carefully.  Please respect the space available on the form.
  
• An experimental report on previous measurements - including experiments on CRG beamlines - must be submitted electronically before  subsequent requests for beam time are made, using the Experimental Report Form. Please mention on your new beamtime application form the experiment(s) for which you have submitted report(s);
  
• Requests for beam time are based on shifts of 8 hours. Allocations of beam time will usually be made in multiples of 3 shifts. 
• Multiple Requests: Fill in a separate beamtime application form for each experiment or project.
  

  Note: it is not possible to start the completion a new application for beam time before the complete submission and VALIDATION of a previous application.

• select carefully whether your proposal is New, a Resubmission of a previous proposal or a Continuation of a previous proposal:
  
• New: This is a completely new proposal which has never previously been submitted for beam time at the ESRF.
• Resubmission: The project described in your proposal has already been submitted to the ESRF in an earlier proposal round but was not allocated beam time. It is being resubmitted in this round either in an identical form or with some changes and/or improvements. By selecting the option "Resubmission", a specific tab "Details" will be issued in your application form where you will have to indicate any changes and/or improvements made in your proposal compared to the previous submission.
• Continuation: The project described in your proposal is a continuation of a previous proposal for which beam time was allocated at ESRF. The project described in your proposal is a direct follow-on from the work and results of  the earlier proposal.
  

Experimental Method Form (template to download)

1. Aim of the experiment and scientific background

State clearly the aim of the proposed experiment together with the general and specific scientific background;  give results of preliminary work carried out with synchrotron radiation and/or other methods.

2. Experimental method

Describe the arrangements which will be made for the reception, preparation, use and disposal of the sample.  For life sciences proposals, a description of how the sample is obtained is essential.

Describe the experimental set-up and requirements, in some detail.  Queries concerning the feasibility (technical or safety aspects) of an experiment should be clarified with ESRF staff before the proposal is submitted.  The User Office can assist you to find the most appropriate person.

--> Safety considerations

Experimental conditions requiring special safety precautions such as the use of lasers, high pressure cells, bacteria, viruses, dangerous substances, toxic substances and radioactive materials, must be clearly stated in the proposal.  Moreover, any ancillary equipment supplied by the user must conform with the appropriate French regulations. 

--> Electronic Sample Sheet
(for macromolecular crystallography (MX) proposals ONLY)

Full details of the sample(s) contained in all macromolecular crystallography proposals should also be provided to the ESRF at the time of submission of the beamtime application form. For each new macromolecular crystallography proposal submitted, the main proposer (or one of the co-proposers) should complete and submit one Sample Sheet per sample mentioned in the proposal. The electronic Sample Sheet is accessible via the ESRF User Portal (SMIS).

Failure to provide this information in the correct format will mean an application will NOT be accepted.

Further to the completion and submission of Sample Sheets per proposal, a list of Sample Sheets is created for each submitted proposal.

The information is communicated to the Joint Safety Officer for Biology and the Beamline Operating Managers in order to provide them with the maximum of information on new proposals. This will help the Safety Group to define the level of risk associated to each sample, and will aid the Beamline Operating Managers in calculating the amount of beam-time each proposal requires.

--> USEFUL INFORMATION for the completion and the electronic submission of the Sample Sheet form:

• Details on safety aspects specified by the ESRF Safety Group
• Details on the procedure to submit the electronic Sample Sheet

Further information can be obtained from:

• the Experimental Safety Officer: Martine Moroni
  Tel:  +33 (0)4 7688.2369,  Fax:  +33 (0)4 7688.2418
• the Joint Safety Officer for Biology: Vénonique Mayeux
  Tel: +33 (0)4 76 88 22 03

3. Results expected

Describe the results expected from the measurements, their scientific (or technical) relevance, and how they relate to existing work on the topic.

4. Concluding remarks

Justify the beam time you request and give technical reasons which make the ESRF necessary for your experiment.

Include REFERENCES where these are relevant, but do not assume that they will be systematically consulted for essential details.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF A STANDARD RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The Electronic Submission is done through the ESRF User Portal (SMIS). In order to login to the application you will require your ESRF login (last name) and personal password. If you are registered in the ESRF data base but you have forgotten your personal password, kindly contact the User Office by e-mail (user office). If you are not yet registered in the ESRF data base, you will be able to create your own user account and to access the proposal submission application.

IMPORTANT: Should you run into difficulties submitting your proposal electronically contact the User Office who will give you instructions to proceed with the electronic submission of your proposal.

 Access to the electronic application form, via the User Portal:

• tab "Proposals / Experiments"
  
• select: "Proposals" in the drop-down list
  
• tab "New proposal"

Note: it is not possible to start the completion a new application for beam time before the complete submission and VALIDATION of a previous application.

What to do?

• SELECT the electronic beamtime application form for an ESRF Standard Proposal
  

• COMPLETE AND SUBMIT your electronic application form for a STANDARD PROPOSAL: the data registered in the proposal (details for the main-proposer, the co-proposer(s), proposal title, beamline(s) and shifts requested,...)  is submitted directly into an ESRF data base;
  
  

  Once SAVED, the electronic beamtime application form is given a REFERENCE NUMBER and registered under the tab "Proposals in Progress" for further process. It can be modified until the deadline (1st March or 1st September).
  

  
  
• COMPLETE AND SAVE on your local folder the Experimental Method for a Standard Research Proposal using one of the available templates:
MS Word for WINDOWS
**LaTeX.sty
**LaTeX.tex

** LaTeX Users ONLY: convert the Experimental Method file in Postcript or PDF format;

The lengh of the document is limited by 2 pages of A4 format, and the font height should not be smaller than 12 pt. The size should not exceed 3 MB. The experimental details form must be submitted under the PDF format. 

•  DOWNLOAD the Experimental Method file of your beamtime application form and SUBMIT it (the application accepts ONLY documents under the PDF format): it will be linked to your electronic beamtime application form
  

  The application issues A PDF file of your complete proposal: please check it before the validation of your proposal. It can be modified until the deadline (1st March or 1st September).

   

• VALIDATE your proposal.

  Please note that the submission of your new proposal will NOT be complete unless you VALIDATE your proposal (Beamtime Application Form AND Experimental Method).

  Once validated by the main proposer, the proposal is registered under the tab "Proposals in Progress" for further process. It can be modified until the deadline (1st March or 1st September).

REMINDER: the main proposer of a Standard Proposal for "Macromolecular Crystallography" (MX) beam time MUST complete and submit Sample Sheet(s) via the ESRF User Portal (SMIS)

How to modify your proposal?

• VALIDATION by the User Office
  AFTER THE DEADLINE, the User Office validates the proposals and attributes them a FINAL NUMBER (i.e.: CH-1111).
  

  Once validated by the User Office, the proposals are registered under the tab "Proposals with Final Number / Experiments" and cannot anymore be modified.

In case of severe problems, please contact the MIS group or the ESRF User Office.

top