Lancaster University Experimental Equipment

Lancaster University is consistently ranked in the UK Top 10 (the only such NW university), and in the top 1% of universities worldwide. Lancaster plays a key role in the N8 Northern university partnership and the annual Higher Education Business and Community Interaction Survey places Lancaster in the UK top 10 for the number and value of its SME partnerships.

To ensure the highest quality research Lancaster has made targeted investments of over £450m since 2004, with a further £135m planned for the next three years. Targeted and strategic investment is employed to expand in new areas and to improve performance in our current subject strengths. Areas of strength at Lancaster include: research in advanced functional materials; ultra-isolated environments; nuclear materials research; and development and the security of large-scale complex cyber-physical environments, and these four areas make up the themes of the experiment bundles in this application.

Following a very strong performance in RAE 2008, we anticipate a strong outcome in the 2014 exercise to reinforce our position among the UK's very best research-led universities. The experimental equipment highlighted herein will support, refresh and update facilities in these areas. Existing academics in these fields have solid international reputations, and we are also recruiting 50 rising stars in celebration of our 50th anniversary, whose appointment will be strategically aligned to support and develop our very best research.

Lancaster has a strong international presence through strategic international university and industrial partnerships. We collaborate globally on key research issues with international impact. Nationally, Lancaster is a leading research-intensive university. As a key partner in the N8 consortium, Lancaster contributes to the N8 database of assets and follows guidelines set out in the N8 Equipment Sharing Toolkit (N8 EST) to facilitate sharing of equipment between members. New state-of-the-art facilities in these key areas will lead to new research collaborations and opportunities - both at a national and international level and help to bring in talented collaborators not only to the UK but to the Northern region.

Demand assessment studies conducted externally on behalf of Lancaster show significant industrial demand for the use of these facilities for their own research and development activities as well as research and innovation projects with the university. Lancaster University has an excellent track record of engaging with SMEs, and since 1998 it has delivered over 50 projects, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, totaling over £72m, enabling the university to work with over 5000 companies to date.

An essential element of our sustainability model is the promotion of industrial access to our facilities and resources. The university already has in place access arrangements for industry in key facilities (InfoLab21, Lancaster Environment Centre and Engineering), with over 100 company staff currently co-located in facilities in our departments. The new Collaborative Technology Access Programme (cTAP) at Lancaster will develop a business model to provide managed industry access to an increasingly wide range of technologies on the campus, including the facilities highlighted within this proposal. We are developing a single entry route to our facilities, supported by a business-facing group of technical staff and believe we will be the first university to offer this service.

Who will benefit from this research?
This proposal includes 4 bundles of experimental equipment that will directly influence research activities at Lancaster University. Each of the bundles are themed around specific areas of strength at Lancaster which have been highlighted as key strategic areas, with significant funding profiles and international recognition. Within the university the following departments will directly benefit from this investment: Chemistry, Computing and Communications, Engineering, Physics and Psychology. Systems will also be put into place to support access to colleagues and students across the university.
Externally there is documented demand from industry to access the equipment requested and to work with Lancaster on innovation and development. Lancaster has an extensive track record of working with industry both through paid access agreements and through active collaboration. We will develop a business model to provide managed industry access via a single entry route, supported by a business-facing group of technical staff. As a key member of the N8 university consortium our updated facilities will be added to the N8 database of accessible assets to facilitate equipment sharing across the North of England.
In terms of the research generated as a result of obtaining this equipment the benefits are extremely wide reaching and will allow us to deepen relationships with current collaborators as well as attracting new partnerships. In particular we expect this research to be of interest to fellow academics, industry partners, policy makers, governments nationally and internationally, public interest groups and the general public.

How will they benefit from this research?
Increasing the level of facilities in these 4 key areas at Lancaster will directly influence research grant income into the university. It will allow us to engage in new national and international partnerships raising the profile of the North West region by allowing us to exploit the region's top performing areas of science, engineering and technology, where we are on a par with regions such as London (with Imperial College and University College London) and the SE of England (with Oxford and Cambridge). We also expect an increase in 4* publications, conference papers, public engagement events, policy papers and media publications. State-of-the-art facilities will allow us to attract new highly qualified academics to Lancaster and the most promising research students.
Our industrial demand exercise has shown that the investment in experimental equipment will deliver measurable economic impact via direct industry use and collaborative research. These independent assessments have demonstrated real industrial need for the highlighted areas and systems already in place at Lancaster will be further developed to maximize the opportunities available to industrial partners whilst also ensuring the sustainability of the facilities through a fair and considered business model.
Within the Northwest region the Northwest Competitiveness Operational Programme identified Lancashire as the second largest contributor (20%) to the regional economy, and recognised Lancaster University as one of only two drivers of growth in the Lancashire economy. Lancaster University has a strategic focus on enhancing innovation capacity and competitiveness of SMEs. Since 1998 it has delivered over 50 projects, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, totaling over £72m, enabling the university to work with over 5000 companies to date. These projects have generated over 250 new business and 4300 new jobs. The latest independent evaluation of our business engagement programmes by EKOS Ltd (March 2012) estimates a return on investment of over £15 for every £1 invested, well ahead in value-for-money terms of similar 'science, R&D and innovation infrastructure' interventions, with typical benchmarks of £8 to £9 return per £1 of public investment.