Programmatic review

The purpose of the programmatic review is to define a balanced programme of excellent science within a realistic financial planning envelope. As a part of this procedure, a prioritisation for projects and science areas will be defined. This will be used in deciding whether planning provision should be made within the programme for a given area or project, and as part of the process of deciding the size of any such provision.

The programmatic review is thus designed to inform planning decisions and to help optimise excellent science and dedicated impact programme in any financial scenario (positive, negative or neutral). The level and timing of funding for any project or area may be affected by the overall funding available. In the event of greater or smaller financial resources being available, decisions will need to take into account excellence, balance, costs, and spend profile in a way that goes beyond considering just raw ratings. Future unanticipated opportunities will also be assessed in a consistent way, when they arise over the next few years, and this will help the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) decide whether and how they should be accommodated within the programme at that time.

Current review

Programmatic review 2013

The STFC programme was reviewed from June 2012 to September 2013 by the Science Board. To put in place the necessary expertise, sub-groups carried out a detailed review of four areas:

  • PPAN
  • Large Facilities
  • Technology
  • Impact.

Input was also received from the Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics and Astronomy Advisory Panels (PPAN) and the Physical and Life Sciences Advisory Panels.

Find more information about the programmatic review on the UK Government Web Archive.

Last updated: 13 April 2022

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