IOP’s recommendations for review of the Science and Technology Facilities Council

The Institute of Physics (IOP) has today submitted its recommendations to the review of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) commissioned by Lord Drayson on 16 December.

Dr Robert Kirby-Harris, chief executive of IOP, said, “IOP warmly welcomed this review of the structural and financial tensions inherent in STFC’s portfolio. With advice from members, we have put together recommendations for new arrangements which we believe would benefit the long-term health of the physics base in the UK.”

IOP’s key recommendations are:

Subscriptions to international facilities

Responsibility for UK participation in international facilities should lie with the research council which makes predominant use of that facility, and where necessary the subscription should be transferred into its budget. As an illustration, STFC should retain responsibility for CERN and ESO, and EPSRC should take on responsibility for ESRF and ILL.

Changes in the level of subscriptions to international facilities over which research councils have no control should not impact on the funding available for research. Changes due to exchange rate fluctuations, inflation compensation or movements in GDP or NNI should be fully compensated by central government.
 
Exploitation grants

Exploitation grants for astronomy, nuclear physics, and particle physics research should reside within the same research council that pays the international subscriptions for these areas, i.e. STFC. Moving these research areas to EPSRC, for instance, would be undesirable as they are unsuited to EPSRC’s current funding mechanisms
 
National facilities

A national research laboratory should be established on multiple sites to manage the national facilities which are currently within STFC’s portfolio, such as the Diamond Light Source, ISIS, the Central Laser Facility and the National Centre for Electron Microscopy and Surface Analysis. These facilities are national assets available for both public and private sector users, and a clear focus is required on optimising their value to the UK.

To read IOP’s recommendations in full, click here.