The STFC advisory committees use decision making criteria to allow comparison across the whole of the STFC programme. The criteria contain five areas: excellence, economic impact, societal impact, leadership and synergies; and these are described below. Although each criterion is considered during decision making; scientific excellence is considered to be the most important.
Decision Making Criteria
Excellence
The scientific importance of the project / facility including the current state of the area and a longer term view of the future
The timeliness of the project / facility
The key stakeholders, the strategic importance of the project/facility to them and the benefits to them
The technical importance of the project / facility
Any technical risks associated with meeting the scientific and technical objectives
The international relevance of the research / facility, in both European and global arenas
The scale of investment, current and future; and the impact of increased or decreased funding
Economic Impact
The project or facility contribution to new businesses, product processes or services
The impact in the development of skilled people
The match to public policy and/or cross Research Council priorities
The potential to lever further funding to STFC and/or the UK
Engagement with UK industry including procurement relationships
The resource implications associated with the Economic Impact activities (financial, staff, time)
Risks to meeting economic impact objectives
Societal Impact
The wider societal benefits including information on public outreach activities, impact on education in schools or of the general public
The potential media impact and its relation to the STFC mission
The resource implications associated with the societal impact activities (financial, staff, time)
The risks in meeting the societal impact objectives
Leadership
The level of UK leadership and track record in this area
The extent to which STFC/UK involvement will result in greater research output or a higher level of external funding to the project
The extent to which involvement in this project will provide STFC with an opportunity to influence policy and funding in the future
The risk of not meeting these leadership objectives
Synergies
The extent to which the project / facility benefits from or contributes to coherence and synergies with other programmes, including international subscriptions
The alignment of the project / facility to STFC strategic objectives and core business activities
The relevance to the strategies of the Daresbury and Harwell Science Innovation Campuses
Last updated: 01 April 2016
Science and Technology Facilities Council
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