Full Economic Costing and project specific equipment upgrades or acquisitions

Full Economic Costing of NERC facility use in grant applications:
Until further notice, applicants will not be required to include GEF operating costs or staff time in any application utilising the GEF facility. The only costs that should be applied for are expenses which will be incurred by GEF staff if they are required to provide support in the field.

Equipment upgrades and purchases required for NERC supported experiments:
Until further notice, if the equipment currently available from the GEF is regarded as insufficient for an experiment users are encouraged to include equipment upgrades or purchases as capital expenditure in NERC grant applications. Users should not be deterred from applying for these upgrades because the costs will not be considered by the Peer Review panels, providing it is made clear that ownership of the equipment will pass to the NERC/GEF at the end of the grant/period of use. However, the capital cost will be included when calculating the full cost of the grant, and therefore must not increase the total value of the grant above the relevant maximum value for the type of grant applied for.

We recommend that anyone intending to use GEF equipment contact the facility prior to submitting NERC grant applications so that any potential equipment upgrades or purchases can be identified at an early stage.

Extended Loan Periods

Users requiring equipment for periods significantly longer than those stated should consider including capital bids in their standard NERC applications, as outlined above.

Terms and Conditions of Loan

1.

The Facility reserves the right to withdraw equipment should exceptional circumstances require this.

2.

Borrowers must be able to demonstrate their ability to carry out simple checks, maintenance and minor repairs on the equipment to be loaned. Facility staff can provide training and operators should make the necessary arrangements well in advance of the loan period. Site visits by Facility staff can be arranged subject to the discretion of the Steering Committee and Director NSS.

3.

All borrowers are required to sign a form on which they acknowledge receipt of the equipment in good condition and agree to exercise due care and attention with its transportation, deployment and operation. Borrowers must immediately notify the Facility Manager of any damage or loss occurring to the equipment whilst in their charge and, upon their return, submit a detailed report explaining the circumstances surrounding the loss or damage. In the case of theft, borrowers are to notify the local police and append a copy of their report. If, after consideration of the report by the Steering Committee, the loss or damage was foreseeable and no reasonable action was taken to reduce the risk, or where gross negligence is suspected, future equipment loans may be withheld. The NERC reserves the right to take any appropriate action where gross negligence has led to a major equipment loss. Borrowers are notified of the replacement value of the equipment in their charge. Organisations, other than public-funded bodies, must provide proof of adequate insurance. A guide to NERC's indemnity policy can be found here.

4.

Borrowers must advise the Facility Manager at the earliest opportunity should the return of the equipment (in good working order) be in any doubt. Failure to observe this request may result in the borrower having to defray any extra costs that the next user may incur as the result of delay and may also prejudice their next loan. Borrowers are responsible for the collection and return to the Facility of all equipment loaned.

5.

Borrowers are required to provide the following reports and papers to the GEP Manager. Electronic submission (PDF or Word format) alongside paper copy is encouraged, particularly if a report requires the use of colour.

• Within two weeks of the equipment return, a completed "Equipment Report Form", including an account of breakdowns, losses, repairs and any authorised modifications carried out on the equipment.
• Within one year of the loan, a full "Scientific Report" detailing the major highlights or problems of the project. The report should be not more than six A4 pages in length, inclusive of maps/diagrams and references, and would normally include the following sections:

Abstract
Background (including field survey site location map)
Survey procedure
Data quality (including examples)
Processing and modeling
Interpretation to date
Preliminary findings
Conclusions and recommendations
Publications (including proposed, in preparation, submitted, in press and published)

The committee are principally interested to see that the equipment was correctly used and data processed effectively. The Scientific Report should not be delayed because of incomplete scientific conclusions. It will be different from a NERC grant report.

• When completed, a copy of any final report (e.g. that required by NERC), and copies of any publications arising from the use of NERC GEP equipment and support.

The GEP Steering Committee reserve the right to seek additional information when they consider the content of any report inadequate. Further loans of GEP equipment are dependent on the timely receipt and the grading of these reports.

6.

No charge for this service is made in the case of approved projects within the NERC remit. Commercial loans are accepted subject to the availability of the equipment and conformance with our standard contract terms. Loan rates are available upon application.