Introduction

The STFC funding for the LSST:UK Science Centre (LUSC) includes a budget to support participation in LSST-related science meetings by LSST:UK Consortium members not in receipt of travel funding through one of the Phase C grants or who have already exhausted that funding. This LSST:UK Pool Travel Fund is primarily intended for covering travel and subsistence costs resulting from attendance of meetings (e.g., those organised by an LSST Science Collaboration or the Rubin Observatory) by Consortium members not covered (as a LUSC grant PI/Co-I or grant-funded staff member) by travel funding associated with an in-kind contribution as part of the STFC-funded LUSC programme, but a fraction (<25%) may also be used to reimburse Consortium institutions for costs associated with hosting such meetings.

All claims to be made against the Pool Travel Fund, whether for individual travel or meeting hosting, must be pre-approved by the LSST:UK Executive Group and must follow the guidelines below, as regards eligibility and process. Questions and comments regarding the fund or the application process may be made to one of the LSST:UK Project Managers (@George Beckett and @Terry Sloan ; lusc_pm@mlist.is.ed.ac.uk) or the LSST:UK Project Leader (@Bob Mann; rgm@roe.ac.uk).

Applying for support

Support may be requested for attending LSST-related meetings or hosting them. In both cases, requests are made using an online application form and applications are assessed by the LSST:UK Executive Group, using the criteria listed below and with the applicant's personal details removed. The application process is competitive, so applicants should answer the questions fully and persuasively, and Early Career Researchers are encouraged to seek advice from a more senior colleague (e.g., their associated PI, if they are a Junior Associate) if they are not experienced in applying for funding. 

Since not all applications will be successful, applicants are strongly advised not to make any financial commitments (e.g., buying tickets) until they have learnt the outcome of their request. Consequently, applications should be made well in advance of - ideally, two months before - the need for expenditure; the Executive Group meets once a month, but can consider applications between meetings when necessary. The Pool Travel Fund was awarded as part of the University of Edinburgh LUSC grant, and, in common with travel and subsistence claims against STFC grants, Edinburgh will only be reimbursed for 80% of the total cost of any claim, so the applicant’s institution must cover the remaining 20% of the total incurred cost.

Support for attending meetings

All applications for Pool Travel Fund support for meeting attendance must be made using this application form. As part of this form, the applicant must explain the scientific benefits - to them personally and to LSST:UK more widely - that would result from their attendance of the meeting. It is this scientific return that is the primary criterion used by the Executive Group in assessing the application, although they will also consider value for money and will favour applications from Early Career Researchers and members of under-represented groups.  While applicants are asked to give information on previous applications, this will only be used for monitoring purposes, and every application will be considered on its merits. In all cases, the applicant must justify in-person attendance, if the meeting supports remote participation.

To help ensure that Pool Travel funds are used effectively, applicants are asked about alternative sources of travel funding that are available to them: for example, STFC-funded PhD students may, with institutional approval, have attendance of working meetings of LSST Science Collaborations funded from the overseas fieldwork component of the Doctoral Training Partnership grant funding their studentship as well as through the Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) associated with it, while students (and, exceptionally, postdocs) may apply for travel funding from the Royal Astronomical Society. 

Support will be only provided for meetings that are directly related to LSST, or, in exceptional circumstances, where the applicant is to present work directly related to LSST at a more general conference. The Executive Group maintain a list of forthcoming LSST-related meetings, and these will also be advertised in LSST:UK Newsletters. In some cases, where the Executive Group anticipate a particularly strong interest, they may issue a call for applications via the lusc-announce email list and restrict the number of attendees funded. Consortium members may, however, apply for funding to attend meetings others than those so advertised, but the Executive Group’s decision on the relevance of the meeting will be final.

As noted below, a successful applicant will initially claim reimbursement of their expenses from their home institution, so the definition of eligible travel costs is ultimately determined by that institution’s policies and its implementation of STFC rules. Typically, allowed costs include costs of travel to and from the meeting, accommodation, subsistence, additional carer cost (e.g., childcare), registration fees, and visa costs, but applicants should consult their local finance team if they have any questions about what costs may be reimbursed.

Support for hosting meetings

While the Pool Travel Fund is primarily intended to support UK researchers attending LSST-related meetings, it may be cost-effective and scientifically beneficial for some such meetings to be held in the UK and a fraction (<25%) of the Pool Travel Fund may made be available to institutions hosting such meetings. Applications for such funding should be made via this form. 

The main criterion for assessing such applications will be the scientific return to the LSST:UK community from the proposed meeting, although value for money will also be considered. The scientific return from a meeting will be enhanced by its being focussed  on topics for which there is strong UK interest and relevance to LSST is demonstrated. The applicants must explain why the meeting should be held in-person, rather than online, and they should support remote participation, if possible, to broaden the range of potential attendees.

The Executive Group will consider making a contribution from the Pool Travel Fund to any meeting-related costs, but expect these to focus on catering and, with justification, travel and subsistence for key overseas speakers. It is not expected that potential host institutions will claim for room hire or for secretarial support in organising the meeting. As for all Pool Travel clams, the host institution will only be reimbursed for 80% of the incurred costs, up to an agreed limit. 

Claiming expenses

Claims against the Travel Fund should be made in accordance with the terms circulated by Edinburgh Research and Innovation to all Consortium Board members in October 2015 and reproduced here. The process is summarised below.

In the first instance, you would normally claim back expenses from a local budget (at your home institution) in line with your institution's guidelines for reimbursement of expenses. Your finance team would then send an invoice to the LSST:UK Project Leader Bob Mann, at Edinburgh, for 80% of the incurred expenditure (as is standard for STFC grants), along with a summary of the expenditure items. The expectation is that aggregated claims will be invoiced on a quarterly basis though, in practice and where there are only occasional invoices, it is reasonable to submit as soon as is convenient for the local finance team.

If your finance team require so in order to raise an invoice, Edinburgh University can provide a Purchase Order. However, to do so involves additional administrative effort, so we ask that you only request a purchase order if it is entirely necessary.

The following data may be useful in preparing an invoice:

Acknowledgements

You should acknowledge any support you receive from the LSST:UK Travel Fund, in related papers, presentations, and so on. A suggested form of words is "We acknowledge travel support provided by STFC for UK participation in LSST through grant ST/X001334/1”.