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Standard (and Multi-Project) Proposals

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What is a Standard proposal (STD)?

A standard proposal (STD) is a request for public beamtime over a period of 6 months on ESRF or Collaborating Research Group (CRG) beamlines that are not structural biology beamlines.

  • Multiple Requests: See Multi-Project Proposals (MPP) below; otherwise fill in a separate beamtime application for each project.
  • It is possible to select up to 2 principal beamlines if different techniques are required for the same project. Please do not submit separate proposals requesting one beamline each for the same project.

The ESRF is introducing the concept of multi-project proposals as a pilot to be run on a number of participating beamlines. A multi-project proposal (MPP) is a STD proposal that groups multiple projects in order to efficiently use a full week (18 shifts) of beamtime.

We introduce this concept under the following guidelines:

  • A single standard (STD) project description form can include multiple scientific cases either from the same or different Principal Investigators (PIs). 
  • The scientific cases must share a similar experimental setup (see next point), and at least two members of the experimental team must be present throughout the entire beamtime session.
  • Switching between projects should not require significant modifications of the experimental setup - such changes would typically be performed during machine-dedicated time (MDT). Applicants must consult the beamline staff before submission, as the scientist in charge will assess whether the proposed projects are sufficiently compatible.
  • The experimental plan must justify the use of 18 shifts.
  • The Proposal Review Panles will assign a single grade to the entire multi-project proposal.

A multi-project proposal could, for example, address several PhD projects within the same group or a joined project by several PIs. The ESRF encourages experienced user groups to collaborate with less-experienced researchers, thereby expanding the ESRF’s scientific outreach.

Multi-project proposals are only available on certain participating beamlines - if the beamline is not listed within this proposal type, please submit STD proposals with one proposal per separate project.

Multi-project proposals will only be available from February 2026.

STD and MPP proposals may be submitted twice a year at the regular proposal call deadlines. Please follow the general Proposal Submission Guide.

If accepted, the beamtime awarded covers a period of 6 months only, corresponding to the next scheduling period.

As for all ESRF proposals, each STD or MPP proposal must be identified with a single spokesperson, who is named as Principal Investigator, along with a list of Co-Investigators. The Principal and Co-Investigators can be affiliated to a scientific institution of any country.  Please see the conditions for allocation of beamtime to users from non-contracting party countries.

ESRF scientists may participate as a scientific investigator in a STD or MPP proposal as long as they are one of the scientific drivers of the project. Please ensure you obtain permission from ESRF staff members before adding them as an Investigator on a proposal.

The Principal Investigator is the single contact point for the ESRF and is responsible for:

  • Submitting the STD or MPP proposal
  • Submitting the A-forms
  • Ensuring the submission of the experiment report after each beamtime session.

This is described in the Proposal Review page.

An experiment report must be submitted after each beamtime session - please see the Reporting and Feedback page for detailed instructions and deadlines.

Failure to submit an experiment report is likely to affect the acceptance of future proposals at the ESRF by the applicants concerned. Scientific publications and their impact emerging from previous proposals will be considered a key item in the assessment.

1 New proposal.PNG Submit the online request for beamtime
  • Create a new proposal.
  • Select Proposal type = Standard, and then Experiment Group = either Standard or Multi-Project Proposal according to the type of proposal you want to submit (MPPs will only be available from February 2026).
  • Fill the different parts of the proposal:
    • Proposal form.
    • Declare all samples for your proposal.
    • Complete the “STD project description” form (template below) and upload it as a pdf file to your online proposal. This template should be used for both STD and MPP proposals.
  • Submit the proposal - remember to check the content by clicking on the pdf link before submission as no further editing will be possible after submission.
2 If approved and awarded beamtime:
Sample Sheets.PNG Register any additional sample sheets for the samples to be studied using the “Manage Samples” action of the proposal.

Templates Templates Required

The template contains help-text boxes to guide you, please remove them before uploading your file.

Maximum size of the Standard project description is 2 pages.

STD Project Description Template

 

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