WG5 User Services & Impact

WG5 is the core of the LEAPS European User Offices, a platform to exchange on all relevant issues and to exchange experiences with the goal to harmonise as much as possible procedures and best practises. This goal is pursued organizing recurrent online thematic workshops on relevant topics proposed by the participants and selected according to priority.

Another goal is to harmonize the preparation of user metrics and statistics to support EU Projects, especially TNA (i.e. the new NEPHEWS Projects). ESUO, The European Synchrotron and Free Electron Laser Users Organisation, also plays a very important role in WG5, allowing User Offices to better relate to the user community and its needs. Thus, a fix part on the WG5-meetings’ agenda is an update of the current activities within ESUO given by the ESUO EB-member R. T. Lechner.

From 2022 WG5 has met 8 times and has organized 4 thematic workshops on the following topics:

• 1st WG5 online Workshop, January 24th, 2023.

Topic: “Specific beamtime allocation management for external projects”

• 2nd WG5 online Workshop, May 11th, 2023

Topic: “Safety Forms and Procedures”

• 3rd WG5 online Workshop, September 26th, 2023

Topic: “Proposal types and evaluation workflow (hubs, fast track, more)”

• 4th WG5 online Workshop, January 24th, 2024

Topic: “NEPHEWS Project: Presentation of Appendix 3”

Main achievement of the group is the creation of a very strong network among User Offices that allows to compare procedures and best practices, harmonize forms and databases and optimize user interfaces.

Currently the main focus is the creation of an online Repository of User Offices Procedures and of a WG5 sub-group of Safety Offices.

The Topics for the next Workshops foreseen on May 21st and June 11th, 2024 are:

-BESSY Standard Operating procedures
-WG5 Safety sub-group

and

– Continuous access mode at Desy;

– Presentation of RIANA Project.

The Groups generally meets every two/three months.

The group meetings are also an opportunity to present new Projects and discuss all issues related to management.

In the last two years WG5 has significantly contributed to create a very constructive and mutually beneficial collaboration among User Offices