ILGE - TNA/NOA 1st call for access
The ILGE network, a part of the MEET project hosted by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in collaboration with the University “Roma Tre” (UniRomaTre), the National Research Council (CNR), and the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS), is offering free-of-charge transnational access (TNA) and national open access (NOA) to equipment from world-class Earth Science research facilities in Italy. TNA activities involve a scientific investigator (hereafter, “user”) conducting scientific work at a research facility located in a country other than the one in which they are affiliated. On the other end, NOA activities are conducted between users and facilities located within the same national territory, but working in different institutions. This webpage provides general information regarding the first call for access to ILGE facilities. Prospective applicants are kindly requested to review the ILGE TNA/NOA guidelines, the Funding and Reporting guidelines, as well as the FAQ page.
The ILGE TNA/NOA program offer access to facilities through two main modalities:
- Physical access (hands-on): this option requires a single user to visit the laboratory where the TNA/NOA facility is located. The use of the equipment is provided free of charge. Additionally, the visiting user will be reimbursed for travel, accommodation, and sustenance, up to a specified amount (see Funding and Reporting guidelines);
- Remote service (send-in-sample): under this modality, resources and services are offered free-of-charge without users physically visiting the facility. Instead, users send samples for analysis to the facility, where an operator conducts the analyses. Users opting for this modality do not visit the facility and, therefore, are not eligible for travel,accommodation, and sustenance reimbursement. However, reimbursement for sample shipment expenses can be provided up to a fixed amount (see Funding and Reporting guidelines).
Access details
A complete list of facilities available in the ILGE TNA/NOA network can be found here, including contact details for Facility Managers. The link also indicates which facilities are available during the first call, the type of access mode provided, and the number of days typically offered per project.
The first call for TNA/NOA of the ILGE network opens on January 04, 2024, and closes on February 29, 2024 (23:59 CET). During this period, TNA/NOA proposals can be submitted at any time. Projects accepted under this call can start as early as April 1 2024 and must be completed by September 30, 2024. User reports on each project must be provided no later than one month after the access period.
Prospective users must contact the Facility Managers before submitting a TNA/NOA proposal to discuss technical aspects of their projects. Please note that all final decisions regarding facility use and equipment selection for each project lie solely within the discretion of the Facility Manager.
Proposals must adhere to specific TNA/NOA facility rules to be eligible:
- Teams affiliated with European and non-European research institutes outside of the Italian territory (>50% of the user group per proposal, including the user eventually visiting the facility) are eligible to apply only to the TNA program. Applications from users outside the EU* are limited to a maximum of 20% of the total access available in ILGE.
- Teams affiliated with Italian institutions are eligible for the NOA program. Applications from users working in the same city as the hosting facility are not eligible for travel and living expense refunds. Applications from users working in the same institution as the host facility are not permitted.
- Only users who are allowed and willing to disseminate results of the TNA/NOA project in compliance with the ILGE TNA/NOA data policy can be granted access.
- Users to whom physical access is granted in the TNA/NOA project are required to sign the Access Agreement provided by the facility, outlining the conditions for access and facility use. In the case of remote service, only the project PI (the User who submitted the proposal) will be requested to sign the agreement. Templates for the Access Agreement for each ILGE facility in the first call are available here, on the facilities' information pages. Please note that these templates are subject to changes tailored to each specific project.
Funding regulations
Reimbursement of TNA/NOA projects is subject to the following limits:
- Remote service: Maximum €100 for shipping samples per project. Shipment receipts must be provided to the facility. An additional €100 may be provided for shipping costs related to returning samples from the facility to the user.
- Physical access:
- Travel costs: Maximum €200 for national-based travel for NOA projects, maximum €400 for EU*+EFTA$ -applicant travel in TNA projects and €1000 maximum rate for non-EU applicant travel in TNA projects. To qualify for reimbursement, travel tickets must have the facility location (closest airport/train station) as both the final destination (arrival) and departure (return). Users must choose the shortest and most economical route by train or plane from the departure point to the facility. Original receipts/invoices/boarding passes must be provided to the facility.
