Project overview
This proposal identifies accessories to be added to the NCS state-of-the-art equipment base to provide entirely new capabilities to then be delivered widely as a service. This technique development and delivery aligns primarily to the Core Equipment 'underpinning multi-user equipment' theme, but also includes some 'invest to save' items that will ensure ageing components are replaced and the service will continue to operate at a high level of availability. Coupled with established routes to supporting and enabling ECRs and doctoral students, the NCS squarely addresses the objectives of this call. The NCS is ideally suited to maximising the benefits and beneficiaries of Core Equipment investment, being an advanced facility with a national reach and an established, coordinated approach to maintaining and expanding its user base. It is a world-leader with a track record of pioneering developments that have been widely adopted or incorporated into instrumentation to benefit the whole community. The NRF model provides access mechanisms, expert support, monitoring, governance and a sustainable operating model to ensure that this investment will be fully realised to its maximum potential. The main items, cryogenic and air-free sample holders for electron diffraction, are identified as accessories to develop and support key experiments on an electron diffractometer recently funded via the EPSRC Strategic Equipment scheme and being operated as part of the NCS. Core Equipment investment therefore leverages this position to pioneer entirely new capabilities. The desire for these capabilities has been assessed via recent community consultation exercises, and consideration as part of the formal governance and review procedures of the NCS. The unique position and reach of the NCS in the community will enable maximisation of the number of beneficiaries of this equipment through its core business, advanced methods and technique development work - it is the logical (and one of the only possible) place to conduct this pioneering technical development work. The large established user base reaches through to PhD students and ECRs, all of whom have opportunity for skills training provided with this equipment. In conclusion, with the ability to continue to sustain the high level of service provision, the NCS can also add significant value to this investment through well-established routes and clearly identified pathways to impact. These are not only through its established user community, but also by reaching out to many new users and to the global community, particularly via partnerships with key industry and instrument manufacturers.
