While in general charges may be levied by other organisations for access to these facilities and the costs must be included by applicants in their proposals, there are some special agreements and funding arrangements in existence, in particular for access to synchrotron facilities.
Applicants whose proposed research involves the use of the Diamond Light Source or European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) should indicate this in the case for support section of the application form. Requests for beam time should not be included in the proposal to the MRC, although travel costs associated with beam time usage may be sought through the grant proposal where they are not recoverable elsewhere.
Proposals for beam time are made directly through Diamond Light Source or the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) through whom access can also be booked to the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) and the ESRF.
Applicants wishing to use other STFC facilities should first discuss with the STFC and the MRC the basis for charging before submitting a grant proposal to the MRC. Applicants wishing to use facilities at Grenoble (ESRF and ILL) should note that UK access is provided through STFC.