SPring-8, the large synchrotron radiation facility

The Non-Proprietary Grant-Aided Program is intended for research proposals that require the use of the SPring-8 and have already been reviewed and approved for a large research grant. From 2008A, proposals with a large research grant designed to train researchers are also invited. Under the program, the proposals will be granted an exemption from scientific review process; only the safety and technical feasibility of the experiment and the necessity to use the SPring-8 are considered. The beamtime for this program is limited to 5% of entire user beamtime, and 20% of user beamtime for each beamline. The maximum beamtime allocated to each proposal is half the limit above.

Interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to apply. Please prepare your proposal application using the following guidelines and instructions. (Click here to download a working copy of the online application form.)

1. Period of Research

From October 2009 through March 2010

2. Beamlines Available to Users

All public beamlines are available except beamlines for industrial use*: BL14B2, BL19B2 and BL46XU.

*As for BL14B2, BL19B2 and BL46XU, which are exclusively intended for industrial use, there will be two calls for proposals during 2009B: this time, JASRI invites proposals to be conducted during the first half of 2009B (October through mid-December 2009).

For the specifications and status of experimental stations, please check with the Beamline Table. To see what kind of experiments have been performed at SPring-8, please check with the SPring-8 Solution Database.

For several bunch modes for 2009B, click here.

3. Application Requirements (Unqualified applicants are immediately screened out.)

Applicants need to have:
a. obtained a research grant (see the applicable grant programs below) of more than 20 million yen (The amount reallocated to other research organizations must not be included) through an open and transparent review process, or
b. received an annual allotment of more than 5 million yen from a person who has obtained a research grant of more than 20 million yen.

Applicable grant programs are as follows:
• competitive research grant programs administered by the Japanese Government Ministries (Grants-In-Aid for Scientific Research funded by MEXT, Science and Technology Promotion Adjustment Funds of MEXT, etc.)
• competitive research grant programs administered by the Japanese Independent Administrative Agencies such as Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), etc.

Important Notes:
- In principle, programs on the Comprehensive List of Competitive Funds posted by the Council for Science and Technology Policy, Cabinet Office, are considered the applicable grant programs. Please click here to see the list (PDF).

- Proposals with college/university grants, private grants, and grants from abroad are not accepted.

- If the program's research purpose is irrelevant to your research purpose specified in your application for SPring-8 beamtime, your proposal will be disqualified.

- From 2008A, proposals with a large research grant designed to train young researchers are also invited.

4. Application Method

4.1 Before Application

Before making an application, please contact the beamline scientist and estimate the number of required shifts. Then contact the Users Office to have your user account activated. Please note that you need to login to your account with your user card number and password to complete/submit your application online; if you haven't obtained your user card number, please complete user registration first.

4.2 Online Proposal Submission

Please login at

User Information website (UI site): https://user.spring8.or.jp/en/

and click "Proposal Submission" on the menu bar at the top of the page. Press the New button to proceed to the next page, and choose Non-Proprietary Research to activate the START button for Non-Proprietary Grant-Aided Proposal (see 4.1 above).

Information required for online submission:
- title of experiment, research areas, and research methods
- desired beamlines and the number of required shifts
- details of potential hazards and associated safety measures
- reason for the need to use SPring-8
- experimental details and reasons for selecting the beamlines
- information about the competitive research grants (name of the competitive grants program, name of the organization inviting applications for the program, name and outline of the project for the program, name of the project leader, project period, amount of the grants, etc.)

Important Note:
In the case of a long-term grant program requiring beamtime in more than one research term, an application needs to be made every half-year research term.

4.3 Required Documents
a) SPring-8 Program Fee Payment Agreement
Please download the agreement form from (PDF) the UI site (Click here to download the PDF form), provide all the required information and send it to the Users Office by post (see Contact) by the deadline specified in 5. Submission Deadline.

b) Research purpose and research plan
Please make a copy of the relevant pages of application for the grants and send it to the Users Office by regular mail or by courier by the deadline specified below. You can also convert the file to PDF and e-mail it to us. If it is not stated in the application that synchrotron radiation is necessary for the research, please provide a supplementary explanation. In case you need to apply for beamtime in more than one research term extending into the new fiscal year, please submit a copy of the relevant pages of the application submitted for the new fiscal year.

5. Submission Deadline
Deadline for online proposal submission:
   Wednesday, June 10, 2009, 10:00 am (Japan Standard Time)
Deadline for document submission (research purpose & plan, Fee Payment Agreement):
   Friday, June 12, 2009

To avoid last minute technical problems and possible network congestion caused by heavy traffic, you are strongly encouraged to complete and submit your application well in advance of the deadline. If you have trouble completing/submitting your application online, please contact the SPring-8 Users Office (see Contact) before the deadline.

Upon successful submission, you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of Agreement (Rules for Users) in PDF format attached to it. If you do not receive the confirmation email, please log in to the system and check if your proposal has been submitted successfully.

6. Proposal Review
The safety and technical feasibility of the experiment, and the necessity to use the SPring-8 will be considered. Approved proposals are given beamtime so far as beamtime available to this program permits.

In the event that the total beamtime shifts required by all the approved proposals exceed the beamtime available to this program, approved proposals are prioritized in order of the size of the grant amount allotted to SPring-8 experiments. Please note, however, that this criterion does not apply when there is little likelihood that reasonable results will be delivered; the PRC determines which proposals are given priority.

7. Notification of Review Results
Users will be notified of review results by email or phone by Friday, June 19, 2009. When your proposal was not approved, you can resubmit the proposal as a general proposal. In this case, please be sure to submit it through the web-based proposal submission system. An official letter of approval will be sent to project leaders mid-August 2009.

8. Fees
Applicants are required to pay the program fee and the user fees (a fixed fee charged for wear and tear on the facility and a variable fee charged for coolants; gases; and stockroom reagents, parts and stationeries).

- Program Fee: 131,000 yen/shift
- User Fees
Fixed Fee: 10,300 yen/shift incl. tax
Variable Fee: Assessed based on the amount actually used

The payment must be made to the designated bank account after the experiment is completed.

9. Dissemination of Research Results
Please submit a "SPring-8 Experiment Report" online within 60 days of the completion of the experiment. Two weeks after the deadline for all Experiment Report submissions (60 days + two weeks after the end of each half-year research term), experiment reports with database search functions are made available to the public on the UI site. Please also be sure to disseminate your research results through publication in peer-reviewed journals, oral conference presentations, etc. and register with the SPring-8 Publications Database as soon as they are published.

Contact
SPring-8 Users Office, JASRI
1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun
Hyogo 679-5198 Japan
Fax: +81-(0)791-58-0965
email: sp8jasri@spring8.or.jp