Bi-annual UK and International Access Routes
The information in the following sections is for regular access reviewed by the Lasers for Science Facility (LSF) access panel. Please see 'Alternative Access Routes' at the bottom for other routes such as Xpress, EuroBioimaging, RIANA or industry access.
Call open: Tuesday 19 May 2026
Call close: Tuesday 21 July 2026 17:00 UK time
Access period: Jan to June 2027
Applications are for access to the Octopus or Ultra facilities of the Central Laser Facility (CLF). If you are successful, access will be fully funded (facility overheads, UK travel, accommodation and food).
A rough outline of the call schedule is in the table below, subject to change:
Call opening
| Call closing
| Results
| Access period
|
May
| July
| October/November
| Jan-June
|
November
| January
| April/May
| July-Dec
|
Types of Access
For this call, proposals are invited for the following modes of access:
- Direct Access (1-4 weeks one-off access within a 6-month period)
- Continuation of Approved Programmes (update on progress for the next 6 months)
- Ultra only New Programmes (1-4 weeks access within a 6-month period for 2 to 5
years)
- **NEW** Applications can now be submitted for a single programme that provides access for multiple academic groups whose research covers a unified related theme (usually government or UKRI priorities), for example, battery research. The programme should form a coherent body of work over its duration.
Alternative access routes (including for International applicants) can be found at the bottom of this page.
Eligibility
Main applicant (Principal Investigator) eligibility:
- UK academic (including postdoctoral researchers) for Direct Access or New Programmes
- Must hold a position that lasts for the duration of the scheduling period
- PhD students can be Co-Investigator, but not the main applicant (Principal Investigator)
- Applications involving industry collaborators must be led by a non-STFC academic
Guidelines
Please carefully read all the information in the call guidelines 
LSF_Submission_guidelines.pdf and use the formatted template documents: 
LSF_Direct_access_template.docx, LSF_Programme_approved_template.docx which follow the formatting guidelines, if you fail to follow the guidelines your application may be rejected without review.
It is recommended to contact an appropriate facility staff member ahead of time to help strengthen your application (e.g. obtaining proof of concept data or technical feasibility), see the web pages for Octopus staff and techniques, and Ultra staff and techniques to find an appropriate contact for your proposal.
Submission
Please submit all applications to https://proposal.facilities.rl.ac.uk. If it is the first time you've used the online submission system, you may find it useful to read the documentation
here.
For any queries about using the proposal system that are not answered by the documentation above, contact fase-support@stfc.ac.uk.
NOTE: Submission includes completion of multiple pages of questions relating to your access, as well as the attachment of a scientific case. It is recommended to start early, as progress can be saved for completion at a later time before the deadline.
Facility Access Panel
A list of the current Octopus and Ultra Facility Access Panel members can be
found here.
Alternative Access Routes
If you are not eligible, or need access before the next round. Please contact us to discuss alternative routes.
For UK and EU academics, here are some schemes that may be active and can provide access to the facilities:
- [COMING SOON] LSF Xpress Access for very short access for UK and EU academics, see the complete eligibility and guidelines on the Xpress page.
For industry, or academics collaborating with industry, there may be multiple other routes open to you. Here are schemes that may have updated calls:
