This category explores user services offered by the proposed RI and the associated benefits created for users. Data are collected mostly through face-to-face interviews with relevant experts from the RI project and project documents. Secondary data from comparable operating reference facilities may complete the information. A micro-model is used to estimate the monetary value of the offered user access time.
Indicators:
S+T.1.1: Services and opportunities for users S+T.1.2: User proposals
S+T.1.3: Access and maintenance time S+T.1.4: Users by country, field and sector S+T.1.5: Monetary value of offered access time
S+T.1.1: Services and opportunities for users Relevance:
This indicator describes the (new) services and research opportunities for proprietary as well as non-proprietary users offered by the (new) RI. These services and research opportunities are core benefits expect-ed from the facility for the scientific community and, where applicable, industrial users.
Compilation and analysis methods:
• Identify and report the user services offered by the (new) RI. Distin-guish between proprietary and non-proprietary users (ex-post and ex-ante).
• Identify and report also the particular (newly created) research op-portunities (ex-post and ex-ante).
Definitions and explanations:
User: A user is a scientist, who uses the facility and the offered
instru¬men¬ta¬tion in order to perform scientific research. Users can either be from public or from private institutions. They can conduct non-proprietary or proprietary research. This includes also internal us-ers.
Non-proprietary refers to scientific research for which the research results are published in the open scientific or technical literature. The research results are accessible to other interested parties.
Proprietary refers to research for which the knowledge, technical data and inventions generated during the scientific work are treated as pro-prietary by the user. Results are in particular not published in the open literature.
Data sources and collection methods:
• Document analysis, e.g. project documents, websites, annual reports
• Interviews with suitable experts from the project, e.g. scientific project manager, technology transfer or industrial liaison officer, project coordinator
• Analysis of documents or websites from reference facilities (ex-ante studies)
• Interviews with external experts from reference facilities (e.g.
CEO, scientific manager, industrial liaison officer) Data analysis methods:
• Descriptive content analysis
• Narrative analysis
• Case studies of reference laboratories References:
Information about existing reference RIs may be e.g. found on the European Portal on Research Infrastructures Database, on
http://www.riportal.eu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=ri.search#
S+T.1.2: User proposals Relevance:
This indicator describes the number of user proposals received by the facility every year and the number of user proposals that get access to the facility. They provide information about the demand for access to the facility and the facility’s possibilities to satisfy the demand.
Compilation and analysis methods:
• Identify and report the annual number of received (expected) user proposals (ex-post and ex-ante).
• Identify and report the number of user proposals to which access can be allocate each year (ex-post and ex-ante).
• If a year is not a suitable time period for the considered RI, choose a suitable one (e.g. ten years) and indicate this clearly. Use the same time period for the expected and the benefitting proposals.
Definitions and explanations:
If access to the facility is not based on user proposals, use the number of annual access requests and the number of requests that can be sat-isfied in a year.
User: A user is a scientist, who uses the facility and the offered instru-mentation in order to perform scientific research. Users can either be from public or from private institutions. They can conduct non-proprie-tary or proprienon-proprie-tary research. This includes also internal users.
Reference facility refers to operating facilities comparable to the new RI with respect to a specific indicator. The analysis of data from such
project manager, project coordinator, responsible manager for user relations
• Secondary data analysis from reference facilities, e.g. SE impact reports, annual reports (ex-ante studies)
• Interviews with external experts from comparable reference fa-cilities, e.g. CEO, scientific manager, responsible manager for user relations (ex-ante studies)
Data analysis methods:
• Descriptive content analysis
• Case studies of reference laboratories References:
Information about existing reference RIs may be e.g. found on the European Portal on Research Infrastructures Database, on
http://www.riportal.eu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=ri.search#
S+T.1.3: Access and maintenance time Relevance:
This indicator describes the time for which users (will) have access to the (new) RI and the time that is (will be) dedicated to maintenance or further development activities of the facility or its components. This indicator is also required in order to perform the calculations for indica-tor S+T.1.5, monetary value of the offered access time.
Compilation and analysis methods:
• Identify and report the (planned) number of hours per year, for which the users will have access to the new RI (ex-post and ex-an-te).
• Identify and report the (planned) number of annual hours for maintenance or further development activities of the facility or its components (ex-post and ex-ante).