EU* = EU member states and countries associated with Horizon 2020 (Iceland, Norway, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Israel, Moldova, Switzerland, Faroe Islands, Ukraine, Tunisia, Georgia, Armenia, United Kingdom).
EFTA$ = member states of European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).
- Living costs: A maximum rate of €150/day for housing and subsistence applies. Reimbursement covers only the access days, as well as one day before and after the access period, including weekends if access spans a weekend. Depending on the access provider’s internal rules, living costs may be reimbursed as a flat rate daily allowance or after submission of original receipts/invoices.
Please note that costs exceeding these limits must be covered by the user. Please also note that typically only one user is allowed physical access for each project, and users who have already been granted physical access for one project cannot be given access on another project (although another member of the user group may). Travel tickets for dates extending more than one day beyond the access period are still eligible for reimbursement, provided that: i) housing and subsistence refunds will not be provided for the extra days, ii) an appropriate reason connected to the scientific activities of the TNA/NOA project (e.g. working with facility scientists/collaborators involved in the project) is provided.Further details on funding are given in the Funding and Reporting guidelines.
Note that: i) reimbursement limits apply per user, with typically only one user allowed for physical access for each project, ii) restrictions may limit the number of people allowed in a facility at a single time, iii) the reimbursement procedure varies for each facility, so it is advised to contact the Facility Manager for details, and iv) health-related measures may be imposed by the facility or public authorities, potentially limiting or prohibiting physical access to a facility at any time. The final decision on the mode of access, duration of the visit, and the number of visitors allowed always rests with the Facility Manager. Members of the user group or other collaborators visiting the facility during the TNA/NOA access period but not covered by the ILGE network will not be considered part of the TNA/NOA activities in any respect, and therefore will not be included in the Access Agreement.
How to apply
Application for ILGE TNA/NOA programs can be submitted through the following link: Apply now! The portal allows the user acting as the project PI to provide all the necessary information about the proposal.
The application is organized into three main sections: 1. Project Information and Scientific Objectives, 2. Requested File Upload, 3. Selection of Facility and Access Type. For further details on the application portal, please refer to the FAQ section. Below are the steps you will go through in the application process:
1. After verifying your eligibility, create an account and log in to the application portal. Visit the MEET webpage for an overview of call information, available facilities, and contact details for each.
2. Each applicant can submit a maximum of one TNA/NOA proposal per call. Each proposal can request access to only one facility within the ILGE network. While one user acting as PI in the submission of a proposal may participate in another proposal as a member of the user group, physical access for each user can be granted only once per call.
3. Contact the Facility Manager of the chosen facility before submitting the proposal. This contact is mandatory and allows the user to discuss the technical feasibility (e.g., equipment to be used, sample type and quantity, general feasibility of the proposal) and the access details (physical vs remote, number of access days, preferred access period). The e-mail addresses of the facility managers are included in the facility details webpage.
4. After discussing the project with the Facility Manager, finalize the proposal and submit your application. Fill out all required information regarding your proposal on the application portal and complete the application procedure by submitting your application.
Selection process
The evaluation and selection of the TNA/NOA proposals will be completed between one and two months after the call has closed. The selection process consists of i) a check of the proposal eligibility, ii) a formal technical feasibility assessment conducted by the Facility Manager of the requested facility, and iii) a review of the scientific excellence of the proposal by external reviewers.
In more detail, after screening the submitted application for eligibility, it is forwarded to the designated Facility Manager. The Facility Manager conducts a final assessment of the technical feasibility of the submitted proposal, considering the rationale for the requested facility, the methodology, the feasibility of the work to be carried on in relation to the access days, and specific details regarding research methodologies to be adopted (e.g., sample characteristics and eventual preparation, experimental and scientific rationale).
During this assessment, the Facility Manager may make minor amendments to the proposal (e.g. adjusting the number of access day needed to fulfill the research objectives), which will be included in the Access Agreement. Additionaly, the proposal may be redirected to another ILGE facility with similar technical capabilities, if deemed necessary by the Facility Manager. Applicants have the right to withdraw their application if they disagree.
