2025 LSST Data Rights Selection Round

Introduction

UK researchers will obtain access to proprietary LSST data in return for the UK’s in-kind contribution to Rubin operations, which is primarily provided by the STFC-funded LSST:UK Science Centre (LUSC) programme, supplemented by some additional effort being donated to Rubin commissioning. The content of the UK in-kind package has been approved by the Rubin Management Board, but the UK Data Rights Agreement, which will formalise the arrangements for UK data rights, has not yet been signed by STFC and the US Department of Energy. It is hoped that this will be signed before long.

This 2025 selection round will, therefore, implement an interim arrangement, awarding data rights up to 30/09/26 only, rather than for the three-year terms that has been typical in most previous rounds. This will allow UK researchers to continue to engage with LSST Science Collaborations, access Rubin Data Previews, etc, until the detailed arrangements for future UK data access are finalised, with the signing of the UK Data Rights Agreement. The community will be apprised of the details of those arrangements through the monthly LSST:UK Newsletters and further emails to the lusc-announce mailing list.

Procedures for the 2025 selection round

The only people who need to complete an application form in response to this call are NEW applicants for data rights (see below) who are not contributing to the UK in-kind programme and are not MSc or undergraduate students. A separate responsive mode call is now available for MSc and undergraduates (also see below).

MSc and undergraduate students

If you are a student seeking data rights for an MSc or undergraduate project you should instead apply for short-term data rights via the application form available at LSST:UK Short term data rights for project students. These can be applied for at any time of the year and are for short-term Junior Associate (JA) data rights of length up to one year.

Contributors to the UK in-kind programme

Those who are contributing to the UK in-kind programme - both those supported by one of the LUSC Phase C grants and those donating effort to Commissioning - and who, therefore, require data rights to fulfill their contribution, need NOT apply to this selection round. All such people should have previously had their data rights term extended to cover the period during which they will be contributing to the in-kind programme.

Existing data rights holders

Most existing data rights holders (who are not contributing to the UK in-kind programme) already have data rights to 30/09/26 and hence need not re-apply in this selection round. If you are unsure of the end-date of your data rights term, you can check this on the current UK data rights holders list. If your end-date is BEFORE 30/09/26 and you wish to extend your term to that date, then please contact contact the LUSC Project Manager, Terry Sloan (t.m.sloan@ed.ac.uk).

New applicants for data rights

Applications are invited (using the online forms linked below) from those wishing LSST data rights (up to 30/09/26, in the first instance). Staff and students from any organisation eligible to hold an STFC grant may apply, to become either a Principal Investigator (PI) or Junior Associate (JA). These terms are defined in the Rubin Data Rights Policy, which says that “PIs have the position and means to raise funds in support of an in-kind contribution, while JAs do not”. So, in the UK context, members of faculty (and, subject to institutional policy, some senior fellows and other staff who may be the PI of an STFC grant) will be PIs, while postdocs, students and all others not able to lead grant applications will be JAs.

It is important to note that there is absolutely no difference in the rights afforded by PI and JA status. The only difference is that each JA must be associated with a PI, who can act as a mentor and guide their use of LSST data rights; typically, this will be their supervisor or line manager, but it need not be someone at their own institution. The JA application form includes a request for the suggested PI mentor, but, since no PI may be associated with more than four JAs, some reassignment of JAs amongst PIs may be necessary after the selection round has completed.

As part of the application process, new applicants for data rights be required to sign the LSST:UK Code of Conduct, so you should read that before applying.

Applying for Affiliate PI status

Affiliate Principal Investigator (PI) Application Form: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/edinburgh/2025-lsst-affiliate-pi-interim-application

Guidance Notes: You are asked to summarise your relevant track record and to explain why you require, and how you would take advantage of having, Affiliate PI status. Your application should be self-contained; do not assume that the Selection Committee has any information beyond what you include in your application.

NOTE : A small number of Safari users have reported issues accessing the application form. This has been reported to JISC who host the application platform. If this happens to you, JISC recommends using an alternative browser to access the application form.

Applying for Junior Associate status

Junior Associate (JA) Application Form: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/edinburgh/2025-lsst-junior-associate-interim-application

Guidance Notes: Junior Associates must be associated with a mentor who holds Affiliate PI status. You will therefore need to provide the name and email address of your proposed mentor.

NOTE : A small number of Safari users have reported issues accessing the application form. This has been reported to JISC who host the application platform. If this happens to you, JISC recommends using an alternative browser to access the application form.

Closing Date

All applications will close on Tuesday 29th July 2025 at 4:00pm.

Note: applicants will be informed of the outcome of their applications on 1st September 2025.

If you experience technical problems completing either of the application forms please contact the LUSC Project Manager, Terry Sloan (t.m.sloan@ed.ac.uk), while any policy questions should be addressed to the LSST:UK Consortium Board Chair, Mike Watson (mgw@leicester.ac.uk).