The lack of a development line for future nuclear physics projects could cause long term damage to the UK’s nuclear physics programme, the Science and Technology Facilities Council has said.
The council’s operating plan for 2011-12, published on 1 July, says that following low prioritisation in a 2009 exercise, support for both nuclear physics R&D and exploitation has diminished. This will leave grants “very constrained” over the next few years, it says.
“The lack of a development line for future [nuclear physics] projects could cause long-term damage to the NP programme and scope for opening up some modest level of support for future planning will be explored,” reads the document.
The council announced in December 2009 that it would cut around 25 per cent of its funding for nuclear physics from £8 million in 2007 to £6m in 2013. It also decided to withdraw from two international nuclear physics projects, remaining in just one other.
At the time, scientists in the field argued that the council was decimating their discipline and that the severe cuts would create problems in the future.
The council insisted that nuclear physics had not been singled out for worse cuts than other areas.
Nuclear physics is just one area of the STFC’s remit covered in the operating plan, which details spending and priorities within each of the council’s areas of investment, alongside an action plan with accountability for each goal.
This is the council’s first operating plan under a new structure introduced in December last year, which splits international subscriptions, UK large facilities and programme delivery into separate budgets.
It outlines possible risks across all areas, including how delays in delivery of the European Southern Observatory’s VISTA telescope, based at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, will have to be “balanced” by loss of UK observing time on the Very Large Telescope at the same site.
The STFC also reveals concerns that while it will try to drive down international subscription costs for ESO, it can be outvoted by other member nations, among whom there is only “moderate appetite” to decrease costs.
The operating plan includes timelines for delivering programmes announced in the council’s December delivery plan, such as an expanding “proof of concept” support, creating an “entrepreneur in residence” scheme and a £4m annual collaborative R&D fund.
According to the document, the STFC will also introduce ambitious goals on expanding public engagement, aiming to increase media coverage by 50 per cent by 2015 and embed outreach funding elements across the council’s consolidated grants scheme. The council will spend some £4.6m on its Science and Society and Corporate Affairs programmes in 2011-12, it says.
The plan also outlines a shift in resources towards addressing global challenges such as health and the environment. The so-called “futures programme” will include an innovation fund, network fund, studentships and fellowships, says the council.
The document also confirms that a restructuring at the council will mean a 10 per cent cut in staff by the end of 2011-12, with a greater reduction in senior staff roles.
The council’s overall resources allocation for 2011-12, announced in December, is £375.8m and will rise to £384.7m by 2014-15.