If the proposal is deemed technically feasible in terms of its technological and logistical aspects, access will be granted based on its scientific excellence. This is assessed by the TNA/NOA Review Panel, consisting of an independent group of international scientists unaffiliated to the selected TNA/NOA facility representing a broad range of scientific expertises.
Evaluation of the TNA/NOA project proposal is made on the basis of the scientific excellence of the proposal, and is based on these main criteria:
1. suitability of the proposed methodology to address the scientific questions of the proposal;
2. rationale for, and link between the objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes of the study;
3. innovativeness and timeliness of the proposed research, and the scientific significance of the expected outcome;
4. writing style and overall clarity of the proposed research.
A double blind review process ensures fairness and impartiality. The evaluation outcome will be based on a minimum score determining whether the proposal passes the scientific evaluation. Priority will be given to scientific merit, so that proposal ranking is taken into account for the final decision on the grant only if there is a shortage of facility availability. In the case of proposals with the same score, priority will be given to early-career scientists (having received their highest certificate, including BSc, MSc or PhD, within the past seven years).
User responsibilities
Upon approval, the user is required to adhere to the general ILGE TNA/NOA data policy, which entails:
- Acknowledgement in publications: acknowledge the project and the support from the ILGE network in any publication resulting from work conducted within the TNA/NOA Activity at the host facility, following the dedicated sentence outlined e in the Access Agreement.
- Open access commitment: ensure open access to all data and peer-reviewed publications associated with TNA/NOA activities. The User/User group commits to publishing the data as a data publication on the GFZ Data Services repository, or, if the data formats are unsuitable for this portal, in another appropriate data repository under a CC:BY 4.0 license.
- Publication accessibility: ensure that peer-reviewed publication(s) resulting from the data acquired under the TNA/NOA activity are made available open access, eventually via a trusted repository, at the latest i) upon publication, if an electronic version is available for free via the publisher, or ii) within six months of publication in any other case.
- Adherence to data management plan: conform to the data management plan, which is an integral part of the Access Agreement signed between the user and the facility.
Upon notification that the project is granted access and before the agreed access period begins, the user must sign the Access Agreement with the host facility. The agreement covers the mode of access, number of access days, compliance with Health and Safety regulations, data processing, management and publication specifics, confidentiality, and liability, related to the TNA/NOA project. In certain cases, the facility may request co-authorship on scientific and/or data publications resulting from the TNA/NOA project. Access (either physical access or remote service) cannot commence until the Access Agreement is and the user is required to send the signed agreement to the facility manager and upload a copy in a dedicated repository.
After completing the TNA/NOA project, the user is required to download a copy of the TNA/NOA Scientific & Expense report template (here), fill in all its parts (including a description of the scientific activity carried out at the facility and the breakdown of expenses incurred during the visit), and have it checked and signed by the host facility. The user is required to upload the report within one month after the end of the access period through a dedicated form. Please note that all matters related to the reimbursement of expenses are not centrally coordinated by the ILGE network and should be exclusively discussed with the host facility. During the submission of the reporting documents, the user will be asked to complete a feedback questionnaire about the TNA/NOA experience.
Confidentiality of personal data
All personal data collected from the user during the application process are only used by the ILGE network for the operational management of TNA/NOA activities and the proper performance of its legal tasks and duties for communication and research, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR – Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and the institutional privacy policies (https://www.ingv.it/en/privacy). No personal data is shared with the external review panel during the review phase, nor will personal data be rented, sold, or otherwise shared with or provided to third parties other than for reporting purposes. Applicants are requested to review and consent to the ILGE TNA/NOA privacy policy upon application.
Contacts
For questions about the application process, please check the ILGE TNA/NOA FAQ, or contact management.ilge@ingv.it. For general information on the TNA/NOA call please contact us by email at management.ilge@ingv.it including a standard text in the subject field, e.g. “ILGE TNA/NOA inquiry”.