Definitions and explanations:
If no estimates for the new RI are available yet, try to estimate the number of user and maintenance hours on the basis of those from reference facilities.
User: A user is a scientist, who uses the facility and the offered
instru¬mentation in order to perform scientific research. Users can ei-ther be from public or from private institutions. They can conduct non-pro¬prietary or proprietary research. This includes also internal users.
Reference facility refers to operating facilities comparable to the new RI with respect to a specific indicator. The analysis of data from such facilities may give hints about what can be expected from the new RI.
scientific project manager, project coordinator, responsible man-ager for user relations
• Secondary data analysis from reference facilities, e.g. SE impact reports, annual reports (ex-ante studies)
• Interviews with external experts from comparable reference fa-cilities, e.g. CEO, scientific manager, responsible manager for user relations (ex-ante studies)
Data analysis methods:
• Descriptive content analysis
• Case studies of reference laboratories References:
Information about existing reference RIs may be e.g. found on the European Portal on Research Infrastructures Database, on
http://www.riportal.eu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=ri.search#
S+T.1.4: Users by country, field and sector Relevance:
This indicator describes the number of users that (will) benefit from the new RI and their provenience by geography, scientific domain and sector. This provides information about geographic areas, scientific fields, and sectors that may benefit from the RI.
Compilation and analysis methods:
• Identify and report the (expected) number of annual users by geo-graphic area. Distinguish between broad areas: Host country, other EU member states, further European countries, non-European countries. If a more detailed break-down provides significant infor-mation, use that (ex-post and ex-ante).
• Identify and report the (expected) number of annual users by scien-tific areas. Use a break-down in scienscien-tific areas that is significant for the RI under investigation (ex-post and ex-ante).
• Identify and report the (expected) number of annual users by sec-tor. Distinguish between private companies, universities and public R&D institutes, or simply between private companies and public institutions, including universities (ex-post and ex-ante).
Definitions and explanations:
If no estimates for the new RI are available yet, try to estimate the numbers of users on the basis of data from reference facilities.
User: A user is a scientist, who uses the facility and the offered in¬stru¬mentation in order to perform scientific research. Users can
ter, life and medical sciences; atoms, molecules & plasmas; environ-ment, instrumentation & technology; cultural heritage
Data sources and collection methods:
• Document analysis (as e.g. project documents, project / facility websites, annual reports)
• Interviews with suitable experts from the project / facility (e.g.
scientific project manager, responsible manager for user rela-tions)
• Secondary data analysis from reference facilities, e.g. SE impact reports, annual reports (ex-ante studies)
• Interviews with external experts from comparable reference facilities, e.g. manager for user relations (ex-ante studies) Data analysis methods:
• Descriptive content analysis
• Case studies of reference laboratories References:
Information about existing reference RIs may be e.g. found on the European Portal on Research Infrastructures Database, on
http://www.riportal.eu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=ri.search#
S+T.1.5: Monetary value of offered access time Relevance:
This simple statistical indicator aims to estimate the cost of the user time at the facility, calculating its “experimental shadow value”. Since facilities usually have an “open access” policy, they do not charge ex-ternal non-proprietary users for the use of the equipment. The cost of the access time is paid by the facility itself, which transfers value to its users. The aim is to measure the benefit for the user institutions.
Compilation and analysis methods:
• Calculate and report the monetary value of the access time provided to the users in Euros per hour (€/h). Use the formulas pro-vided below and explained in detail in the methods datasheet for the micro-model on “experimental shadow value”.
• For this purpose collect the following data:
(1) estimated lifetime of the RI in years
(2) estimated construction costs of the RI (if desired, also available estimates for upgrading and decommissioning can be included) (3) estimated average annual operation costs of the RI to calculate the total operation costs over the RI’s lifetime
(4) total staff costs during construction (available estimates for upgrading and decommissioning can be included)
(5) average annual staff costs during operation to calculate the total staff costs for operation over the RI’s lifetime
(6) total number of user access hours per year (summed up for all equipments)
(7) average functioning coefficient α (as a fraction of 1) of the ex-perimental equipments
Definitions and explanations:
Data
Data sources and collection methods:
• Document analysis (as e.g. project documents, project / facility websites, annual reports)
• Interviews with suitable experts from the project / facility (e.g.
project coordinator, CEO) Data analysis methods:
• Descriptive content analysis
• Micro-model on “experimental shadow value” (insert link) References:
None